Prelims GS Paper I 2026

Answer: (d) Dheera Shankarabharanam

Bilawal is the Hindustani scale in which all seven notes are shuddha (natural). The Carnatic scale with exactly these notes is Dheera Shankarabharanam, the 29th melakarta, so the two are treated as equivalents (both match the Western major scale).

• ✓ (d) Dheera Shankarabharanam, the 29th mela, uses the same natural notes as Bilawal; the NIOS Carnatic music course names Shankarabharana as Bilaval's equivalent.
• ✗ (a) Natabhairavi (20th mela) has flat ga, dha and ni, so it corresponds to the Hindustani Asavari thaat, not Bilawal.
• ✗ (c) Hanumatodi (8th mela) uses flat re, ga, dha and ni; its Hindustani counterpart is the Bhairavi thaat.

Remember · Bilawal thaat (all shuddha notes) = Dheera Shankarabharanam, 29th melakarta = Western major scale.

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Answer: (a) Aiding the flow of remittances from India and maintaining India's creditworthiness

The Commission fixed the rupee at 1s. 6d., above the pre-war 1s. 4d. The Government of India had to pay large sterling sums in London every year (the Home Charges: interest on debt, pensions, stores), and a dearer rupee meant fewer rupees for each pound remitted while keeping India's sterling credit sound.

• ✓ (a) A high rupee-sterling rate cut the rupee cost of the Home Charges and other remittances to Britain, and a firmly held rate reassured holders of India's sterling debt. The Currency Act of 1927 put 1s. 6d. into law.
• ✗ (b) Cheaper imports were a side-effect that mainly helped British goods; Indian business and later the Congress attacked the ratio for giving imports an unfair edge.
• ✗ (c) An over-valued rupee makes Indian goods dearer abroad, so it discouraged exports such as raw cotton rather than encouraging them.

Remember · Hilton-Young Commission (1926): rupee at 1s. 6d. (Currency Act 1927) to ease sterling Home Charges; also recommended a central bank, leading to the RBI in 1935.

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Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Coins in the Pali (Buddhist) texts and the silver punch-marked coins found at many sites both belong to the age of the mahajanapadas (c. sixth century BCE). That age saw the Second Urbanisation of the Ganga valley, and coins came into use because trade was growing, so the evidence speaks to both urban life and a shift to money.

• ✓ 1. Punch-marked coins appear alongside the rise of towns and cities in the Ganga valley (c. 600–500 BCE); coinage was a product of the growing urban trade of this period.
• ✓ 2. Named coins such as the kahapana and actual silver punch-marked coins show exchange moving from barter towards payment in money.

Remember · Sixth century BCE: mahajanapadas, Second Urbanisation in the Ganga valley and the first Indian coins, silver punch-marked coins (kahapana in Pali texts).

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Answer: (b) 2 and 3

A Nagara shikhara is the northern, curving (rekha) tower. The Huchimalligudi at Aihole has a northern rekhanagara tower and the Deogarh temple has an early curvilinear latina shikhara, while the Malegitti Shivalaya and the Virupaksha temple carry southern Dravida towers.

• ✗ 1. The Malegitti Shivalaya on the Badami hill, an early Chalukyan temple, is built of finely jointed stone and topped by a Dravidian tower.
• ✓ 2. The sanctum of the Huchimalligudi at Aihole has a northern-style rekhanagara tower; it is also the temple where a vestibule before the sanctum first appears.
• ✓ 3. The early sixth-century Gupta-period temple at Deogarh (Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh) has a tall curving rekha-prasada shikhara, an early example of the classic Nagara style.
• ✗ 4. The Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal, built by Queen Lokamahadevi (c. 740), is in the southern Dravida style and is the largest temple in the group.

Remember · Chalukyan sites mix styles: Aihole's Huchimalligudi and Durga temples have rekhanagara towers; Badami's Malegitti Shivalaya and Pattadakal's Virupaksha are Dravida.

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Answer: (b) Yaksha (demi-gods)

Jainism holds that an unliberated soul is reborn, according to its karma, in one of four gatis (states): deva (heavenly being), manushya (human), naraka (hell being) and tiryancha (animal or plant). Yaksha is not one of the four; the missing fourth is the hell being.

• ✓ (b) Yaksha is not named among the four gatis. The fourth gati is naraka, birth as a being in the hells.
• ✗ (a) Deva-gati, birth as a heavenly being, is one of the four states.
• ✗ (d) Tiryancha (tiryag-gati) covers animals, plants and earth-, water-, air- and fire-bodied beings, and is one of the four states.

Remember · Jain four gatis: deva (gods), manushya (humans), tiryancha (animals and plants), naraka (hell beings). Only liberation (moksha) ends the cycle.

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Answer: (a) A joyous folk dance

Hallisa (hallisaka) is the old Sanskrit name for a circular dance performed by women under the direction of a man. The Bagh paintings, whose richest decoration NCERT places in Cave 4 (the Rang Mahal), include a lively group of women around a central dancing figure with musicians, a secular scene of celebration rather than a religious icon.

• ✓ (a) The Bagh survey of 1927 describes women standing around a central figure who dances, with musicians playing a hand-drum, wooden sticks and cymbals: a festive folk dance.
• ✗ (b) Bagh's caves are Buddhist viharas, which makes this option tempting, but the Hallisalasya panel is a dance scene, not an image of the Buddha.
• ✗ (c) Shiva and Parvati on Kailasha is a theme of Brahmanical sculpture, not of the Bagh dance panel.

Remember · Bagh Caves (Dhar, Madhya Pradesh): Buddhist viharas; Cave 4 is the Rang Mahal; its dance panel (Hallisaka) shows women around a central figure with musicians.

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Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

The decimal place-value notation was invented and first used in India. In inscriptions it appears first in a late sixth-century charter from Gujarat (AD 594-596 by different reckonings), is found in many dated Indian charters of the eighth and ninth centuries, and had reached South-east Asia by the late seventh century. All three statements are correct.

• ✓ 1. A copper-plate charter from Gujarat dated in the Chhedi (Kalachuri) year 346, that is AD 594-596, is the oldest dated Indian document to write a number in place-value form; the Mankani plates are the grant usually cited for it. Some historians doubt the date, but MacTutor judges it likely genuine.
• ✓ 2. Dated charters using place-value numbers run through the eighth and ninth centuries (AD 737, 753, 793, 815, 837), and the Gwalior inscription of AD 876, which also writes a zero, is the first undisputed one.
• ✓ 3. A Khmer inscription from Cambodia of about AD 680 (Sambor, the number 605 in the Saka era) already writes its number in place-value form with a zero, so place-value numerals were in use in South-east Asian inscriptions in the seventh century.

Remember · Place-value epigraphy: Gujarat charter, AD 594-596 (Chhedi year 346) earliest; charters through the 8th-9th centuries, Gwalior AD 876 undisputed; South-east Asia by about AD 680 (Sambor, Cambodia).

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Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Spindle-whorls in ordinary houses with no spinning wheels point to slow hand-spinning done within the household. Standard weights and graduated scales show precise, mathematical measurement. But large, well-appointed private houses with their own wells and baths show private wealth and inequality, not common property.

• ✓ 1. A spindle-whorl is the weight on a hand spindle. Finding them in homes, with no spinning wheel anywhere, means thread was spun by hand at home, a slow and labour-heavy task.
• ✓ 2. Harappan weights followed a fixed system, binary for small units and decimal for large ones, and scales carried graduations; this reflects real knowledge of measurement and arithmetic.
• ✗ 3. Houses with their own courtyards, wells and bathrooms belonged to individual households. Big houses beside small ones point to private property and social differences, not a common property system.

Remember · Harappan evidence: domestic hand-spinning (spindle-whorls), standard binary-decimal weights, private houses with own bathrooms and wells.

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Answer: (c) The Bardoli Satyagraha was a campaign against the enhancement of land revenue, while the Eka Movement was a protest against excessive extraction of rents.

Bardoli (1928, Surat district, Gujarat) was a no-revenue campaign led by Vallabhbhai Patel against a steep increase in land revenue. The Eka ('unity') Movement of 1921-22 in northern Awadh was a tenants' protest over rents, with demands for cash rents and for resisting any demand above the recorded rent.

• ✓ (c) Bardoli peasants refused to pay the enhanced land revenue; the Eka associations of northern Awadh demanded commutation to cash rents and resisted any demand beyond the recorded rent.
• ✗ (a) It is the other way round: the Eka associations were aided at first by some Congressmen and Khilafatists but soon outgrew those beginnings, while Bardoli was led by Vallabhbhai Patel from the start.
• ✗ (b) The taluqdars were the landlords the Eka tenants were resisting, and Bardoli was a movement of land-owning peasants who paid revenue, not of landless labourers.
• ✗ (d) Eka was centred in northern Awadh, and Bardoli is a taluka of Surat district in mainland Gujarat, not Saurashtra.

Remember · Bardoli 1928: Surat, land revenue, Vallabhbhai Patel ('Sardar'). Eka 1921-22: northern Awadh, rents.

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Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

The two statements are about well irrigation and animal power. The Rigveda knows irrigation from wells, and a long prior use of oxen for ploughing and carts makes it plausible that the same animals worked the wells. Axes and sickles say nothing about wells or draught animals.

• ✓ 1. The Rigveda knows irrigation from wells: the Vedic Heritage Portal (Ministry of Education) notes that Rigveda VII.49.2 lists well water among the kinds of irrigation water. UPSC's official key counts this item as supporting; we could not confirm the water-lifting detail in the item from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
• ✗ 2. Axes (for clearing land) and sickles (for harvesting) are farming tools, but they have no bearing on drawing water from wells or on draught-animal power.
• ✓ 3. Harappan seals and terracottas show the bull, terracotta plough models come from Banawali and Cholistan, and a ploughed field was found at Kalibangan; oxen already served as draught animals before the Rigveda.

Remember · Inference questions: keep only the evidence that bears on the claim. Well irrigation and older ox use support the Rigvedic statements; tool lists do not.

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Answer: (d) 3

River dolphins live only in fresh water and cannot pass from one river system to another through the sea. Finding the same kind of dolphin in both the Indus and the Ganga systems was therefore read as proof that the two systems were once joined, with a tributary such as the Yamuna or the Sutlej changing sides in the Pleistocene.

• ✗ 1. The Nadistuti (Nadi) Sukta is a hymn in praise of the rivers of north-west India. It names the rivers in order but says nothing about Pleistocene river courses.
• ✗ 2. Robert Bruce Foote is known for discovering Palaeolithic tools in South India (Pallavaram, 1863), not for exploring the Sutlej and the Yamuna.
• ✓ 3. A freshwater dolphin common to the Indus and the Ganga systems implies an old connection between them, which is exactly what the assertion claims. The Convention on Migratory Species document proposed by India treats the South Asian river dolphin, Platanista gangetica, as one species spread across rivers in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal (the Indus form being a subspecies).
• • Since then The Indus and Ganges dolphins were long treated as one species; since 2021 scientists list them as two species, Platanista minor and Platanista gangetica (Britannica). The old argument used the single-species view.

