Daily Current Affairs Quiz for UPSC Prelims 2027 — 21 July 2026

Disputes over Chinese claims in the South China Sea — a maritime flashpoint that has drawn renewed attention amid regional tensions — trace back to a landmark 2016 international arbitration. Which of the following statements correctly describes what that ruling actually decided?

Why this answer

The correct statement is that the tribunal found China's 'historic rights' claim within the nine-dash line has no legal basis wherever it exceeds what UNCLOS actually entitles a state to — this was the core holding of the 2016 Annex VII arbitration brought by the Philippines. The option naming the International Court of Justice is wrong on two counts: the case was heard by an Annex VII arbitral tribunal constituted UNDER UNCLOS, not the ICJ, and UNCLOS does provide dispute-settlement machinery — that is precisely what was invoked. The option describing an order to withdraw all military and coast guard presence from every occupied feature overstates the ruling — the tribunal ruled on legal entitlements, historic-rights claims, and China's conduct during the dispute, not on sovereignty or occupation, and issued no such withdrawal order. The statement about UNCLOS being adopted in 1982 and entering into force in 1994 is factually accurate but is background about the treaty's own history, not a description of what the 2016 ruling itself decided.

The static concept

UNCLOS (1982/1994) — territorial sea and EEZ entitlements, and the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration Annex VII ruling on the South China Sea 'nine-dash line'.

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) and its citizen-facing Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) have drawn renewed attention as States accelerate account creation to build a nationwide digital health ecosystem. In this context, which one of the following statements is correct?

Why this answer

The correct statement is that ABHA is a 14-digit unique health identifier under a federated ABDM architecture, where records stay at the originating facility or the user's chosen health app and are shared only with explicit, time-bound, revocable consent — there is no central repository. The Ministry-vs-vendor statement reverses roles: the National Health Authority (NHA) is the body that implements and administers ABDM, functioning under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare — it is not a mere hosting vendor. The '15 August 2020 national rollout' statement swaps dates: that date only launched the pilot phase across six Union Territories, while the actual national rollout was announced on 27 September 2021. The 'mandatory for every citizen' statement is wrong because ABHA creation is voluntary, not a compulsory precondition for treatment.

The static concept

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) — the federated, consent-based digital health infrastructure under 'Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors — Health'.

The Delimitation Commission, constituted under the framework of Article 82 of the Constitution, has drawn renewed political attention amid recent debate over parliamentary seat reallocation. Which one of the following statements about it is correct?

Why this answer

The correct statement is that the Delimitation Commission is a statutory, quasi-judicial body whose orders, once notified, have the force of law and cannot be challenged in any court. It is constituted by the Union Government under a Delimitation Act — Article 82 itself only obliges Parliament to enact such an Act after every Census, it does not make the Commission a standing constitutional authority. The Commission's Chairperson is a retired Supreme Court judge, with the Chief Election Commissioner and the State Election Commissioners sitting as ex-officio members, not the other way round — so the option swapping the Chief Election Commissioner into the chair is wrong. When the Commission's draft orders are laid before the Lok Sabha or a State Legislative Assembly, no modifications are permissible in them, which rules out the option claiming members can force amendments. Associate members — sitting MPs and MLAs who assist the Commission — have no decision-making power and no vote, so the option granting them voting rights on the final order is also incorrect.

The static concept

Article 82 — Parliament's duty to enact a Delimitation Act after every Census; the Delimitation Commission's statutory, quasi-judicial status and the finality of its orders.

India's Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) signed in the decades since the 1991 economic reforms have come under renewed scrutiny as India moves toward deeper, new-generation agreements such as recent CETAs. Which of the following most accurately reflects an established finding on India's FTA experience, as flagged in official trade reviews such as NITI Aayog's 'Trade Watch Quarterly'?

Why this answer

The correct statement is the one noting that with several FTA partners, India's imports have at times grown faster than its exports, widening the bilateral trade deficit — official reviews, including NITI Aayog's periodic trade assessments, have flagged this as a recurring pattern, meaning signing an FTA does not by itself guarantee an export boost. The claim that India's FTA exports have 'consistently' outpaced imports is false — the data instead shows the opposite trend with several partners, which is exactly the concern shaping India's more cautious, sensitivity-protecting approach in newer agreements like the India-UK CETA. The claim that non-tariff barriers have 'entirely' replaced tariffs, making further FTAs unnecessary, is wrong — tariff concessions (such as the zero-duty access secured under CETA) remain central even as separate non-tariff barriers, like UK product standards, pose challenges for exporters, especially MSMEs. The claim blaming underutilisation on 'too few' agreements is also wrong — the real drivers are low awareness, cumbersome administrative procedures, and high compliance costs among exporters, not a shortage of FTAs themselves.

