UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 8 June 2026

Solution: C

• Statement 1 is correct. The sanctuary, also known as Surha Tal, is located in Ballia district of eastern Uttar Pradesh, a region forming part of the fertile Indo-Gangetic alluvial plains. The wetland is associated with the floodplain ecosystem of the Ganga basin.
• The sanctuary is named after Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), a prominent freedom fighter, social reformer, and political leader who played a pivotal role in India’s democratic movements. The naming commemorates his contribution to public life.
• Statement 2 is correct. On World Environment Day 2026, the Jai Prakash Narayan Bird Sanctuary (Surha Tal) was designated as India’s 100th Ramsar Site, marking a major milestone in India’s wetland conservation efforts.

Solution: B

• The “Wise Use Principle” is explicitly pioneered and promoted under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. It encourages the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands through local, national, and international cooperation. This principle allows human activities like eco-tourism, traditional fishing, and organic farming to continue, provided they do not disrupt or harm the baseline ecological integrity of the designated wetland ecosystem.

Solution: A

• The Jan Samarth Portal functions as a unified, first-of-its-kind single-window digital gateway. Its primary design architecture links various credit-linked Central Government schemes directly to lenders and beneficiaries.
• Instead of navigating multiple ministries or physical offices, applicants use this digital public infrastructure to automatically verify their eligibility, apply for institutional credit, and secure digital in-principle sanctions. This significantly streamlines the credit delivery framework for small businesses, farmers, and self-help groups.

Solution: D

• Statement 1 is incorrect because the index is an entirely indigenous flagship initiative developed and managed solely by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
• Statement 2 is incorrect because the index focuses entirely on rural local bodies (Gram Panchayats) and automatically groups them into five distinct tiered performance categories based on mathematically weighted composite scores, not just two groups.

Solution: C

• The announced capital market reforms targeted deep structural adjustments to unlock the long-term sovereign bond market for foreign institutional capital. Under these guidelines, the restriction-free Fully Accessible Route (FAR) was formally expanded to encompass ultra-long-term 15, 30, and 40-year new G-Sec issuances alongside Sovereign Green Bonds.
• Concurrently, the central bank permanently eliminated three operational boundary layers—the short-term investment limit, the concentration limit, and the security-wise limit—for foreign funds operating under the General Route.

Solution: D

• Statement 1 is incorrect because rodents (such as deer mice, cotton rats, and rice rats), not insects like mosquitoes or ticks, are the primary vectors. Humans typically contract the virus by inhaling aerosolized particles from rodent excreta.
• Statement 2 is incorrect as the virus is relatively stable in the environment; it can remain infectious for several days depending on the surrounding temperature and levels of UV light/sunlight. This stability increases the risk of infection in closed spaces where rodents frequent.

Statement 3 is incorrect because human-to-human transmission is extremely rare. While certain strains in South America (Andes virus) have shown limited human-to-human spread, the vast majority of cases worldwide occur via animal-to-human transmission. There is no evidence of widespread global human-to-human outbreaks like those seen with influenza or SARS-CoV-2. The incubation period for Hantavirus is typically 1 to 8 weeks, making tracing the source of infection challenging.

Solution: A

• Statement 1 is correct. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021 significantly expanded access to safe and legal abortion services in India. It increased the upper gestational limit for termination from 20 weeks to 24 weeks for certain categories of women, including survivors of rape or incest, minors, differently-abled women, and women whose marital status changes during pregnancy (such as widowhood or divorce). The amendment was introduced to provide greater reproductive autonomy and to address situations where vulnerable women may discover or report pregnancies at a later stage.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. The Act does not impose an absolute ban on termination beyond 24 weeks. It specifically allows termination after 24 weeks in cases involving substantial fetal abnormalities, provided such abnormalities are diagnosed by a duly constituted Medical Board. This exception recognizes that certain severe congenital conditions may be detected only in advanced stages of pregnancy and may justify termination in the interest of the woman and the fetus.
• Statement 3 is correct. The Act contains strict confidentiality provisions. Under Section 5A, the identity and personal details of a woman undergoing medical termination cannot be disclosed except to persons authorized by law. This safeguard protects privacy, reduces stigma, and encourages women to seek safe medical services without fear of social repercussions.

Solution: C

• Project Deepak (1-A-i) is based in Shimla and is famous for its work on the Manali-Leh axis and the Hindustan-Tibet road.
• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) (2-B-ii) is headquartered in New Delhi and operates under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence. While originally under the Ministry of Shipping and Transport, it was shifted to the Ministry of Defence in 2015 to streamline strategic infrastructure development.
• Project Dantak (3-C-iii) is a well-known project of the BRO in Bhutan, symbolizing the deep-rooted friendship and strategic cooperation between India and Bhutan. It has been instrumental in building key roads, airports, and telecommunication networks in the Himalayan kingdom.

Solution: B

• Statement-I is correct because the guidelines grant SMCs financial oversight and the authority to execute civil works costing up to ₹30 lakh. This is a significant step toward fiscal decentralization, allowing the community to address immediate infrastructural needs without waiting for lengthy bureaucratic approvals from higher departments.
• Statement-II is also correct as the guidelines emphasize an inclusive composition, bringing in a diverse group including local educationists, ASHA, and Anganwadi workers (the 25% component). This ensures that the school is not an isolated island but is integrated with the local health and social ecosystem.
• However, Statement-II does not explain why the financial limit is set or why SMCs execute civil works; the reason for Statement-I is rooted in administrative efficiency and local accountability, whereas Statement-II describes the social philosophy of the guidelines.

Solution: B

• Initially, MARS was primarily focused on the oil and gas sector, where leaks are often easier to identify and fix (e.g., pipeline leaks). However, the UN recently expanded the system to include coal mines and waste facilities (landfills). This expansion is critical because, as the context suggests, satellite data recently identified an Indian landfill (Kanjurmarg) as one of the world’s largest methane emitters.
• By including the waste sector, MARS can target “super-emitters” in urban environments. The system uses Machine Learning/AI to analyze images from over 35 satellites. This multi-sectoral approach is essential because methane mitigation in coal and waste requires different policy interventions than in oil and gas.
• The expansion allows for a more holistic global response to methane, which is responsible for a significant portion of current global heating. It does not focus on agriculture (which has different emission patterns) or deep-sea sensors, nor is it a payment-based credit system.