Remember · The shared South Asian river dolphin of the Indus and Ganga systems is the classic clue that the two drainages were once linked through a shifting tributary.

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Answer: (a) The meditation of the Buddha

Early Buddhist sculptors did not carve the Buddha in human form; they suggested his presence through symbols. An empty seat stood for his meditation (the seat of enlightenment under the tree), the wheel for his first sermon at Sarnath, and the stupa for his mahaparinibbana.

• ✓ (a) The empty seat marks the place where the Buddha sat in meditation and attained enlightenment.
• ✗ (b) The first sermon at Sarnath was shown by the wheel (dhammachakka), not by an empty seat.
• ✗ (c) The mahaparinibbana, the Buddha's final passing away, was represented by the stupa.

Remember · Aniconic symbols: empty seat = meditation/enlightenment; wheel = first sermon; stupa = mahaparinibbana; horse = the great departure.

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Answer: (c) 3 only

The Rigvedic names of the Punjab rivers are Vitasta (Jhelum), Asikni (Chenab), Parushni (Ravi), Vipasa/Vipash (Beas) and Sutudri/Shutudri (Sutlej). Pairs 1 and 2 are swapped and the Beas was the Vipasa, so only Parushni-Ravi is right.

• ✗ 1. Vitasta is the Jhelum; the Chenab was called Asikni.
• ✗ 2. Asikni is the Chenab; the Jhelum was the Vitasta.
• ✓ 3. Parushni is the Rigvedic name of the Ravi.
• ✗ 4. The Beas was the Vipasa (Sanskrit Vipasha), not Yavyavati.

Remember · Rigvedic Punjab rivers: Vitasta–Jhelum, Asikni–Chenab, Parushni–Ravi, Vipash–Beas, Shutudri–Sutlej.

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Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

Amaravati, on the Krishna in coastal Andhra (the old Vengi region), had a great stupa (mahachaitya) whose lively relief slabs created a style that shaped later sculpture in the Deccan and the south and travelled overseas with Buddhism. It was not a smaller 'runner-up' to Sanchi, so statement 2 fails.

• ✓ 1. Amaravati lies on the Krishna in Andhra Pradesh, among the Vengi stupa sites such as Jaggayyapeta, Bhattiprolu and Nagarjunakonda; the Amaravati school of sculpture flourished in the lower valley of the Krishna and Godavari.
• ✗ 2. NCERT calls the Amaravati stupa one of the largest and most magnificent Buddhist stupas ever built (Britannica gives a diameter of about 50 m), so it was not a smaller 'runner-up' to Sanchi.
• ✓ 3. NCERT notes works that show the influence of the Amaravati style, and Britannica records that the style spread to Sri Lanka (Anuradhapura) and to much of South-east Asia.

Remember · Amaravati stupa: Krishna valley, Andhra (Satavahana–Ikshvaku era); dynamic relief narratives; style spread to the Deccan, Sri Lanka and South-east Asia.

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Answer: (b) 2 only

Udiyanjeral (Udiyan Cheralanathan) was one of the earliest and better known Chera rulers, not a Chola. Senguttuvan, whose younger brother Ilango Adigal wrote the Silappadikaram, was a Chera, and Nedunjeliyan, celebrated by the Sangam poets for his victories over the Cheras and Cholas, was a Pandya. So only pair 2 is wrongly matched.

• ✓ 1. Senguttuvan was a Chera king of the Sangam age; Britannica names him as the son of the Chera king Nedunjeral Adan.
• ✗ 2. Udiyanjeral (Udiyan Cheralanathan) is named as one of the earliest and better known Chera rulers, so he was not a Chola.
• ✓ 3. Britannica lists Nedunjeliyan as a Pandya ruler, celebrated by the Sangam poets as the victor in campaigns against the Cheras and the Cholas.

Remember · Sangam kings: Chera - Udiyanjeral, Nedunjeral Adan, Senguttuvan; Pandya - Nedunjeliyan.

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Answer: (b) 1, 2 and 4

Bose won the 1939 Congress presidency against Gandhi's candidate, Pattabhi Sitaramayya, but could not work with the Gandhian leadership after the Tripuri session (the Pant resolution) and resigned. The Left did not rally behind him either: the Congress Socialist Party was divided and its majority stayed neutral. Isolated, he launched the Forward Bloc to unify the more radical elements.

• ✓ 1. Gandhi took Sitaramayya's defeat as his own, and at Tripuri the Pant resolution required Bose to choose his Working Committee in consultation with Gandhi; Bose resigned.
• ✓ 2. The Left did not act as one group at Tripuri; the Congress Socialist Party was divided over supporting Bose and its majority stayed neutral, leaving him without a united Left behind him.
• ✗ 3. UPSC's official key treats this statement as incorrect; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
• ✓ 4. UPSC's official key treats this statement as correct; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.

Remember · 1939: Bose beat Gandhi's nominee Pattabhi Sitaramayya, resigned over the Pant resolution at Tripuri, and founded the Forward Bloc to unify radical elements.

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Answer: (a) 2 and 3 only

The British would not tolerate the taluqdars' armed power: right after annexation they were disarmed and their forts pulled down, so statement 1 is wrong. The Summary Settlement of 1856 treated the taluqdars as interlopers and removed them wherever it could, aiming to settle land directly with those who tilled it.

• ✗ 1. The taluqdars were not left their arms and forts; they were disarmed and their forts destroyed immediately after annexation.
• ✓ 2. The first British revenue settlement, the Summary Settlement of 1856, assumed the taluqdars were interlopers who had seized land by force and fraud, with no lasting stake in it.
• ✓ 3. Revenue officers expected that removing the taluqdars would let them settle land with the actual owners of the soil, cutting exploitation of peasants while raising the state's revenue.

Remember · Awadh 1856: taluqdars disarmed, forts destroyed; Summary Settlement called them interlopers and cut their share of villages from 67 to 38 per cent.

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Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

All three statements explain why the 1919 reforms pushed politics along community lines. They kept the Muslim separate electorates of 1909 and widened them to other communities, the British hoped such formulas would undercut the Congress claim to speak for a united nationalist movement, and groups that gained reserved seats organised around those benefits.

• ✓ 1. The Government of India Act, 1919 kept separate electorates for Muslims and extended them to other communities, such as the Sikhs and Christians, earmarking constituencies by community.
• ✓ 2. Britannica notes that the British hoped these elaborate minority formulas would win minority support and undermine the Congress claim to speak for a united nationalist movement.
• ✓ 3. The separate electoral system was expanded for Sikhs in Punjab, non-Brahmins in Madras and Marathas in Bombay; once seats were tied to community, groups that stood to gain organised politically as communities to claim those benefits.

Remember · Separate electorates: Muslims 1909 (Minto-Morley); expanded to Sikhs, Christians and others in 1919; separate electorates for the Depressed Classes were the issue of the Round Table Conferences.

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Answer: (d) Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana

Mallikarjun Mansur of Dharwad was a Hindustani classical singer of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. Manji Khan, the eldest son of Alladiya Khan, who founded that gharana, took him as a pupil.

• ✓ (d) The Dharwad district's own account records that Manji Khan, eldest son of Alladiya Khan, the founder of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, took Mansur under his wings; The Hindu also calls him an artiste of the Atrauli gharana.
• ✗ (b) Mansur is not placed in the Gwalior gharana: the decisive training in the official account comes from Manji Khan of the Jaipur-Atrauli line.
• ✗ (a) Nothing in the official account links Mansur with the Agra gharana; his guru belonged to the Jaipur-Atrauli line.

Remember · Jaipur-Atrauli gharana (founder Alladiya Khan): Mallikarjun Mansur of Dharwad learnt from Alladiya Khan's son Manji Khan.

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Answer: (b) Atharvaveda

The feminine kshetrasya patni, the 'mistress' of the field, is invoked in the Atharvaveda (Book 2, hymn 12), alongside heaven, earth and the atmosphere. The Rigveda's farming hymn (Book 4, hymn 57) praises the masculine Kshetrapati, the 'lord of the field'.

• ✓ (b) Atharvaveda 2.12.1 names the 'mistress of the field' among the powers called upon, alongside heaven-and-earth and the wide atmosphere.
• ✗ (a) Rigveda 4.57 is the Rigvedic farming hymn; the Vedic Heritage Portal describes the 'lord of the field' (Kshetrasya pati) as the presiding deity of the field, so the masculine form belongs here and not the feminine kshetra-patni.
• ✗ (d) The Arthashastra is a later treatise on statecraft, not a Vedic hymn text invoking the deity of the field.

Remember · Kshetrapati (lord of the field) - Rigveda 4.57; kshetra-patni (mistress of the field) - Atharvaveda 2.12.1.

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Answer: (b) 1 and 2

India's LT-LEDS (submitted to the UNFCCC in November 2022) lays out a gradual, long-horizon path to net-zero by 2070, and BUR-4 reported that national emissions in 2020 fell 7.93 per cent from 2019, which is data consistent with that path. Statement III's stress on quick, short-term targets runs against the long-term logic of statement I, so the two cannot together form a premise of long-term sustainability.

• ✓ 1. BUR-4 records that total GHG emissions including LULUCF fell by 7.93 per cent in 2020 over 2019, a measured figure that gives empirical backing to the net-zero pathway of statement I (though the 2020 fall was partly due to the pandemic).
• ✓ 2. The LT-LEDS works toward 2070 through low-carbon development 'in accordance with national circumstances', a long-term, phased approach; insisting on quick short-term cuts contradicts it.
• ✗ 3. Because statement III is at odds with statement I, the two cannot jointly establish a premise of long-term sustainability.

Remember · LT-LEDS (Nov 2022, COP27): pathway to net-zero by 2070. BUR-4 (Dec 2024): 2020 emissions 2,437 MtCO2e with LULUCF, down 7.93% from 2019.

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Answer: (b) 1 and 2

The western hoolock gibbon, India's only ape, is assessed as Endangered by the IUCN, and Assam's Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Jorhat is named after it. Gibbons are expert brachiators that swing arm over arm through the canopy, but they are small, light apes, not heavily built like gorillas.

• ✓ 1. Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary (about 21 sq km, Jorhat district, Assam) is named after the hoolock gibbon; the western hoolock (Hoolock hoolock) is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
• ✓ 2. Gibbons have very long forearms and move mainly by brachiation, swinging from branch to branch and covering more than 3 m in a single swing.
• ✗ 3. Gibbons are the lightest apes, weighing roughly 4–13 kg; the agility comes from a slender, light build, not a heavy gorilla-like body.

Remember · Western hoolock gibbon: India's only ape, IUCN Endangered, Schedule I; Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Jorhat (Assam); moves by brachiation.

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Answer: (d) 3 only

Mangroves are salt-tolerant forests of tidal creeks and estuaries that absorb the force of storm surges and tsunami waves while supplying fuelwood, fish and other products to coastal people. They are neither freshwater stores for paddy nor salt-sensitive filters for freshwater fish farming; clearing them for such uses actually weakens coastal resilience.

