UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 24 June 2026

Solution: C

Difficulty focusing (1), restlessness (2), and impulsivity (4) are hallmark symptoms of ADHD. Chronic memory loss (3) is not typically associated with ADHD; rather, ADHD involves forgetfulness related to inattention.

About Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD):

• What is ADHD?

• • A neurodevelopmental disorder affecting focus, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.
  • Commonly diagnosed in childhood but often persists into adulthood.
  • Impacts 3-4% of adults worldwide.

• Causes:

• • Genetics: Family history significantly increases the risk.
  • Brain Structure: Alterations in the brain regions responsible for attention and behaviour regulation.
  • Prenatal Factors: Exposure to tobacco, alcohol, or drugs during pregnancy.
  • Environmental Factors: Lead exposure and low birth weight.

• Symptoms:

• • Inattention: Difficulty focusing, forgetfulness, frequent mistakes, or being easily distracted.
  • Hyperactivity: Restlessness, excessive movement, or inability to stay still in quiet situations.
  • Impulsivity: Interrupting conversations, acting without thinking, and engaging in risky behaviours.

• Treatment:

• • Medication: Stimulants (e.g., methylphenidate, amphetamines) and non-stimulants (e.g., atomoxetine).
  • Behavioural Therapy: Focuses on developing coping mechanisms and organizational skills.
  • Lifestyle Changes:
    • Balanced diet and regular exercise.
    • Adequate sleep to improve focus and mood.
  • Counselling: Helps manage impulsivity, risky behaviours, and emotional difficulties.

Solution: B

Only Statement 1 is correct.

Tidal flooding can cause saltwater intrusion into freshwater systems, affecting agriculture, drinking water, and ecosystems. However, it does not necessarily result in permanent submersion, as it is usually temporary. While storm surges can exacerbate tidal flooding, they are not its sole cause.

Solution: B

• The Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar framework was consciously designed to be broad-based and inclusive, moving away from the earlier, narrower perception that national science awards are meant only for scientists working in government laboratories or publicly funded institutions.
• Eligibility extends to scientists, technologists, and innovators working in private sector organizations, start-ups, academia, and non-governmental research ecosystems, provided their work demonstrates clear scientific merit and contributes to national development, public welfare, or India’s global scientific standing.

Importantly, Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are also eligible if their scientific contributions have demonstrable benefits for India, reflecting the government’s intent to leverage the global Indian scientific diaspora.

Solution: c)

SEBI’s “When-Listed” platform aims to regulate trading in IPO shares between allotment and official listing. This helps reduce grey market trading, ensures transparency, and protects investors from speculative fluctuations. The platform operates within T+3 (allotment to listing), preventing informal transactions that were previously conducted outside SEBI’s oversight. Unlike the grey market, which is unregulated, this platform provides a formal mechanism for IPO investors.

Solution: B

• An earthquake swarm is fundamentally different from the classical mainshock–aftershock sequence in terms of energy release and temporal hierarchy.
• In a typical sequence, one dominant large earthquake (the mainshock) releases most of the accumulated strain energy, followed by smaller aftershocks whose magnitudes decay with time, as described by Omori’s Law.
• In contrast, an earthquake swarm lacks a clearly identifiable mainshock. Instead, it comprises a cluster of earthquakes occurring over days to months, with magnitudes that are often similar and without a systematic decrease.
• Swarms are commonly associated with fluid movements in the crust, such as magma intrusion, hydrothermal circulation, or pore-fluid pressure changes along faults, but they do not always precede volcanic eruptions. They can occur in subduction zones, transform settings, and even intraplate regions.

Solution: A

• Statement 1 is incorrect. While International Civil Aviation Organization is a specialized UN agency responsible for framing global aviation safety norms through SARPs under the Chicago Convention, these standards are not legally binding in an automatic sense. Member states, including India, are expected to align their national laws with SARPs, but they retain sovereignty. States may notify “differences” where national regulations diverge from ICAO standards. Hence, SARPs function as globally accepted benchmarks, not enforceable international law.
• Statement 2 is also incorrect. In India, the investigation of serious aircraft accidents and incidents is not the responsibility of the regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Instead, this function is vested in the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. This separation is deliberate and aligns with ICAO principles to avoid conflict of interest between regulation and investigation. DGCA focuses on safety oversight, certification, and compliance, while AAIB conducts independent, non-punitive investigations aimed at improving systemic safety rather than assigning blame.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is incorrect. The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) is not established under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Instead, it is a statutory body constituted under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 deals primarily with the protection of wild animals, birds, and plants, creation of protected areas, and regulation of hunting and trade in wildlife, whereas animal welfare relating to prevention of cruelty to domestic and captive animals falls under the 1960 Act.
• Statement 2 is correct. Article 51A(g) of the Constitution of India, inserted by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976, explicitly makes it a Fundamental Duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures. Judicial interpretations, particularly by the Supreme Court, have consistently read “compassion for living creatures” as encompassing the prevention of unnecessary pain or suffering to animals.

Solution: A

• Describing forest fires in the Amazon and other humid tropical forests as a “feedback loop” refers to a self-reinforcing climate–ecosystem interaction. Normally, humid tropical forests are resistant to fire because of high moisture levels and dense canopy cover.
• However, once large-scale fires occur—often triggered by droughts, El Niño conditions, or land-use change—they release vast quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This added atmospheric carbon contributes to global and regional warming, which in turn intensifies heat stress and reduces rainfall or increases dry spells in these ecosystems.
• As forests become drier, tree mortality rises, leaf litter accumulates, and canopy gaps allow more sunlight and wind to reach the forest floor, all of which increase flammability.
• This makes subsequent fires more likely and more intense, locking the system into a vicious cycle of fire → emissions → warming → drying → more fire.

Solution: D

• NATGRID was conceptualised after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as a technological enabler for counter-terrorism and internal security coordination. However, a common misconception—captured in Statement-I—is that it functions as a massive centralised database storing personal data of citizens. This is incorrect. NATGRID does not permanently store or warehouse raw personal transaction data such as bank records, telecom logs, or travel details. Such data continue to remain with their respective “data-provider” agencies like banks, telecom companies, immigration authorities, and transport databases.
• Statement-II correctly captures the core design philosophy of NATGRID. It operates as a secure middleware or federated access platform that allows authorised intelligence and law-enforcement agencies to query multiple databases in near real time, subject to legal and procedural safeguards. This architecture reduces duplication of databases, limits unnecessary data retention, and addresses privacy concerns by ensuring purpose-limited access rather than bulk storage.

Solution: D

• Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis of water using electricity generated from renewable sources such as solar, wind, or hydro power. Since no fossil fuels are involved in the electricity input, the process results in zero carbon emissions at the point of production, making Pair 1 correctly matched.
• Blue hydrogen is derived from natural gas, typically through steam methane reforming or autothermal reforming, but with the crucial addition of carbon capture and storage technologies to trap and store the majority of the carbon dioxide generated. While not completely carbon-free, the defining feature of blue hydrogen is the use of CCS, validating Pair 2.
• Grey hydrogen is the most widely used form globally today and is produced mainly via steam methane reforming of natural gas, and in some contexts via coal gasification. This process releases large amounts of carbon dioxide directly into the atmosphere, giving it a high carbon footprint and making it dominant in current industrial hydrogen use. Therefore, Pair 3 is also correctly matched.