UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 20 June 2026

Solution: D

• Information 1 supports Statement 1. Thailand, formerly known as Siam, occupies a unique position in Southeast Asia because it was never formally colonized by any European power. Through diplomatic balancing between the British and French colonial empires, it remained an independent buffer state. This historical experience distinguishes Thailand from neighbouring countries such as Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, all of which experienced European colonial rule. Therefore, Information 1 directly supports Statement 1.
• Information 3 supports Statement 2. Thailand’s Central Plain, formed primarily by the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries, is a vast alluvial lowland. Rivers descending from the northern highlands have deposited fertile sediments over long periods, creating rich agricultural soils. As a result, the most productive and extensive agricultural lands are concentrated in central Thailand, supporting Statement 2 regarding the uneven distribution of fertile lowlands.
• Information 2 does not support either statement. It describes the Northern Mountain region and its geological relationship with broader Asian mountain-building processes. While it provides information about Thailand’s physical geography, it neither explains Thailand’s immunity from colonial rule nor demonstrates the concentration of fertile agricultural lands in the central plain.

Solution: B

• Downblending is the process of converting Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) into Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) by mixing it with natural uranium, depleted uranium, or another uranium stream containing a lower concentration of uranium-235 (U-235). The objective is to reduce the proportion of the fissile isotope U-235.
• Nuclear weapons generally require weapons-grade uranium, which typically contains about 90% or more U-235. In contrast, LEU usually contains less than 20% U-235, and commercial reactor fuel commonly contains 3–5% U-235. At such low enrichment levels, the material cannot sustain the extremely rapid, uncontrolled chain reaction necessary for a nuclear explosion. Although LEU remains usable as reactor fuel, it is not directly suitable for nuclear weapons without undergoing substantial further enrichment.

• Option (a) U-235 is not transmuted into lead during downblending; the enrichment level is simply reduced by dilution.
• Option (c) No high-density biopolymers are used to chemically bind uranium and prevent fission.
• Option (d) IAEA seals are safeguards used for monitoring and verification; they do not alter or neutralize the nuclear properties of uranium.

Solution: A

• Statement 1 is correct because this technology serves as an all-in-one input delivery vehicle. Unlike conventional, single-purpose seed treatments that only protect against fungal pathogens, this platform embeds crop protection agents, primary and micronutrients, and beneficial growth-promoting microorganisms into a single cohesive shield.
• Statement 2 is correct because the carrier system is built entirely from an Indian-patented, biodegradable biopolymer base. It degrades naturally via microbial action in the soil environment, ensuring zero chemical pollution, structural degradation, or synthetic microplastic residue.
• Statement 3 is incorrect because the technology is highly customizable, not rigid or uniform. The biopolymer thickness, nutrient ratios, and biological ingredients are specifically adjusted to match the distinct physiological demands, seed-coat structures, and rooting profiles of diverse crop groups, including cereals, millets, pulses, oilseeds, fiber crops, and horticultural varieties.

Solution: C

• Statement 1 is incorrect because VivaTech remains headquartered in France and is hosted at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. It is organized by French media leaders Publicis Groupe and Les Echos–Le Parisien. India is an active international participant with a large pavilion, not a permanent co-owner or host.
• Statement 2 is correct because the core mission of VivaTech is to act as a global open-innovation hub. It accelerates breakthroughs by bringing together deep-tech startups, industry leaders, venture capitalists, and corporate partners to solve international economic and societal challenges.
• Statement 3 is incorrect because the event is highly diverse, spanning over 30 distinct business sectors. While India highlighted its digital public infrastructure, the pavilion also showcased innovations across health-tech, clean energy, advanced computing, green mobility, and agricultural tech, rather than being restricted to digital payments.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is incorrect because the Doctrine of Lapse was an administrative expansionist policy heavily used by Governor-General Lord Dalhousie for the East India Company, rather than a statutory law passed by the British Parliament for southern India. It targetted states without a natural male heir.
• Statement 2 is correct. The core of the policy was that the British refused to recognize an adopted son’s right to inherit political sovereignty, overriding long-standing Indian customs, even though they allowed the child to inherit private personal property.
• Statement 3 is incorrect because the Rani did not accept the annexation or voluntarily give up her rule to retire to Gwalior. She famously declared she would not surrender her Jhansi (“Meri Jhansi nahi dungi”), took direct command, fortified her kingdom, and fought the British troops there. She only retreated toward Gwalior after the fort of Jhansi fell.
• Statement 4 is correct. The aggressive use of the doctrine to annex independent kingdoms like Jhansi, Nagpur, and Satara created immense anger and fear among Indian royalty, serving as a primary political cause of the Revolt of 1857.