• ✗ 1. Mangroves grow in saline tidal water and do not store freshwater; converting them to paddy fields removes the very buffer that protects the coast.
• ✗ 2. Mangrove species are salt-tolerant, not salt-sensitive, and their value lies in standing forest, not in turning coasts into freshwater aquaculture ponds.
• ✓ 3. Along with beaches and dunes, mangroves absorb the destructive force of storm and tsunami waves, and they provide wood, fuel and fisheries that support coastal livelihoods.

Remember · Mangroves: salt-tolerant tidal forests; natural bio-shields against cyclones and tsunamis, carbon sinks and livelihood sources. India has about 4,992 sq km of mangroves.

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Answer: (d) 3 only

Vizhinjam, near Thiruvananthapuram, is a deepwater, multipurpose international seaport that serves as a transshipment hub and a direct gateway for EXIM cargo. Deep water close to shore, minimal dredging and a site about 10 nautical miles from the East-West shipping corridor let it act as a hub in India, so cargo that would otherwise be transshipped at foreign hub ports can be handled at home.

• ✓ 3. Its natural depth with minimal dredging and its closeness to the international East-West route make it a transshipment hub and EXIM gateway in India, which is how it reduces reliance on foreign hub ports.
• ✗ 1. It is an international transshipment hub and EXIM gateway, not a purely domestic hub, and it is built on a landlord-port PPP (DBFOT) with a private operator, Adani Vizhinjam Port.
• ✗ 2. It is a transshipment, EXIM, multipurpose and break-bulk port; cruise tourism and heritage shipping are not its purpose.

Remember · Vizhinjam (Kerala): deepwater multipurpose international seaport, about 10 nautical miles from the East-West shipping corridor; transshipment hub and EXIM gateway; landlord model with PPP (DBFOT).

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Answer: (c) Sutlej

The Sutlej (Satluj) rises near Mansarovar in Tibet, cuts across the Himalaya at Shipki La as an antecedent river, and feeds the Bhakra Nangal canals. It flows through China, India and Pakistan and ends as a tributary, merging into the Panjnad that joins the Indus, so it forms no delta or distributaries of its own.

• ✓ (c) All four clues fit: antecedent gorge across the Himalaya, three countries (China, India, Pakistan), a Tibetan source with major irrigation use, and a tributary that ends in another river rather than building distributaries.
• ✗ (b) The Indus is also antecedent and Tibetan, but it ends in a large delta on the Arabian Sea with several distributaries.
• ✗ (a) The Brahmaputra flows through China, India and Bangladesh but splits into many channels in the Ganga–Brahmaputra delta.

Remember · Satluj: rises at Rakas Tal near Mansarovar (Langchen Khambab), crosses Shipki La, antecedent; feeds Bhakra Nangal; joins the Indus via the Panjnad.

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Answer: (c) 2 and 3

UPSC's key treats statements 2 and 3 as wrong. West Bengal's border with Bangladesh alone is 2,216.7 km (plus borders with Nepal and Bhutan), and Sikkim is not alone in touching a single State: Meghalaya borders only Assam. Uttar Pradesh touches many States (and Delhi), more than any other State.

• ✓ 1. Uttar Pradesh borders many States and Delhi (Britannica lists Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi), more than any other State.
• ✗ 2. UPSC's official key treats this as incorrect. West Bengal's stretch of the India-Bangladesh border alone is 2,216.7 km; we could not confirm Rajasthan's own border length from an official source, so we do not state it.
• ✗ 3. Sikkim touches only West Bengal among Indian States, but Meghalaya likewise touches only Assam, so Sikkim is not the only such State.

Remember · Longest international border: West Bengal (Bangladesh 2,216.7 km + Nepal + Bhutan). Most neighbouring States: Uttar Pradesh. One-neighbour States: Sikkim (West Bengal), Meghalaya (Assam).

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Answer: (a) 1 only

Amur Falcons stop over in the Doyang area of Wokha district for about a month each October–November on their long migration to southern Africa. Mass hunting in 2012 gave way to protection by villagers, churches, youth groups and the forest department, which is why the roost now thrives. Satellite tags only record their routes; they do not guide the birds, and the falcons do not stay in India.

• ✓ 1. After the 2012 slaughter, local communities around Pangti and Doyang turned protectors, enforcing hunting bans; the safe roost is the product of that sustained community effort.
• ✗ 2. Satellite tagging (from 2013) was used to study the falcons' routes; migratory birds navigate on their own, and tags play no part in guiding them back.
• ✗ 3. The falcons are passage migrants: they spend about a month in Nagaland and then continue to southern Africa, so they have not become permanent residents.

Remember · Amur Falcon: breeds in Siberia–China–Mongolia, stops over in Nagaland (Pangti, Doyang, Wokha) in Oct–Nov, winters in southern Africa; a community-conservation success after 2012.

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Answer: (d) 3 only

RAD is the NMSA component for rainfed areas. It takes an area-based, 'watershed plus' approach and promotes integrated farming systems that combine crops with horticulture, livestock, fisheries and forestry, so that farm incomes rise and the risk from erratic rainfall is spread. It works against monoculture and has nothing to do with irrigated rice.

• ✗ 1. RAD pushes diversification by integrating several farm enterprises; monoculture would increase, not reduce, the climate risk in rainfed areas.
• ✗ 2. RAD is meant for rainfed areas; expanding rice in irrigated regions is outside its scope.
• ✓ 3. RAD introduces integrated farming systems with crops, horticulture, livestock, fishery and forestry, plus soil-health-based nutrient management, to raise productivity and cushion climatic risk.

Remember · NMSA (one of 8 NAPCC missions) components: RAD, Soil Health Management, Sub-Mission on Agroforestry, National Bamboo Mission, CCSAMMN. RAD = integrated farming in a 'watershed plus' framework.

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Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

The Oeko-Tex certification is an international standard under which textiles are tested for harmful substances and produced in environment-friendly conditions. Its award to Eri silk, the 'peace silk' of the North-East, helps it reach premium, eco-conscious export markets. Both statements describe that effect.

• ✓ 1. PIB calls the certification a pivotal step in bringing Eri Silk closer to the global export market, which is how Indian exporters reach buyers who want textiles tested for harmful substances.
• ✓ 2. The Oeko-Tex standard ensures textiles are tested for harmful substances and produced in environment-friendly conditions, so PIB calls it a significant endorsement that positions Eri Silk as a globally recognised, sustainable textile.

Remember · Eri (Endi) silk: multivoltine silk of open-ended cocoons, mainly in Assam and the North-East; Oeko-Tex = tested for harmful substances, eco-friendly production. NEHHDC obtained it in August 2024.

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Answer: (b) 1 and 3

The Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, is the only sea exit from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Bahrain and Qatar have coasts only on the Persian Gulf, so their ships must pass through it. Syria and Egypt lie on the Mediterranean (and Egypt also on the Red Sea), so they reach the Indian Ocean via Suez and Bab-el-Mandeb instead.

• ✓ 1. Bahrain is an island state inside the Persian Gulf, so every voyage to the Indian Ocean passes through Hormuz.
• ✗ 2. Syria's coast is on the Mediterranean; its ships reach the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.
• ✓ 3. Qatar is a peninsula on the western shore of the Persian Gulf; its LNG and oil exports leave through Hormuz.
• ✗ 4. Egypt has Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, so its ships sail down the Red Sea and out through Bab-el-Mandeb.

Remember · Persian Gulf states needing Hormuz: Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar (plus most of Saudi, UAE and Iranian ports). Red Sea exit = Bab-el-Mandeb.

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Answer: (a) Ecuador

Tungurahua is an active stratovolcano in the Ecuadorian Andes, near the town of Baños. UNESCO designated the Tungurahua Volcano UNESCO Global Geopark, covering about 239,700 hectares, in 2025, with Ecuador as the country.

• ✓ (a) UNESCO lists the geopark as located in the Ecuadorian Andes, designated in 2025, country Ecuador.
• ✗ (b) Peru's volcanic landmarks such as Misti and Sabancaya lie in the southern Andes; Tungurahua is not among them.
• ✗ (d) Colombia's active volcanoes include Nevado del Ruiz and Galeras; Tungurahua lies south of the border, in central Ecuador.

Remember · Tungurahua ('throat of fire'): active volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes; UNESCO Global Geopark since 2025, next to Sangay and Llanganates National Parks.

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Answer: (b) 1 and 2

Madhav National Park, near Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh, became Madhav Tiger Reserve in 2025, and Sakhya Sagar, a Ramsar site since 2022, lies inside it. The park is wholly in Madhya Pradesh, so the claim of a share with Rajasthan is wrong.

• ✓ 1. In March 2025 the Prime Minister announced Madhav Tiger Reserve as the country's 58th and Madhya Pradesh's 9th tiger reserve.
• ✓ 2. Sakhya Sagar, a man-made reservoir in the core zone of the reserve, was designated a Ramsar site in July 2022 and is a wetland of Madhya Pradesh.
• ✗ 3. The park lies in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh. It is not a transboundary area and no part of it is in Rajasthan.

Remember · Madhav Tiger Reserve (Shivpuri, MP): 58th in India, 9th in MP, announced March 2025. Sakhya Sagar, a Ramsar site since 2022, lies inside it. All within Madhya Pradesh.

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Answer: (b) 1 and 2

The Andaman and Nicobar Administration's own statistics describe a humid, tropical, coastal climate, with rain from both the south-west and the north-east monsoons. The maximum rainfall is from May to December, so the wettest period is not December to May.

• ✓ 1. The Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration says the climate of the islands can be defined as humid, tropical and coastal; the Forest Department also describes a hot, humid climate with abundant rains.
• ✓ 2. The islands get rain from both monsoons: the south-west monsoon from mid-May to the end of September and the north-east monsoon from November to January, according to the Administration's meteorological statistics.
• ✗ 3. The Administration's statistics put the maximum rainfall between May and December, which is the opposite of December to May.

Remember · Andaman and Nicobar: humid, tropical, coastal climate; rain from both south-west and north-east monsoons; maximum rainfall May to December (about 3,000 mm a year).

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Answer: (b) 1 and 2

The Peninsular Block is an ancient, rigid landmass whose western edge has partly sunk beneath the sea and whose hills are old, worn-down remnants such as the Veliconda and Mahendragiri ranges. Its river valleys are shallow, so deep V-shaped valleys belong instead to the young Himalayan mountains.

• ✓ 1. NCERT describes the Peninsula as a rigid block since the Cambrian, except for part of its western coast that lies submerged beneath the sea, with other parts altered by tectonic activity.
• ✓ 2. The Peninsula mostly consists of relict and residual mountains, and NCERT lists the Veliconda hills and the Mahendragiri hills among them.
• ✗ 3. Peninsular river valleys are shallow with low gradients. Gorges and V-shaped valleys are marks of the young, fast-flowing rivers of the Himalayan mountains.