The static concept

Post-1991 Trade Policy — from unilateral tariff liberalisation to bilateral/regional FTAs, and the asymmetric trade-balance outcomes these agreements have produced.

Lothal, a key Indus Valley Civilization site in Gujarat, has drawn renewed attention amid plans for a large-scale on-site heritage recreation. In this context, consider the following statements:

1. 1.Lothal, situated in the Bhal region of Gujarat near the Sabarmati river, was discovered by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1954.
2. 2.Lothal has already been formally inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, following its nomination in 2014.
3. 3.Marine microfossils, salt, and gypsum crystals found in the structure at Lothal, identified by the National Institute of Oceanography, provided scientific evidence that it functioned as a tidal dockyard.
4. 4.The identification of Lothal's dockyard as the world's earliest known tidal dockyard is universally accepted, with no scholarly dispute over its dating or function.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Why this answer

The correct answer is 'Only two' — statements 1 and 3 are true, statements 2 and 4 are false. Statement 1 is correct: Lothal, in Gujarat's Bhal region near the Sabarmati river, was discovered by the ASI in 1954. Statement 3 is correct: the National Institute of Oceanography's discovery of marine microfossils, salt, and gypsum crystals in the structure is the scientific basis for identifying it as a tidal dockyard. Statement 2 is wrong — Lothal was only nominated to UNESCO's tentative World Heritage list in April 2014; it has never been formally inscribed. Statement 4 is wrong — calling Lothal's dockyard the 'world's earliest' with no scholarly dispute overstates the case; some archaeologists have contested the claim even though the NIO's evidence backs the dockyard function itself.

The static concept

Indus Valley Civilization — Harappan urban planning and maritime trade, anchored to the Lothal dockyard site.

India's crude oil import bill has surged sharply this year, once again drawing attention to how different cross-border transactions are classified within India's Balance of Payments (BoP). With reference to this classification, consider the following pairs:

1. 1.Merchandise trade in goods, including crude oil imports — Current Account
2. 2.Investment income such as interest and dividend receipts — Current Account
3. 3.Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) inflows into equity and debt markets — Current Account
4. 4.External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) raised by Indian companies — Capital Account
5. 5.Remittances sent home by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) — Capital Account

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Why this answer

Three pairs are correctly matched. Merchandise trade in goods, including crude oil imports, is rightly placed under the Current Account — it is precisely this trade deficit, widened by the recent oil-import bill surge, that drives the current account balance. Investment income such as interest and dividend receipts is also a Current Account item, recorded under Primary Income. External Commercial Borrowings raised by Indian companies are correctly placed under the Capital Account, since ECBs are debt-creating cross-border borrowings, not trade or income flows. Two pairs are wrong: Foreign Portfolio Investment inflows into equity and debt markets are a Capital Account item (portfolio investment), not a Current Account item — FPI is a financial-asset flow, not trade or income. Remittances sent home by Non-Resident Indians are, in fact, a Current Account item (private current transfers, under Secondary Income), not a Capital Account item — this is the classic reversal UPSC uses to test whether aspirants reflexively treat any inbound foreign-currency flow as 'capital'.

The static concept

Balance of Payments — Current Account (trade in goods/services, investment income, current transfers) vs Capital Account (FDI, FPI, external commercial borrowings, banking capital).