Solution: D

• Statement 1 is incorrect because this technology is an Indian-patented platform developed scientifically by the ICAR–Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research (ICAR-IIOR) based in Hyderabad, not by an international body like the United Nations FAO.
• Statement 2 is correct because the institutional deployment strategy focuses on large-scale commercial and grassroots adoption. To get the technology into fields, ICAR partners directly with public and private stakeholders, including State Seed Development Corporations, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and commercial seed networks.
• Statement 3 is incorrect because the technology is specifically designed to help smallholder farmers in rainfed regions. Small farmers face the highest production risks from unpredictable monsoons and droughts. Providing them with pre-coated, resilient seeds reduces their vulnerability, making it a highly accessible climate-smart tool rather than an innovation restricted to large mechanized farms.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is correct because following an intense defense and the subsequent fall of her fort at Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai broke through British lines and retreated toward Gwalior to consolidate rebel forces. On June 18, 1858, she achieved martyrdom while fighting British cavalry units near Gwalior.
• Statement 2 is correct because Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose consciously invoked her legacy of military leadership to inspire women to join the freedom struggle. This led to the creation of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment under the INA, which was one of the very few all-women combat infantry units in World War II.
• Statement 3 is incorrect because her resistance was recorded and celebrated in Indian literature well before independence. Despite strict British colonial censorship, she was immortalized in creative works such as Rabindranath Tagore’s Jhansir Rani in 1877 and Subhadra Kumari Chauhan’s iconic nationalist poem Jhansi ki Rani in 1930.

Solution: A

• Statement 1 is correct because after a life-altering accident and an extensive spiritual quest across Asia, Robert A. F. Thurman mastered the Tibetan language and became the first Westerner ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1962.
• Statement 2 is incorrect because he did not remain a cloistered monk for his entire life. Realizing he could have a broader public impact by sharing Buddhist philosophy within the education system, he voluntarily returned his monastic robes after a few years. He returned to Harvard University to complete his PhD and went on to spend 30 years as the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University.
• He viewed the university system as the Western equivalent of a monastery where he could popularize the Buddha’s teachings on mindfulness and social transformation.

Solution: A

• Statement-I is correct. The removal process of a senior judge in India is highly secure to preserve the independence of the judiciary from political interference. Parliament cannot simply initiate an immediate open floor debate or conduct a removal vote as soon as an allegation or motion is submitted by members.
• Statement-II is also correct. Under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, which works in tandem with Articles 124(4) and 217(1)(b) of the Constitution, a three-member Judges Inquiry Committee must first be appointed by the Speaker or Chairman. This committee acts as a formal, independent judicial tribunal to investigate the specific charges of proved misbehavior or incapacity. It frames charges, examines evidence under oath, and applies principles of natural justice.
• Statement-II provides the direct legal and logical explanation for Statement-I. The floor debate and final voting process can only proceed if this statutory committee completes its independent probe and tables a conclusive report explicitly stating that the charges against the judge have been proven. If the panel finds no proof, the motion drops.

Solution: C

• Statement I is correct because Ethiopia acts as the primary Water Tower of East Africa, hosting the alpine highlands and lake systems that feed major river basins. This gives it significant hydrological influence over downstream nations like Sudan and Egypt.
• Statement II is incorrect because the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is constructed across the Blue Nile River, not the White Nile. The Blue Nile, originating from Ethiopia’s Lake Tana, supplies over 80% of the total downstream water volume that enters Egypt, making the dam a major engineering project and a subject of regional water-diplomacy discussions.