Remember · Peninsular Block: ancient rigid block, submerged western coast, relict and residual hills (Aravali, Nallamala, Veliconda, Mahendragiri), shallow valleys. V-shaped valleys are Himalayan.

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Answer: (b) 1 and 2

Take the three statements as given and ask how they connect. Statement II reports results showing the port-led approach in statement I is working, and statement III continues the programme in its newer phase, so relationships 1 and 2 hold. Statement I does not contradict III, so relationship 3 fails.

• ✓ 1. Statement II gives outcomes for the strategy in statement I. Official figures show coastal shipping cargo nearly doubling from 87 to 165 million tonnes, and 9 Indian ports among the world's top 100.
• ✓ 2. Sagarmala 2.0 is the programme's next phase, with an outlay of Rs 85,482 crore. It carries forward the port-led goals of statement I, which is an extension and not a change of direction.
• ✗ 3. Statement I is not limited to traditional infrastructure: the programme focuses on cutting logistics costs through smarter, greener transport networks. I and III are complementary, so there is no contradiction.

Remember · Sagarmala: port-led development to cut logistics costs and boost trade; Sagarmala 2.0 (outlay Rs 85,482 crore) is its next phase. Check whether statements support, extend or contradict.

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Answer: (b) 1 and 3

The foxtail orchid grows perched on trees rather than in soil, and it is the State flower of Arunachal Pradesh and of Assam. It is not a North-east endemic, because the species ranges across South and South-east Asia.

• ✓ 1. The Botanical Survey of India describes Rhynchostylis retusa as an epiphytic herb: it lives on the branches of host trees. NCERT gives an orchid growing on a mango branch as its standard example of an epiphyte.
• ✗ 2. The Botanical Survey of India gives its range as India, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, so it is not restricted to North-east India.
• ✓ 3. Arunachal Pradesh's official state profile lists the Foxtail Orchid as its State Flower, and the Botanical Survey of India's State Flower sheet for Assam names the same orchid (kopou phul) as Assam's State Flower.

Remember · Foxtail orchid (Rhynchostylis retusa): an epiphyte; State flower of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam; widespread in Asia, not a North-east endemic.

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Answer: (c) 3 only

The Moidams of Charaideo in Assam are the mound-burial system of the Tai-Ahom dynasty. They are burial mounds for Ahom kings, queens and nobles, so only the statement about burial grounds is correct.

• ✗ 1. The Moidams were not fortresses. They are burial mounds, and Charaideo served as the Ahom royal necropolis.
• ✗ 2. They were places of burial and ancestor reverence, not recreation centres. The name itself comes from a Tai phrase linked to burying the dead and the spirit of the deceased.
• ✓ 3. The Moidams are burial mounds constructed for Ahom kings, queens and nobles.
• ✗ 4. They served as tombs, not as places for battle drills or military training.

Remember · Moidams of Charaideo, Assam: burial mounds of Ahom kings, queens and nobles; mound-burial system of the Ahom dynasty, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2024.

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Answer: (b) Better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life

FAO's Blue Transformation Roadmap is built around the 'four betters': better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life. Option (b) is the only one that lists all four correctly.

• ✗ (a) 'Better ocean' is not one of the four betters; the fourth is a better life.
• ✓ (b) Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life are the four betters that FAO links to the Blue Transformation Roadmap.
• ✗ (c) 'Better coral reefs' replaces better production, which is the first of the four betters.
• ✗ (d) Better estuaries and better mangrove vegetation are not among the four betters, which are about production, nutrition, environment and life.

Remember · FAO's Blue Transformation Roadmap: the four betters are better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life.

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Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

Lake Turkana is the world's largest desert lake and a UNESCO World Heritage property nicknamed the Jade Sea for its colour. It lies in the Rift Valley of northern Kenya, reaching up to the Ethiopian border, not in South Sudan.

• ✓ 1. UNESCO describes Lake Turkana as the largest desert lake in the world and the most saline lake in East Africa.
• ✗ 2. The lake is in Kenya, in the Rift Valley, and extends north to the Ethiopian border. South Sudan is not involved, and it is not a Sahara-fringe lake.
• ✓ 3. Lake Turkana National Parks, in Kenya, were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997. UNESCO notes the lake is fondly called the Jade Sea because of its colour.

Remember · Lake Turkana (Kenya, Rift Valley, to the Ethiopian border): largest desert lake in the world; Lake Turkana National Parks inscribed by UNESCO in 1997; called the Jade Sea.

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Answer: (c) Khasi Hills Community REDD+ project

The Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project in East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, is the project the Plan Vivo Foundation describes as India's first community-based REDD+ programme. It began in 2011 and is run with community groups and certified under Plan Vivo.

• ✓ (c) Plan Vivo's own project page calls the Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project India's first community-based REDD+ programme. It protects and restores 27,000 ha of cloud forest in East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, with 86 community groups taking part.
• ✗ (d) Plan Vivo, the certifying body, gives the 'India's first' description to the Khasi Hills project, so another project, including Sikkim Mamley Kamrang, cannot carry it.
• ✗ (a) Plan Vivo describes the Meghalaya project (option c) as India's first community-based REDD+ programme, so the Uttarakhand project is not the first.

Remember · Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project (East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya): India's first community-based REDD+ programme, started 2011 and certified under Plan Vivo.

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Answer: (c) 1 and 2 only

Genetic medicines work at the level of a faulty gene: they supply a working copy, replace the defective gene or give cells instructions. They need a carrier to get into cells, and engineered viruses and lipid bubbles are the usual ones. They do not rewrite the whole DNA sequence.

• ✓ 1. Gene therapy delivers a normal gene to take over the work of, and compensate for, a non-functional gene. Adding a healthy copy or replacing a defective gene is the standard approach.
• ✓ 2. Viral vectors are the classic carrier: NCERT's example uses a retroviral vector to put a working gene into a patient's lymphocytes. Lipid or fat bubbles are the other carrier, as in mRNA vaccines, where they surround the mRNA.
• ✗ 3. Genetic medicines target a gene or its message, not the whole DNA sequence. Gene therapy adds or replaces a defective gene, and a synthetic mRNA cannot alter DNA at all.

Remember · Genetic medicine (gene therapy, mRNA medicines): fixes or compensates for a faulty gene, using carriers such as engineered viruses or lipid nanoparticles. It never rewrites the whole genome.

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Answer: (b) 1 and 2 only

An LLM is a statistical text predictor: it scores possible next words by likelihood and produces the most probable continuation, and it is built by training that tunes its parameters to reduce prediction error. Because it learns from human-written text, it inherits that text's biases, so its outputs are not unbiased.

• ✓ 1. An LLM works out how likely each possible next word (token) is and generates the most probable continuation; NIST describes LLMs as predicting the next token or word in a sentence or phrase.
• ✓ 2. Training adjusts the model's parameters so that its errors against an objective on the training text become as small as possible; NIST defines the training stage as one in which a model learns parameters that minimize its error against an objective function.
• ✗ 3. LLMs learn from human-written data, and NIST warns that bias becomes ingrained in automated systems, including generative AI. A UNESCO study found LLMs producing gender bias, homophobia and racial stereotyping.

Remember · LLMs predict the most probable next words and are trained by optimisation to cut prediction error. They inherit bias from training data, so outputs are never automatically unbiased.

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Answer: (c) 1 and 2 only

Stealth technology aims to make an aircraft or ship nearly invisible to radar by shaping it and coating it with materials that absorb radar, so it sends back a very small echo. Coatings are meant to cut the returned signal, not to increase scattering.

• ✓ 1. Stealth designs aim for a very small radar cross-section, and radar-absorbing materials are a standard part of it. The B-2's stealth features include radar-absorbing materials, and its radar cross-section is reported to be like that of a small bird.
• ✓ 2. UPSC's official key treats this statement as correct; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
• ✗ 3. Britannica notes that surface materials and coatings are used to absorb radar transmissions and reduce reflections to the enemy's radar receiver. Increasing scattering would make the object easier to detect, which defeats the purpose.

Remember · Stealth = very small radar cross-section using shaping and radar-absorbing coatings; coatings reduce, never increase, the radar echo.

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Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

A black box holds the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, and it is built from tough materials such as steel and titanium. Its locating aid at sea is an underwater beacon that sends an acoustic signal at 37.5 kHz, not red light.

• ✗ 1. The underwater locator beacon on flight recorders is a 'pinger' that sends an acoustic (sound) signal at 37.5 kHz once it is immersed in water. It is not a red-light beacon.
• ✓ 2. A flight recorder combines a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder. The Air India AI171 investigation describes recorders that store digital flight data and cockpit voice on the same device.
• ✓ 3. DD News (Prasar Bharati), reporting on the Air India AI171 recorders, says the device is constructed from highly durable materials like steel and titanium, so the memory units are made of stainless steel or titanium.

Remember · Black box: records flight data and cockpit voice; built from durable steel or titanium; its underwater locator beacon sends a 37.5 kHz acoustic signal, not light.

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Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

Green hydrogen is made by splitting water with electricity from renewable sources. Hydrogen made from natural gas or coal with carbon capture is a different colour, blue hydrogen. The National Green Hydrogen Mission does list nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas abatement among its targets.

• ✗ 1. Hydrogen from natural gas or coal combined with carbon capture (CCS/CCU) is blue hydrogen, not green.
• ✓ 2. Electrolysis of water run on renewable electricity is the definition of green hydrogen; its carbon intensity depends on how clean the power is.
• ✓ 3. The Mission's stated outcomes for 2030 include abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions, alongside 5 MMT a year of green hydrogen capacity.

Remember · Green = electrolysis + renewable power. Blue = fossil gas/coal + carbon capture. Grey = fossil gas/coal without capture. NGHM 2030: 5 MMT/yr, about 50 MMT emissions abated.

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Answer: (c) 1 and 2 only

IN-SPACe is the autonomous single-window agency that authorises and promotes private space activity, and Agnikul's Agnibaan SOrTeD (May 2024) was the first flight with a single-piece 3D-printed engine. Skyroot Aerospace is known for its own Vikram launch vehicles; no official record shows it developing liquid fuel for GSLV, which is an ISRO rocket.

• ✓ 1. IN-SPACe acts as an autonomous single-window agency to authorise and promote space activities by government entities and non-government entities.
• ✓ 2. Agnikul's Agnibaan SOrTeD, launched from Sriharikota on 30 May 2024, was the world's first rocket flight with a single-piece 3D-printed engine.
• ✗ 3. Skyroot Aerospace's own work is the Vikram series of launch vehicles; GSLV is ISRO's vehicle, and we found no official statement that Skyroot developed fuel for it.

Remember · IN-SPACe = single-window regulator and promoter for private space. Agnikul: first flight with a single-piece 3D-printed engine (2024). Skyroot: Vikram rockets, India's first private orbital vehicle.

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Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

A drone swarm is a large group of small unmanned systems that work together on a mission, and GPS spoofing is one of the recognised counter-UAS techniques.

