UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 17 June 2026

Solution: C

• Statement 1 is incorrect because the figurine stands in a fluid, realistic posture known in art history as the contrapposto stance, where the feet are apart and the body weight is distributed unevenly, resting primarily on her right leg with the right hip thrust out. It is far from a rigid or symmetrical posture.
• Statement 2 is correct. The statuette is highly celebrated for its distinctive asymmetrical ornamentation: her left arm is heavily adorned, almost completely covered with 24 bangles, whereas her right arm bears only 4 bangles and a single bracelet.
• Statement 3 is correct. British archaeologist John Marshall unearthed this masterpiece in 1926 during excavations at Mohenjo-daro (which is geographically located in present-day Sindh, Pakistan). Despite the site being in Pakistan, the original 4-inch bronze artifact remained with India following partition and is permanently housed in the Pre-History and Archaeology collection at the National Museum in New Delhi.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is incorrect. The Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri is associated with ancient religious traditions that trace the worship of Lord Jagannath to mythological times. However, the present monumental temple structure was not built in Satya Yuga, nor was it commissioned by the Chola Dynasty. The existing temple is generally attributed to the rulers of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty, particularly Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva in the 12th century CE, with subsequent additions by later rulers.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. After the British annexation of Odisha in 1803, the East India Company did not immediately abolish pilgrim taxes. In fact, the Company initially administered the temple and continued collecting pilgrim taxes for revenue purposes. These taxes were abolished only later, following criticism and changes in colonial policy regarding involvement in religious affairs.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. Post-Independence, temple administration was reorganized under the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee through state legislation. However, the Gajapati Maharaja of Puri continues to hold an important traditional and ceremonial position and serves as the chairman of the temple’s managing committee. Therefore, his administrative role was not completely dissolved nor transferred entirely to a secular bureaucratic cadre.

Solution: B

• Pair 1 is correctly matched: The Order of the White Double Cross, First Class, is the highest state decoration of the Slovak Republic, which was formally conferred upon the Prime Minister of India during diplomatic engagements.
• Pair 2 is incorrectly matched: The Dominica Award of Honour is the highest state award of Dominica, not Barbados.
• Pair 3 is correctly matched: The Order of Excellence is the premier national state honor of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
• Pair 4 is incorrectly matched: The honor named Honorary Freedom of Barbados is conferred by Barbados, not Dominica.

Solution: D

• Statement 1 is incorrect. While the group did expand into the G8 in 1998 by formally including Russia, this format was not maintained uninterrupted. In 2014, the G7 leaders voted to indefinitely suspend Russia’s participation following its violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, reverting permanently back to the G7 format.
• Statement 2 is correct. The European Union is a fully integrated participant in all political sessions of the forum, entering the framework progressively since the late 1970s, though it remains a “non-enumerated” member (not counted within the core seven countries).
• Statement 3 is incorrect. The joint declarations and communiqués issued by the G7 are politically binding on its own participating member states, but they carry absolutely no legal jurisdiction or binding authority over non-member developing states or the wider international community.

Solution: A

• Statement-I is correct. The Great Indian Bustard is biologically classified as a flagship indicator species for grassland ecosystems. Its presence, breeding success, or decline provides conservationists with immediate insights into the health of wide, open semi-arid environments.
• Statement-II is also correct and provides conceptual explanation for Statement-I. An indicator species is chosen precisely because its biological requirements match the ecosystem perfectly; hence, any degradation in the grassland (such as fragmentation, agricultural over-intensification, or power line installation) is immediately visible through the decline of this bird.

Solution: C

• In vaccine formulations that mix multiple live viruses (like tetravalent dengue vaccines), viral interference is a major conceptual challenge where one specific component strain replicates much more robustly than the other strains within the host’s body. This dominant replication fills the cellular pathways and suppresses the replication and growth of the remaining weaker strains.
• As a direct consequence, the human body fails to develop a balanced, symmetrical immune response against all targeted variations simultaneously. Instead, it creates high immunity against the dominant strain and weak, sub-neutralizing antibody levels against the suppressed strains, which can later trigger adverse health complications like Antibody-Dependent Enhancement (ADE).

Solution: C

• The term “Velvet Divorce” refers to the historic, entirely peaceful separation of Czechoslovakia on January 1, 1993, which resulted in the creation of two independent sovereign nations: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. This landmark event paved the way for the formal institution of Slovakia’s highest state honors, such as The Order of the White Double Cross in March 1994, to recognize foreign citizens who enhance Slovakia’s international standing.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is incorrect because WT-MARUT was officially launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) during the Global Wind Day Conference, not by cultural or archaeological bodies.
• Statement 2 is incorrect because the portal’s objective has nothing to do with antiquities or artifacts; it is India’s first centralized digital platform explicitly designed to manage, map, and optimize the domestic wind turbine manufacturing supply chain ecosystem.
• Statement 3 is incorrect because WT-MARUT is a business-to-business (B2B) platform linking industrial turbine manufacturers, independent power producers, component designers, and policy regulators, not a retail auction site for individual consumers.

Solution: D

• The SEHAT Mission is comprehensive in its scope, addressing health at multiple levels.
• Statement 1 is correct as it specifically includes scientific interventions and awareness campaigns to safeguard farmers from the hazardous effects of pesticides and chemicals, reflecting the mission’s concern for the producers’ health.
• Statement 2 is correct regarding Integrated Farming Systems. By encouraging the combination of crops with animal husbandry, fisheries, and beekeeping, the mission ensures that rural families have access to a diverse and balanced diet, thereby improving household nutritional security.
• Statement 3 is correct because the mission seeks to institutionalize science-based policy support. The creation of real-time dashboards and research databases allows policymakers to align agricultural production with actual national nutrition requirements. This ensures that the country grows what its people need to eat to stay healthy. By focusing on micronutrient deficiencies and the “farm-to-plate” chain, the mission addresses the root causes of health issues rather than just treating symptoms.

Solution: A

• The structural lifespan of an ordinance is a direct mathematical outcome of clear constitutional provisions.
• Statement I is correct because an ordinance cannot last indefinitely and faces a strict constitutional expiration window.
• Statement II is correct because Article 85 mandates that six months shall not intervene between the last sitting in one session and the date appointed for the first sitting in the next session.
• Statement III is correct because Article 123 establishes that an ordinance must be tabled before both houses and automatically lapses six weeks after reassembly unless disapproved earlier.
• Since the maximum possible recess between sessions is six months (Statement II) and the maximum survival period after reassembly is six weeks (Statement III), both statements work together to explain why the ultimate lifespan of an ordinance is mathematically capped at six months and six weeks, validating option (a).