UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 4 June 2026

Solution: C

• Statements 1 and 3 are correct because RudraM-II is an advanced, high-speed, indigenously developed air-to-surface anti-radiation missile engineered under a collaborative ecosystem led by the Research Centre Imarat, a nodal DRDO laboratory.
• Its primary objective is to provide the Indian Air Force with Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) capabilities by tracking and neutralizing enemy ground-based radar installations and surface-to-air missile sites. It achieves this using a state-of-the-art navigation suite combining an Inertial Navigation System (INS) and GPS with a sensitive Passive Homing Head (PHH) that detects radio frequency emissions.
• Statement 2 is incorrect because the missile features a highly dynamic launch envelope with multi-altitude flexibility. It is designed to be safely released from airborne platforms, such as frontline Su-30MKI fighter jets, flying at altitudes ranging anywhere between 3 km and 15 km, rather than being restricted to low altitudes under 3 km. It can accelerate to a peak hypersonic velocity of Mach 5.5, which dramatically reduces the target’s reaction and interception window.

Solution: D

• Statements 1, 2, and 3 are correct because Mission Senehjori is a comprehensive, cluster-based textile strategy designed to transform Assam’s unique Muga silk sector into a high-end luxury ecosystem. This Atmanirbhar North East project is anchored by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), the Ministry of Textiles, and the state government.
• It aims to scale up local incomes, regenerate 5,000 hectares of Som and Soalu host plants, establish modernized processing infrastructure, and implement QR-coded digital traceability for over 8,000 households while ensuring 80% of traded Muga silk carries the certified Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
• Statement 4 is incorrect because, while the mission sets an aggressive target to expand Muga silk exports to over 2,000 kilograms annually by 2028 to capture global premium valuation, it does not ban or restrict domestic retail operations. The program seeks to uplift the socio-economic status of local weavers and rearers across key hubs like Jorhat, Majuli, and Sualkuchi by building a structured brand identity that serves both high-end domestic luxury segments and international premium markets, alongside developing silk-based experiential tourism tracks within India.

Solution: B

• The RTX Spark is a newly introduced superchip engineered specifically for Windows AI laptops and compact desktops to power a new category of personal AI computers. Unlike traditional systems that separate processing duties between standalone Intel/AMD Central Processing Units (CPUs) and separate Nvidia Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), the Spark integrates both architectures onto a single platform using high-speed chip-to-chip interconnects.

This unified structure supports up to 128GB of memory and delivers 1 Petaflop of AI performance, enabling the hardware to execute large generative models locally on a notebook without requiring a continuous cloud connection or sending private data to external servers.

Solution: A

• The Agasthyamalai ecological landscape is a highly fragile, globally recognized forest ecosystem situated at the absolute southernmost terminus of the Western Ghats, straddling the interstate border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• Statement I is correct because this mountainous ecosystem is a crucial regional hydrological lifeline, providing massive volumes of drinking water and agricultural irrigation across several downstream districts in both states.

Statement II is also correct and directly explains this hydrological significance by identifying the precise physical mechanism: the geographical topography is anchored by the high-elevation Agasthyamala peak (1,868 meters above sea level), which captures monsoon precipitation and acts as a regional watershed. This watershed gives rise to major river systems, including the Tambraparni and Karamana rivers, directly validating why the landscape functions as a vital lifeline.

Solution: C

The PMRC Scheme 2026 is built upon structured career tracks paired with 13 prioritized strategic thematic areas crucial to India’s technological future.

• Combination 1 (1-X-P) is correct as the Young Research Fellows track is tailored for early-career scientists and postdoctoral scholars to seed innovative projects, which can be aligned with strategic domains like Advanced Computing, AI, and Semiconductors.
• Combination 2 (2-Y-Q) is correct because the Senior Research Fellows track focuses on mid-career researchers and industrial specialists possessing field expertise, matching industrial areas like Space, Defence, or Advanced Materials.

Combination 3 (3-Z-R) is correct as the top-tier Research Chairs are reserved for internationally recognized academic pioneers and lab heads, who guide research in vital sustainability sectors like Biotechnology, MedTech, and the Blue Economy.

Solution: C

• Tylosaurus rex is a newly designated species of mosasaur, a specialized group of giant, carnivorous marine reptiles that acted as apex predators in the global oceans during the Late Cretaceous epoch. Paleontological re-examinations of large fossil specimens revealed distinct skeletal characteristics, such as blade-like tooth serrations and heavy jaw attachments optimized for slicing through dense tissues.
• Although it shares the species name “rex” with the famous terrestrial Tyrannosaurus rex, it was not a contemporary dinosaur; instead, it ruled the prehistoric Western Interior Seaway millions of years before the land-dwelling T. rex evolved.

Solution: B

• The RudraM-II is an advanced, high-speed, indigenously developed air-to-surface anti-radiation missile designed to provide the Indian Air Force with critical Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) capabilities. The integration of a state-of-the-art Passive Homing Head (PHH) into its hybrid guidance architecture serves specifically as a radio-frequency tracking system.

The PHH acts as sensitive electronic ears and eyes, detecting, identifying, and locking onto the active radio frequency emissions of hostile ground-based air defense radars, surface-to-air missile (SAM) radars, and enemy communication networks across a broad frequency band. This enables the missile to guide itself precisely to the source of the emission and neutralize the target, even from an extended stand-off range of approximately 300 km while flying at hypersonic speeds up to Mach 5.5.

Solution: B

The “Potato Patch” is the local designation for an extraordinary, continuous meadow-like hard coral colony spanning roughly 4,250 square meters near Kadmat Island in the Lakshadweep archipelago. The colony belongs to the species Pavona clavus and derives its distinctive name from its unique columnar, club-like skeletal growth formations that resemble a field of tightly packed potatoes underwater.

Preliminary growth modeling indicates that this massive biogenic structure has been accumulating calcium carbonate continuously for 700 to 1,800 years, surviving multiple historical marine heatwaves and bleaching events, which highlights its immense value for climate adaptation research.

Solution: A

• The Apnoea Test is a specific medical procedure used to determine brainstem death, not general metabolic activity of the cerebral cortex; hence, Statement 1 is incorrect. The brainstem controls automatic functions like breathing.
• Statement 2 is correct because the test works by temporarily stopping the ventilator to allow carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the blood to rise. In a functioning brainstem, high CO2 (usually ≥ 60 mmHg) triggers a natural reflex to breathe. If the patient fails to show any spontaneous respiratory movement (gasping or chest rise) despite the high CO2 and acidic blood pH, the test is considered “positive.”
• Therefore, Statement 3 is incorrect because a positive result confirms brain death, meaning the patient has not regained breathing. This test is a critical legal and medical prerequisite for organ retrieval and donation.

However, it is sensitive and requires strict safety protocols, such as pre-oxygenation, and must be aborted if blood pressure or oxygen saturation drops too low, as the process itself can potentially cause further damage to compromised tissues.

Solution: D

• Pair 1 is correctly matched as Mayon is a highly active stratovolcano located in the Albay province of Luzon, Philippines. It is famous for its near-perfect cone symmetry.
• Pair 2 is also correctly matched; Mount Merapi is the most active volcano in Indonesia and is known for frequent eruptions and pyroclastic flows.
• Pair 3 is correctly matched; Mount Aso is one of the largest active volcanoes in the world, located on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
• Mayon, specifically, is part of the Bicol Volcanic Chain formed by the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate. Its eruption style often includes Strombolian activity—short-lived lava explosions—and dangerous Pyroclastic Density Currents (PDCs).