• ✗ 1. UPSC's official key treats this statement as incorrect; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
• ✓ 2. A swarm is a group of drones that act together on one mission (PIB, DARPA). UPSC's official key treats the statement as correct; we could not confirm the rest of the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
• ✓ 3. The NATO Science and Technology Organization lists GPS spoofing, with RF jamming, high-power lasers, EMP and projectile guns, among counter-UAS measures against small UAVs.

Remember · Swarm = many drones acting together on a mission. Counter-drone tools: RF jamming, GPS spoofing, lasers, EMP, projectile guns.

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Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

GenomeIndia is India's own national genomics project, funded by the Department of Biotechnology, and its main goal is a catalogue of genetic variation across the Indian population. It is not a component of the Human Genome Project, which was a separate international effort completed in 2003.

• ✗ 1. The Human Genome Project was an international effort carried out from 1990 to 2003. GenomeIndia is a separate national initiative of 20 Indian institutions, not a part of it.
• ✓ 2. GenomeIndia is funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
• ✓ 3. Its primary objective is a comprehensive catalogue of genetic variations reflecting the diversity of the Indian population; whole-genome sequencing of 10,000 samples has been completed towards it.

Remember · GenomeIndia = DBT-funded national project cataloguing Indian genetic variation; data released January 2025 through the Indian Biological Data Centre. Not part of the 1990–2003 Human Genome Project.

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Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Both statements match the Cabinet-approved design of the National Quantum Mission: quantum computers of 50–1000 physical qubits within eight years, and four Thematic Hubs at leading academic and national R&D institutes.

• ✓ 1. The Mission targets intermediate-scale quantum computers with 50–1000 physical qubits in 8 years, on platforms such as superconducting and photonic technology.
• ✓ 2. Four T-Hubs are to be set up in top academic and national R&D institutes: quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing and metrology, and quantum materials and devices.

Remember · NQM (2023, eight years): 50–1000 qubit machines; four T-Hubs (computing, communication, sensing & metrology, materials & devices); run by the Department of Science and Technology.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

The Deep Ocean Mission belongs to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, not the Ports ministry. Samudrayaan is its manned-submersible project, and the submersible Matsya-6000 carries three people.

• ✗ 1. The Deep Ocean Mission was launched on 7 September 2021 by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), not the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
• ✓ 2. Matsya-6000 is a self-propelled manned submersible designed to carry three people to depths of up to 6,000 metres.
• ✓ 3. Samudrayaan was launched under the umbrella of the Deep Ocean Mission as its first component, deep-sea exploration with a manned submersible.

Remember · Deep Ocean Mission: Ministry of Earth Sciences, launched 2021. Samudrayaan = manned submersible project; Matsya-6000 carries 3 people to 6,000 m (built by NIOT).

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Answer: (c) Accountability

Mr. X answered for the quality of a public programme he oversaw. He escalated the provider's lapse to the vigilance authority and stopped the contract despite pressure, which is accountability: officials being answerable to citizens and acting on failures in the services they run.

• ✓ (c) He took responsibility for the programme's outcome, held the private provider answerable by reporting it and halting the contract, and put citizens' interest above vested interests.
• ✗ (b) Equity concerns fair and impartial treatment of people or groups. The case is not about how vaccines were shared among citizens but about an officer answering for a failure.
• ✗ (d) Delegation means passing authority or tasks down to subordinates. Nothing in Mr. X's actions involves handing over authority.

Remember · Accountability: public officials answer to citizens for how public duties are carried out, and they act on lapses, including by contractors, rather than overlook them.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 10 Democratic Politics – II, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1, 3 and 4 only

The task is to mediate and balance three legitimate interests, so steps that listen, bring all sides together and put shared evidence on the table help, while a decision that dismisses one side does not. Statements 1, 3 and 4 do this; statement 2 overrides the tribal community's concerns and is likely to deepen the conflict.

• ✓ 1. Starting with the tribal community's cultural and religious concerns shows respect, lowers tension and makes it possible to discuss technical alternatives afterwards.
• ✗ 2. Public health is among the State's primary duties (Article 47), but the State must equally protect the environment (Article 48A) and look to the welfare of Scheduled Tribes (Fifth Schedule); treating one group's view as automatically outweighing another's ignores the balance the task asks for.
• ✓ 3. A platform with tribal leaders, environmental experts and municipal representatives brings all interests to one table and helps reduce tension.
• ✓ 4. An independent impact assessment shared openly with both sides gives them common facts, so the decision can rest on evidence rather than on rival claims.

Remember · In conflict cases, choose steps that listen to every side, share facts openly and balance rights and needs. Reject options that override one party or rush ahead.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 3 only

The information is confidential and unproven. Ms. X should not bury it, as Mr. Y suggests, but she should also not act on it in public. Passing it to an oversight committee keeps the process transparent to an accountable body and lets the allegations be checked before anyone is named or removed.

• ✗ 1. Telling the public at once about allegations that have not been proven can damage the contractor unfairly and may expose the confidential source, before anyone has checked the facts.
• ✗ 2. Removing a contractor from the shortlist on unproven allegations, without an inquiry or a chance to respond, would be arbitrary and could be challenged.
• ✓ 3. A limited disclosure to an oversight committee avoids concealment, lets the claims be verified and the tender decision be taken on facts, and holds back public disclosure until there is something to disclose.

Remember · With confidential, unproven allegations: do not suppress them and do not act on them alone. Refer them to the proper oversight body for verification, then decide.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 Democratic Politics – II, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) The view of only ‘Y’ is correct.

Article 13(3)(a) defines 'law' to include ordinances, orders, rules, regulations and notifications, and also custom or usage having the force of law in India. So X was right about what 'law' covers but wrong to doubt that custom is included; only Y's view is correct.

• ✗ (a) X's list is right as far as it goes, but he is wrong to leave out custom or usage, which Article 13(3)(a) expressly includes.
• ✗ (b) Y's view is exactly what Article 13(3)(a) says, so it cannot be called incorrect.
• ✗ (c) X's doubt about custom or usage is not sustained, so both cannot be correct.
• ✓ (d) Only Y is correct: the definition covers ordinances, orders, bye-laws, rules, regulations, notifications and custom or usage having the force of law.

Remember · Art 13(3)(a): 'law' = ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification, custom or usage with the force of law. Any such 'law' that violates a Fundamental Right is void.

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Answer: (b) There is no correct statement.

Each statement denies that a particular Article exists, and each is wrong. Article 393 gives the short title, Article 394 fixes 26 January 1950 as the commencement date, and Article 395 repeals the two 1947 and 1935 Acts.

• ✗ 1. Article 393 says: 'This Constitution may be called the Constitution of India.'
• ✗ 2. Article 395 repeals the Indian Independence Act, 1947 and the Government of India Act, 1935 (with enactments amending or supplementing the latter).
• ✗ 3. Article 394 says the remaining provisions came into force on 26 January 1950, which it calls the commencement of the Constitution.

Remember · Part XXII (Arts 393–395): 393 short title; 394 commencement (26 Jan 1950); 395 repeals the Indian Independence Act 1947 and the Government of India Act 1935.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 2 only

Only the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan statement is correct. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was enacted in 2016, not 2018, and the disability finance corporation was set up by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, not the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

• ✗ 1. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was enacted in 2016 and came into force in April 2017. The description of its contents is right, but the year 2018 is wrong.
• ✓ 2. The Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) provides accessibility features in three verticals: the built-up environment, the transportation sector and the ICT ecosystem.
• ✗ 3. The corporation (earlier called the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation) was set up by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 1997 as a not-for-profit company under the Companies Act; the Ministry of Corporate Affairs did not set it up.

Remember · RPwD Act = 2016 (in force April 2017). Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan (Dec 2015): built environment, transport, ICT. NDFDC belongs to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (DEPwD).

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Answer: (a) There are two correct statements, that include statement 2.

Statements 2 and 3 are correct. The tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram fall under the Sixth Schedule, not the Fifth, so statement 1 is wrong. The Constitution reserves at least one-third of the SC and ST seats in Panchayats for women of those groups, and members of Scheduled Tribes living in specified north-eastern areas are exempt from income tax on income from those areas.

• ✗ 1. Article 244(1) applies the Fifth Schedule to Scheduled Areas in every State other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram; Article 244(2) gives those four States' tribal areas the Sixth Schedule.
• ✓ 2. Members of Scheduled Tribes living in specified north-eastern areas pay no income tax on income arising in those areas, so some tribes do have an exemption on certain incomes.
• ✓ 3. Article 243D(2) reserves not less than one-third of the seats reserved for SCs and STs in a Panchayat for women of those groups; NCERT puts this at 17 per cent of all seats.
• • Since then The Income-tax Act, 2025 has since been enacted and carries the same exemption for Scheduled Tribe members in its Schedule III, in place of section 10(26) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Remember · Fifth Schedule = Scheduled Areas in most States; Sixth Schedule = tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram (Art 244). Panchayats: one-third of SC/ST seats go to SC/ST women (Art 243D).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Social Change and Development in India, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) There is only one correct statement.

Statements 1 and 2 swap the two types: a starred question, marked with an asterisk, seeks an oral answer, while an unstarred question seeks a written one. Statement 3 is right because an unstarred question is not called for oral answer, so no supplementary can follow.

• ✗ 1. Unstarred questions are meant for a written reply; it is starred questions that seek an oral answer.
• ✗ 2. Starred questions, marked with an asterisk, are the ones for which the Member wants an oral answer.
• ✓ 3. Written answers are laid on the Table, and because unstarred questions are not called for oral answer, no supplementary question can be asked on them.

Remember · Starred = asterisk, oral answer, supplementaries allowed. Unstarred = written answer laid on the Table, no supplementaries.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) There is no correct statement.

The Committee has 30 members: twenty elected by the Lok Sabha and ten nominated by the Rajya Sabha. Its Chairperson is appointed by the Speaker, no Minister can be a member, and members serve for a term not exceeding one year. Every statement gets at least one of these facts wrong.

• ✗ 1. The Chairperson is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from among the Committee's members, not by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha; Rajya Sabha members are nominated by their House.
• ✗ 2. The numbers are reversed: twenty members come from the Lok Sabha and ten from the Rajya Sabha.
• ✗ 3. A Minister cannot be a member at all; the rule makes no exception for the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• ✗ 4. The term of members shall not exceed one year, not a fixed two years.

Remember · SC/ST Welfare Committee (Rule 331B): 30 members, 20 Lok Sabha + 10 Rajya Sabha; Speaker appoints the Chair; no Minister can serve; term up to one year.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1, 2 and 3

Prime Minister Modi announced Mission Sudarshan Chakra in his 15 August 2025 address as a defence shield with offensive and deterrent strength. Its stated aims are rapid, precise and powerful defence responses that reinforce strategic autonomy, and a nationwide security shield over all public places by 2035. The Defence Minister has described it as a multi-level missile defence system.

• ✓ 1. The Mission is meant to strengthen India's offensive and deterrent capabilities and neutralise enemy defence infiltrations; the Defence Minister calls it a multi-level missile defence system.
• ✓ 2. The official summary says the initiative is designed to enhance rapid, precise and powerful defence responses, reinforcing India's strategic autonomy.
• ✓ 3. The official summary says all public places will be covered by an expanded nationwide security shield by 2035.