The ecological sensitivity of the Sundarbans mangrove delta has drawn renewed attention amid debates over security infrastructure along India's international borders. With reference to the legal and conservation framework governing the Sundarbans, consider the following statements:

1. 1.The Sundarbans National Park, which lies within the larger Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site primarily on account of its unique mangrove ecosystem.
2. 2.Since the Sundarbans mangroves fall within the Coastal Regulation Zone, any activity there requires clearance under the CRZ Notification in addition to protection under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 — the two regulatory regimes operate simultaneously, not as substitutes for each other.
3. 3.Diversion of land within the Sundarbans National Park for a non-forestry purpose, such as construction of a security fence, would additionally attract the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, since protected-area land is also legally forest land.
4. 4.The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 itself mandates a fixed 10-km Eco-Sensitive Zone around every National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, leaving State Governments no discretion to prescribe a narrower or wider limit.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Why this answer

The answer is 'Only three' — the first three statements are correct and only the fourth is false. The Sundarbans National Park is indeed inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its mangrove ecosystem, sitting inside the larger Sundarbans Tiger Reserve. Because the mangroves lie in the Coastal Regulation Zone, CRZ clearance is required in addition to Wildlife (Protection) Act protection — the two regimes apply concurrently, not as alternatives. Diverting protected-area land for a non-forestry structure like a fence also triggers the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, since such land carries forest status too. The false statement is the one on the Eco-Sensitive Zone: the 10-km ESZ norm around protected areas flows from Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 guidelines and Supreme Court directions, not from the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and States retain discretion to propose a narrower or wider zone based on site-specific ecology — it is not a rigid, discretion-free mandate.

The static concept

Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 — Protected Area regime (National Parks/Sanctuaries), Eco-Sensitive Zones, and their overlap with the CRZ Notification and Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, in ecologically sensitive coastal/forest tracts.

With reference to Government of India schemes and missions shaping electronics and semiconductor manufacturing — an area of industrial policy that has drawn renewed attention amid the recent widening of chip-making incentives — consider the following pairs of List-I (Scheme/Mission) and List-II (Core Focus Area):

1. 1.India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) — Semiconductor fabrication, ATMP/OSAT and display-fab units
2. 2.Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme — Chip design and IP-core development for fabless startups
3. 3.Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) — Semiconductor wafer-fabrication capacity expansion
4. 4.Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) — Capital subsidy exclusively for semiconductor packaging units, excluding all other electronic components

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Why this answer

Only two of the four pairs are correctly matched. The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) pairing is correct — ISM, run by MeitY, funds semiconductor fabs, ATMP/OSAT (assembly, testing, marking, packaging) and display-fab units, and its recently launched second phase (Semicon 2.0) widens exactly this support. The Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme pairing is correct — DLI specifically subsidises chip design and IP-core development for fabless semiconductor startups, upstream of fabrication. The Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) pairing is wrong — MPMS targets mobile-phone assembly and component manufacturing, not wafer-fabrication capacity, which sits with ISM, not MPMS. The SPECS pairing is wrong — SPECS gives a capital subsidy across a broad range of electronic components and semiconductors, not exclusively to packaging units; the word 'exclusively' overstates its actual scope.

The static concept

Industrial Policy — India's electronics and semiconductor manufacturing scheme architecture (ISM, DLI, SPECS, MPMS) under the Make in India umbrella.

Why this answer

Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A. Because immunity to one dengue serotype is only partial and short-lived against the other three, and because a subsequent infection by a different serotype raises the risk of severe/haemorrhagic dengue through antibody-dependent enhancement, any vaccine meant for general population use is compelled to protect against all four serotypes at once — an incomplete, one- or two-serotype vaccine would leave recipients more vulnerable to severe disease on natural exposure to the serotypes it missed, not less. This is precisely why a tetravalent design, rather than a monovalent one, was the regulatory bar for wide, screening-free deployment.

The static concept

Dengue virology — four antigenically distinct serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-4), partial/transient cross-serotype immunity, and antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) on secondary heterotypic infection.

Why this answer

Assertion (A) is true: since liberalisation, India's growth has been led overwhelmingly by tertiary-sector activity — especially IT and ITeS exports — rather than by a broad manufacturing base, a pattern widely flagged as structurally unusual for a developing economy. Reason (R) is false: skill- and capital-intensive service exports like IT generate far LESS employment per unit of output than labour-intensive manufacturing would, which is exactly why India's high GDP growth has repeatedly been described as 'jobless growth', with output outpacing gains in employment and human development rather than narrowing that gap. Because R inverts the true relationship between sectoral composition and employment generation, it cannot explain A, and it is independently false regardless of A's truth. The correct reading is therefore that A is true but R is false.

The static concept

Economic Growth vs Economic Development — the divergence between GDP expansion and employment/human-development outcomes under a services-led growth model.