Remember · Mission Sudarshan Chakra (announced 15 Aug 2025): multi-level missile defence with offensive strength, strategic autonomy, and a nationwide shield covering public places by 2035.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) 3 only

Only statement 3 is right. Maitri Setu joins Sabroom in Tripura (India) with Ramgarh (Bangladesh), the reverse of what statement 1 says. The Jhulaghat bridge on the Kali river leads into Nepal, not Myanmar.

• ✗ 1. Sabroom lies in South Tripura, India, and Ramgarh is on the Bangladesh side; the statement swaps the two countries.
• ✗ 2. Jhulaghat is a town on the Indo-Nepal border named after a hanging bridge on the Kali river, through which one enters Nepal.
• ✓ 3. The Mechi bridge is part of the upgraded Kakarvitta (Nepal) to Panitanki Bypass (India) road on NH 327B, and is the end point of Asian Highway 02 in India.

Remember · Maitri Setu: Sabroom (Tripura, India) – Ramgarh (Bangladesh) over the Feni. Jhulaghat (Pithoragarh) and the Mechi bridge (Panitanki–Kakarvitta) both lead into Nepal.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) 2 only

Section 173 of the BNSS allows information about a cognizable offence to be given at any police station, whatever the place of the offence, orally or electronically. A preliminary enquiry is possible only with prior permission of an officer of at least Deputy Superintendent rank. Statement 1 goes wrong by adding non-cognizable offences, and statement 3 wrongly makes electronic filing compulsory.

• ✗ 1. Section 173(1) speaks of information relating to a cognizable offence, given irrespective of the area where the offence was committed. It does not extend this to non-cognizable offences, so the statement's wording is incorrect.
• ✓ 2. Under section 173(3), for a cognizable offence punishable with three years or more but less than seven, the officer in charge may, with prior permission of an officer not below Deputy Superintendent of Police, conduct a preliminary enquiry.
• ✗ 3. Information may be given orally or by electronic communication; the informant is not obliged to file electronically.

Remember · BNSS s.173: information on a cognizable offence can be given at any police station (Zero FIR), orally or electronically; preliminary enquiry only for 3–7 year offences, with DSP-level permission.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1

Only row 3 is fully correct. The CEIB and the SFIO have the functions stated, but the CEIB works under the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance (not Home Affairs), and the SFIO is under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (not Finance). The CBI is under the Department of Personnel and Training.

• ✗ 1. CEIB coordinates economic intelligence and enforcement agencies, but it is a subordinate organisation of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, not the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• ✗ 2. The SFIO investigates and prosecutes complex corporate frauds, but it functions under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, not the Ministry of Finance.
• ✓ 3. The CBI functions under the Department of Personnel, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, and describes its role as preserving values in public life and ensuring the health of the national economy.

Remember · CEIB: Dept of Revenue (Finance). SFIO: Ministry of Corporate Affairs. CBI: DoPT (Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions). Match the body, then check the ministry.

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UPSC dropped this question from evaluation in its final answer key.

UPSC dropped this question from evaluation in its final answer key. India has not joined the UN Migrant Workers Convention of 1990 or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. It has, however, ratified the ILO Employment Policy Convention and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, so options (a) and (b) cannot be right.

• ✗ 1. India has ratified the ILO Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122); NORMLEX records the ratification on 17 Nov 1998, so it is not one of the conventions India has left unratified.
• ✗ 2. India has ratified the ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105); NORMLEX records the ratification on 18 May 2000, so it is not one of the unratified conventions.
• ✓ 3. India is not a party to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (1990); the UN Treaty Collection participants list has no entry for India.
• ✓ 5. India is not a party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness; the UN Treaty Collection participants list has no entry for India.

Remember · India has not joined the 1990 Migrant Workers Convention or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (UN Treaty Collection); it has ratified ILO C122 (1998) and C105 (2000).

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) 3 only

The Summit's three foundational Sutras were People, Planet and Progress, so 'Planning' in Statement 1 is wrong. The Declaration only takes note of the Charter for the Democratic Diffusion of AI as a voluntary and non-binding framework, so Statement 2 is wrong. The Declaration is structured around seven Chakras (pillars) that include the three named in Statement 3.

• ✗ 1. The government's backgrounder says the Summit is anchored in three foundational pillars, or Sutras: People, Planet and Progress. 'Planning' is not one of them.
• ✗ 2. The Declaration takes note of the Charter as a voluntary and non-binding framework, not a binding one.
• ✓ 3. The Declaration is structured around seven pillars (Chakras), among them Access for Social Empowerment, AI for Science and Secure & Trusted AI; the others are Democratizing AI Resources, Economic Growth & Social Good, Human Capital Development, and Resilient, Efficient & Innovative AI Systems.

Remember · AI Impact Summit 2026 (New Delhi): three Sutras (People, Planet, Progress); the Declaration has seven Chakras; the Democratic Diffusion Charter is voluntary and non-binding.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1 and 2

The Kaladan project and the India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway both link India's Northeast with ASEAN members Myanmar and Thailand. The Agartala-Akhaura line joins Tripura to Bangladesh, which is not an ASEAN member.

• ✓ 1. Kaladan is an India-Myanmar multi-modal route; the Ministry of External Affairs lists it among major projects connecting India's Northeast with the ASEAN region. Myanmar is an ASEAN member.
• ✓ 2. The IMT Trilateral Highway links India, Myanmar and Thailand. Myanmar and Thailand are ASEAN members, and the same official list names it among the India-ASEAN connectivity projects.
• ✗ 3. The Akhaura-Agartala line links Bangladesh's Dhaka-Chittagong corridor to Tripura. Bangladesh is not on ASEAN's list of member states, so this is an India-Bangladesh project.

Remember · India-ASEAN land links from the Northeast: Kaladan (India-Myanmar) and the IMT Trilateral Highway (India-Myanmar-Thailand). Agartala-Akhaura is India-Bangladesh, outside ASEAN.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1

The Mangdechhu hydroelectric project is in Bhutan, the Dickoya district hospital in Sri Lanka, and the Institute of Security and Law Enforcement Studies (ISLES, now the National College for Policing and Law Enforcement) in the Maldives. That leaves the Stor Palace restoration with Afghanistan, giving A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1.

• ✓ A India has assisted the 720 MW Mangdechhu hydroelectric project in Bhutan, alongside the Chukha, Kurichu and Tala projects (3).
• ✓ B The Stor Palace is in Kabul. The Ministry of External Affairs records that it was restored with India's assistance and inaugurated by the Prime Minister and President Ghani on 22 August 2016, so it pairs with Afghanistan (2).
• ✓ C India is building a multi-specialty hospital at Dickoya in Sri Lanka (4).
• ✓ D ISLES, since renamed the National College for Policing and Law Enforcement, was built with Indian grant in Addu, Maldives, and inaugurated in March 2022 (1).

Remember · India-assisted projects: Mangdechhu hydro (Bhutan), Dickoya hospital (Sri Lanka), ISLES police college (Maldives), Stor Palace (Kabul, Afghanistan).

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Answer: (a) 1 and 2

The Su-30 MKI is built in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at its Nasik division, and the T-90 Bhishma tank is built in India by Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited, a Government of India enterprise. The Akula-class submarine the Navy has operated, INS Chakra, was a Russian-built boat taken on lease and is not Indian-made.

• ✓ 1. The Ministry of Defence's 2024 contract for 12 more Su-30MKI aircraft with HAL says they will be manufactured at HAL's Nasik division.
• ✓ 2. Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited, a Government of India enterprise, lists the T90 Bhishma among the battle tanks in its own product range.
• ✗ 3. The Navy's Akula-class submarine, INS Chakra (ex-K-152 Nerpa), was handed over by the Russian Navy on a 10-year lease (The Times of India); India does not build Akula-class boats.

Remember · Su-30 MKI: built by HAL in India (Nasik). T-90 Bhishma: built by AVNL (Government of India enterprise). Akula-class submarine INS Chakra: leased from Russia, not Indian-built.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 2 and 3 only

The Colombo Process is a regional consultative process that gives a non-binding, informal setting, so it takes no binding decisions. The Abu Dhabi Dialogue is a voluntary, non-binding consultative process between Asian labour-origin and destination countries. The Global Forum on Migration and Development grew out of Kofi Annan's 2006 proposal for a government-led forum that would produce no negotiated outcomes.

• ✗ 1. The Colombo Process describes itself as offering a non-binding and informal environment for dialogue on labour migration, so its members do not take binding decisions.
• ✓ 2. The Abu Dhabi Dialogue, set up in 2008, is described as a voluntary and non-binding inter-government consultative process between Asian countries of labour origin and destination.
• ✓ 3. Then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed the forum in June 2006 as a government-led consultative body that would not produce negotiated outcomes or recommendations, so its results are non-binding.

Remember · Colombo Process: non-binding regional consultative process (Asian labour-sending states). Abu Dhabi Dialogue: voluntary, non-binding, links Asian labour-origin and destination countries. GFMD: Kofi Annan's 2006 idea, state-led, non-binding.

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Answer: (a) 1

Only the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has won the Nobel Peace Prize twice, in 1954 and 1981. The other three UN bodies each won it once: the ILO in 1969, UNICEF in 1965 and the World Food Programme in 2020.

• ✗ 1. The World Food Programme received the Nobel Peace Prize once, in 2020, for its work against hunger and for peace in conflict-affected areas.
• ✗ 2. UNICEF won the Peace Prize once, in 1965.
• ✓ 3. UNHCR was honoured in 1954 and again in 1981. Apart from the Red Cross (three times), no other organisation has won the Peace Prize more than once.
• ✗ 4. The International Labour Organization won the Peace Prize once, in 1969, for creating international legislation on working conditions.

Remember · UNHCR: Nobel Peace Prize twice (1954, 1981). ILO 1969, UNICEF 1965, WFP 2020 each won once. The International Committee of the Red Cross has won three times.

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Answer: (b) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2

UNMIL in Liberia ran from 2003 to 2018 and MINUSTAH in Haiti from 2004 to 2017. MINURCAT in the Central African Republic and Chad ran from 2007 to 2010, and UNMISET in East Timor from 2002 to 2005. That gives A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2.

• ✓ A UNMIL (Liberia) was set up in 2003 and completed its mandate on 30 March 2018, so it pairs with 2003–2018 (3).
• ✓ B MINURCAT (Central African Republic and Chad) began under Security Council Resolution 1778 of 2007 and its mandate ended on 31 December 2010, so it pairs with 2007–2010 (1).
• ✓ C MINUSTAH (Haiti) was established on 1 June 2004 and completed its mission on 15 October 2017, so it pairs with 2004–2017 (4).
• ✓ D UNMISET (East Timor) ran from May 2002 to May 2005, so it pairs with 2002–2005 (2).

Remember · Liberia UNMIL 2003–18; Haiti MINUSTAH 2004–17; Chad and CAR MINURCAT 2007–10; East Timor UNMISET 2002–05. Fixing two pairs usually settles the code.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3

The BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory is to be in Thimphu, the Energy Centre in Bengaluru, the Centre for Weather and Climate in Noida and the Technology Transfer Facility in Colombo. That gives A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3.

• ✓ A The Cultural Industries Observatory is to be established in Thimphu, Bhutan (4).
• ✓ B The Energy Centre is housed at the Central Power Research Institute, Bengaluru (2).
• ✓ C The Centre for Weather and Climate is located at the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, Noida (1).
• ✓ D The Technology Transfer Facility is to be established in Colombo, Sri Lanka (3).

Remember · BIMSTEC centres: Energy (Bengaluru), Weather and Climate (Noida), Cultural Industries Observatory (Thimphu), Technology Transfer Facility (Colombo).

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) 33 Corps: Srinagar

Srinagar is the seat of 15 Corps, the Chinar Corps, not 33 Corps. 33 Corps is located at Siliguri in North Bengal. The other three pairs are correct.

• ✓ (d) This is the mismatched pair: 33 Corps is at Siliguri in North Bengal, while Srinagar is the station of 15 Corps (Chinar Corps).
• ✗ (a) 3 Corps is at Dimapur, so this pair is correctly matched.
• ✗ (b) 4 Corps is at Tezpur, so this pair is correctly matched.
• ✗ (c) 14 Corps is at Leh, so this pair is correctly matched.

Remember · Corps stations: 3 Dimapur, 4 Tezpur, 14 Leh, 15 Srinagar (Chinar Corps), 33 Siliguri, 16 Nagrota, 9 Yol, 21 Bhopal.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 2 only

The Revamped RGSA runs from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2026, so the 2021 start date is wrong. Its objective is to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions' governance capability to deliver the SDGs, which is stated correctly. The Central share is 100% only for the Central Component and for UTs other than Jammu and Kashmir, so Statement 3 is wrong.

• ✗ 1. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the revamped scheme on 13 April 2022 for 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2026, aligned with the 15th Finance Commission period, not from 2021.
• ✓ 2. The scheme's stated objective is to strengthen the governance capabilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions so they can effectively deliver on the SDGs.
• ✗ 3. For the State Component the Centre–State ratio is 60:40, or 90:10 for North Eastern and hilly States and Jammu and Kashmir. Only the Central Component and the other Union Territories are funded 100% by the Centre.

Remember · Revamped RGSA: 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2026; Rs 5,911 crore (Centre Rs 3,700 crore); capacity building of PRIs for SDGs; Centre–State share 60:40 (90:10 for NE, hilly States and J&K).

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 2 and 3

Poland (a member since 2004) and Germany (one of the six founding members) are EU members. Belarus and Switzerland are European countries outside the EU; Switzerland deals with the EU through a free trade agreement and bilateral agreements.

• ✗ 1. Belarus is not an EU member: it is not among the 27 EU countries or the countries that joined in any enlargement.
• ✓ 2. Poland joined the European Union in the fifth enlargement of 2004.
• ✓ 3. Germany is one of the six founding countries of the European Union (with Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands).
• ✗ 4. Switzerland is not an EU member; its relations with the EU are governed by a free trade agreement and a series of bilateral agreements.

Remember · EU members here: Germany (one of the six founders) and Poland (2004). Switzerland is outside the EU (bilateral agreements); Belarus is not a member either.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3

INTERPOL's Silver Notice targets criminal assets, the Blue Notice seeks information on a person of interest in an investigation, the Black Notice identifies dead bodies and the Green Notice warns about a person's criminal activities. That gives A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3.

• ✓ A The Silver Notice, piloted from January 2025, targets criminal assets: it lets countries request information on property and assets linked to serious organised crime (4).
• ✓ B A Blue Notice is used to obtain information on, locate or identify a person of interest in a criminal investigation (2).
• ✓ C A Black Notice is published to identify dead bodies that police have found but not yet identified (1).
• ✓ D A Green Notice warns about a person's criminal activities, when the person is considered a possible threat to public safety (3).

Remember · INTERPOL notices: Blue seeks information on a person of interest, Green warns about a person's criminal activities, Black identifies dead bodies, Silver targets criminal assets.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

Why not the tempting option · UPSC's key is (b). The official NIRANTAR portal lists the Botanical Survey of India for Ecosystem Survey and Analysis, ICFRE Dehradun for Research and Management of Ecosystem Service, and IIFM Bhopal for Capacity Development Support. Whichever institute some summaries name for the Ecosystem Service vertical, it is not the Central Zoo Authority, so statement 2 is wrong and 1 and 3 stand. In the exam, check the institute named in the statement against the vertical, not the vertical alone.

NIRANTAR is an environment ministry platform that links existing institutes without creating a new one. Its portal lists the Botanical Survey of India for Ecosystem Survey and Analysis and IIFM, Bhopal for Capacity Development Support. The Ecosystem Service vertical is led by ICFRE, Dehradun, not the Central Zoo Authority.

• ✓ 1. The portal names the Botanical Survey of India (headquartered in Kolkata) for Ecosystem Survey and Analysis.
• ✗ 2. The portal lists ICFRE, Dehradun against Research and Management of Ecosystem Service; the Central Zoo Authority is not shown as a vertical lead.
• ✓ 3. The portal lists IIFM, Bhopal for Capacity Development Support.

Remember · NIRANTAR verticals on the MoEFCC portal: Ecosystem Survey and Analysis (BSI), Ecosystem Service (ICFRE), Capacity Development (IIFM), Climate Change Support (NCSCM).

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 1 and 4

Statements 1 and 4 are the ones that are not correct. The Ministry of External Affairs' list of outcomes of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit (12-13 January 2026) records the Ayurveda MoU with a different university, and it has no honorary consul item at all.

• ✗ 1. The All India Institute of Ayurveda signed its MoU with Charité University, Germany (traditional medicines), not with the University of Hamburg.
• ✓ 2. An MoU on Youth Hockey Development between Hockey India and the German Hockey Federation (Deutscher Hockey-Bund) is listed among the signed outcomes.
• ✓ 3. The two sides announced the establishment of a bilateral dialogue mechanism on the Indo-Pacific.
• ✗ 4. Neither the official list of outcomes nor the joint statement mentions opening an Honorary Consul of Germany in Lucknow.

Remember · Merz visit, Jan 2026: AIIA signed with Charité (not Hamburg), Hockey India with German Hockey Federation, plus a new Indo-Pacific dialogue; no Lucknow honorary consul.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

DHRUV64, developed by C-DAC and launched in December 2025, is India's first homegrown 1.0 GHz, 64-bit dual-core microprocessor. It is the third chip fabricated under the Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V) Programme, after THEJAS32 and THEJAS64. Both statements are correct.

• ✓ 1. The government's backgrounder calls DHRUV64 the third chip fabricated under the DIR-V Programme, after THEJAS32 (Silterra, Malaysia) and THEJAS64 (SCL Mohali).
• ✓ 2. It is described as India's first homegrown 1.0 GHz, 64-bit dual-core microprocessor.

Remember · DIR-V (Digital India RISC-V) chips: THEJAS32, THEJAS64, then DHRUV64, India's first homegrown 1.0 GHz, 64-bit dual-core microprocessor. Dhanush and Dhanush+ are next.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 1 and 2 only

The standard is IS 19445:2025, Bomb Disposal Systems: Performance Evaluation and Requirements, released on 24 December 2025. Its expected benefits include better interoperability of equipment across agencies. It was prepared by a BIS committee with a panel convened by TBRL (DRDO), with Indian stakeholders; no Russian institute is named.

• ✓ 1. IS 19445:2025 was released on National Consumer Day 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, as the Indian Standard for bomb disposal systems.
• ✓ 2. The official release lists improved reliability and interoperability of equipment across agencies among the standard's expected benefits.
• ✗ 3. The standard was developed by TBRL, Chandigarh (DRDO), and BIS at the Ministry of Home Affairs' request, through a BIS committee and a panel convened by TBRL. The official accounts name no Russian institute.

Remember · IS 19445:2025 is the BIS standard for bomb disposal systems (bomb blankets, baskets, inhibitors), developed by TBRL (DRDO) and BIS at the Home Ministry's request.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) John Clarke

John Clarke, a 2025 Nobel laureate in Physics, was born in Cambridge, UK, and is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. The other laureates named were either not born in the UK or did not hold an American professorship.

• ✓ (c) John Clarke (Physics 2025) was born in 1942 in Cambridge, UK, and is Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, USA.
• ✗ (a) Michel H. Devoret shared the same Physics prize but was born in Paris, France.
• ✗ (b) Richard Robson (Chemistry 2025) was born in Glusburn, UK, but is Professor at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
• ✗ (d) Joel Mokyr (Economic Sciences 2025) works at Northwestern University, USA, but was born in Leiden, the Netherlands.

Remember · Physics Nobel 2025: John Clarke (UK-born, UC Berkeley), Michel Devoret and John Martinis, for macroscopic quantum tunnelling in an electric circuit.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Statements 1 and 2 are correct and statement 3 is not: the Grand Slam Rule Book says there is no limit on how many wild cards a player may receive. The four Slams (Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, US Open) work as one partnership, Grand Slam Tennis, under a shared governance structure.

• ✓ 1. Grand Slam Tennis is the partnership between the four Grand Slam tournaments, set up through a shared governance structure; its Grand Slam Board takes decisions on common rules, regulations and code of conduct.
• ✓ 2. The Rule Book says the four Slams are open for entry to all internationally ranked players on merit and without discrimination; the only age bar is that minors under fourteen are not eligible.
• ✗ 3. The Rule Book has a rule titled 'Wild Cards / No Limitation': there is no limit on the number of wild cards a player may receive. Wild cards are chosen at the host tournament's own discretion.

Remember · Grand Slam Tennis = shared governance of the four Slams; open to all ranked players (under-14s barred); no cap on wild cards per player.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) HCL-Foxconn Joint Venture India Chip Ltd.: Madhya Pradesh

The HCL-Foxconn joint venture's semiconductor unit is at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, not Madhya Pradesh, so pair (c) is the mismatch. The CG Power–Renesas–STARS plant is at Sanand in Gujarat, the Tata unit at Morigaon in Assam and SicSem's plant near Bhubaneswar in Odisha.

• ✓ (c) This is the mismatched pair: the HCL-Foxconn JV unit is located at Jewar, Uttar Pradesh.
• ✗ (a) CG Power's pilot OSAT line with Renesas and STARS is at Sanand, Gujarat, so this pair is correct.
• ✗ (b) Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt. Ltd. is at Morigaon, Assam, so this pair is correct.
• ✗ (d) SicSem Private Limited's unit is at Bhubaneswar, Odisha, so this pair is correct.

Remember · Semiconductor units under the India Semiconductor Mission: CG Power–Renesas–STARS (Sanand), Tata (Morigaon, Assam), HCL-Foxconn (Jewar, UP), SicSem (Bhubaneswar).

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1 only

The Bharat Forecast System (BharatFS) runs at 6 km resolution, fine enough to give forecasts at the panchayat or cluster-of-panchayats level, so Statement 1 is correct. It was developed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, not by IIT Delhi.

• ✓ 1. The Ministry of Earth Sciences says BharatFS operates at 6 km resolution (against 12 km earlier) and would help provide monsoon rainfall forecasts at the panchayat or cluster-of-panchayats level.
• ✗ 2. The model's grid structure and development were carried out by scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, not IIT Delhi.

Remember · BharatFS: MoES model built at IITM Pune, 6 km resolution (earlier global model 12 km), aimed at block and panchayat-level forecasts; operational since May 2025.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1, 2 and 3

Boong, by filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi, was announced as the winner of Children’s & Family Film at the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards. UPSC’s key treats all three statements as correct, including the claim that it is the first Indian film to win in this category.

• ✓ 1. BAFTA announced Boong as the winner in the Children’s & Family Film category at the EE BAFTA Film Awards in February 2026; PIB reported the Prime Minister’s congratulations on 23 February 2026.
• ✓ 2. PIB (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) calls it ‘Lakshmipriya Devi’s Boong’ and congratulates filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi on the win; BAFTA’s category page lists her name with the film. She is its director.
• ✓ 3. The key accepts this: the win was reported as the first by an Indian film in this category. The official pages read do not use the word ‘first’ (see flag).

Remember · Boong (director Lakshmipriya Devi) won the 2026 BAFTA for Children’s & Family Film, reported as the first Indian film to win in that category.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 4

A blockchain is a distributed, tamper-resistant ledger kept on many computers, which is what statements 1, 2 and 4 describe. Statement 3 describes a hybrid blockchain; a consortium blockchain is semi-decentralised and governed jointly by several organisations.

• ✓ 1. Blockchain is described as a transparent, immutable ledger accessible across a network, so authorised stakeholders can see records that resist tampering.
• ✓ 2. Records are maintained across multiple nodes, each holding the ledger. The official note does not mention the ‘within seconds’ detail; the key treats the statement as correct.
• ✗ 3. ‘A blend of public and private blockchains allowing selective data access’ is the definition of a hybrid blockchain. A consortium blockchain is semi-decentralised and governed jointly by multiple organisations.
• ✓ 4. The design makes unauthorised modification virtually impossible once data is recorded and accepted by the network.

Remember · Blockchain types: public (open to all nodes), private (one controlling entity), consortium (jointly governed by several organisations), hybrid (blend of public and private).

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) Dropshipping Model

The seller in the stem holds no stock. It takes the customer's order, passes the order and shipping details to a third-party supplier, and that supplier ships to the customer, while the seller still fixes the price. This arrangement is called dropshipping.

• ✓ (a) The Asian Development Bank describes a drop shipping relationship as one in which a third party ships to consumers. The stem's clues (no stock, orders passed to a supplier, direct shipment, seller-controlled price) all point here.
• ✗ (b) An affiliate is a person who markets products in exchange for a percentage of the profits. That is a commission for promotion; the stem instead describes order handling and delivery through a supplier.

Remember · Dropshipping: the seller sets the price and takes the order but holds no stock; a third-party supplier ships directly to the customer. An affiliate only promotes products for a commission.

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Answer: (c) Access, Usage, and Quality

The RBI’s FI-Index has three sub-indices: Access, Usage and Quality, weighted 35, 45 and 20 per cent. Credit, insurance, pension and financial literacy appear only as dimensions inside these sub-indices.

• ✓ (c) Access reflects the supply side (banking, digital, pension, insurance); Usage the demand side (savings and investments, digital, pension, insurance, credit); Quality has three dimensions: financial literacy, consumer protection and inequality.
• ✗ (a) Credit, insurance and pension are dimensions within Access or Usage, not the three sub-indices.
• ✗ (b) ‘GDP contribution’ is not part of the index, and financial literacy is only one dimension of the Quality sub-index.
• ✗ (d) Affordability and Transparency are not sub-indices of the FI-Index.

Remember · FI-Index (0–100): Access 35%, Usage 45%, Quality 20%. Quality covers financial literacy, consumer protection and inequality.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) To break the dominance of large e-commerce platforms by enabling interoperability across networks

ONDC is a government-backed open network under DPIIT. Its first stated objective is to break the dominance of large e-commerce platforms by letting buyers and sellers on different platforms transact through interoperable networks. It does not centralise control, replace private platforms or mandate a payment mode.

• ✓ (c) This is how PIB lists ONDC’s objective under ‘Democratization of Commerce’; the other stated objectives are inclusivity, lower costs and market expansion.
• ✗ (a) Government control over transactions is not among the objectives; ONDC aims to open up commerce, not control it.
• ✗ (b) The aim is interoperability across networks, not replacing private platforms.
• ✗ (d) Mandating UPI is not among the listed objectives.

Remember · ONDC = open, interoperable network to reduce the dominance of a few large e-commerce platforms; it lowers entry barriers for small sellers.

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Answer: (d) In both the cases (UPI and Digital Rupee), the liability lies with the users and their respective banks.

The Digital Rupee is legal tender issued by the RBI and is a direct liability of the central bank, so it is not a liability of users or their banks. Option (d) wrongly says the liability lies with users and banks in both cases.

• ✓ (d) RBI’s concept note says CBDC appears as a liability on the central bank’s balance sheet, and retail CBDC is a direct liability of the Central Bank. So (d) is the statement that is not correct.
• ✗ (a) This is a correct statement, so it is not the answer: the RBI describes the Digital Rupee as akin to sovereign paper currency in a different form, while UPI is a real-time payment system.

Remember · Digital Rupee (e₹) = RBI liability, akin to a digital banknote; UPI = instant payment over bank accounts, where bank deposits are bank liabilities.

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Answer: (a) 1, 2 and 3

Tokenisation represents rights in a real asset such as property, bonds or commodities as digital tokens on a distributed ledger. India’s IFSCA paper sees advantages such as fractional ownership, lower entry barriers, new avenues for diversification and 24/7 market operations, so the key treats all three statements as correct.

• ✓ 1. IFSCA’s consultation paper describes tokenization as using technologies such as distributed ledger technology (DLT) to issue or represent assets in digital forms known as tokens.
• ✓ 2. The paper points to demand for 24/7 market operations and to lower entry barriers, which is the basis for wider access.
• ✓ 3. The paper says tokenization can create an organised marketplace for real-world assets with fractionalisation and newer avenues for diversification, opening asset classes to more investors.

Remember · RWA tokenisation = putting rights in real assets on a ledger as tokens; benefits cited include fractional ownership, lower entry barriers and 24/7 markets.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) Sustainability Bond

The label depends on what the proceeds fund. Green bonds fund environmental projects, social bonds fund social projects, and a sustainability bond funds a combination of both green and social projects.

• ✓ (c) Sustainability bonds apply proceeds exclusively to finance or re-finance a combination of green and social projects.
• ✗ (a) A green bond finances projects with clear environmental benefits only.
• ✗ (b) A social bond finances projects that address a specific social issue or achieve positive social outcomes, not a combination of environmental and social projects.
• ✗ (d) ‘Sovereign’ describes the issuer (a government), not the use of proceeds.

Remember · Use of proceeds decides the label: green = environment, social = social outcomes, sustainability = both together.

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 2 only

M1xchange is one of the RBI-authorised TReDS platforms, an electronic exchange where MSME invoices and bills of exchange are discounted by competing financiers. It is a marketplace, not a lender that takes collateral and not a rating agency.

• ✗ 1. M1xchange does not lend. Banks and NBFC-Factors bid on the platform, and financing is collateral-free and ‘without recourse’ to the MSME seller.
• ✓ 2. In TReDS an invoice or bill of exchange is uploaded as a Factoring Unit, financiers bid, and the winning bidder pays the MSME seller at the agreed discount.
• ✗ 3. TReDS participants are sellers, buyers and financiers; the platform runs the discounting auction and does not rate MSMEs.

Remember · M1xchange = RBI-authorised TReDS platform for discounting MSME invoices and bills of exchange; collateral-free and without recourse to the seller.

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Answer: (b) A situation where Government borrowing leads to higher interest rates, which reduces private investment

Crowding out happens when heavy government borrowing absorbs the available savings and raises the cost of funds, leaving less credit and lower investment for the private sector. Option (b) states exactly this.

• ✓ (b) Government borrowing competes with private borrowers for savings and credit; the RBI’s Urjit Patel Committee report notes government market borrowing crowding out funds to the private sector.
• ✗ (a) This is the opposite, called crowding in, where government spending raises private investment.
• ✗ (c) Higher taxes reduce, not raise, private disposable income and do not describe crowding out.
• ✗ (d) Crowding out is about the effect on private investment; government spending does affect aggregate demand.

Remember · Crowding out: government borrowing pushes up interest rates or absorbs credit, so private investment falls. Opposite: crowding in.

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Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only

Statements 1 and 3 are correct: REEs feed high-technology products such as magnets for EVs and wind turbines, and the National Critical Mineral Mission was launched in 2025. Statement 2 is wrong because China leads mining by a huge margin but India is far behind several other countries, and statement 4 is wrong because there are 17 rare earth elements, not 13.

• ✓ 1. Rare earth magnets are central to electric mobility, renewable energy, electronics and defence applications, and REEs such as dysprosium and neodymium go into wind-turbine magnets.
• ✗ 2. USGS shows China far ahead in 2025 mine production (270,000 tonnes REO), but India (2,900 tonnes) is well behind the United States (51,000), Australia, Burma and Thailand, so India is not second.
• ✓ 3. PIB records that the Government of India launched the NCMM in 2025 to build a robust framework for self-reliance in critical minerals (Cabinet approval was on 29 January 2025).
• ✗ 4. A Ministry of Mines/DAE reply in the Lok Sabha notes that REE has 17 elements, not 13.

Remember · There are 17 rare earth elements (15 lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium). NCMM was launched in 2025. China dominates mining; India is a minor producer.

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Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Both statements are correct. Aviation hull insurance is the cover for physical loss or damage to the aircraft itself, and under Article 21 of the Montreal Convention an airline cannot escape liability for a passenger's death up to a fixed limit, whether or not it was at fault.

• ✓ 1. Hull (all-risk) insurance pays for physical loss or damage to the insured aircraft, including total loss. It is separate from liability cover, which pays claims made by passengers or third parties.
• ✓ 2. The 1999 Montreal Convention makes the carrier liable for a passenger's death on board or while embarking or disembarking. Up to 100,000 SDRs (raised to 151,880 SDRs in December 2024) the carrier cannot exclude or limit that liability, so the family need not prove fault. Above that, the airline can defend itself by proving it was not negligent. India became a party in 2009.

Remember · Hull cover insures the aircraft; the Montreal Convention gives strict (no-fault) liability for passenger death up to the first-tier limit, now 151,880 SDRs.

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