Daily Current Affairs Quiz for UPSC Prelims 2027 — 10 August 2026

A proposed amendment to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act has recently drawn renewed attention amid strong Opposition pushback in Parliament. Being an ordinary piece of legislation rather than a Money Bill or a Constitutional Amendment Bill, such a Bill follows the general legislative procedure under Articles 107-111. Which one of the following correctly describes a procedural feature of this pathway?

Why this answer

The correct description is that this Bill, as an Ordinary Bill, may be introduced in either House and the Rajya Sabha holds full power to amend or reject it — a much stronger role than its recommendation-only status on a Money Bill under Article 109. The claim that it needs the President's prior recommendation and can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha borrows the Money Bill's special procedure under Articles 109/117, which does not apply to an Ordinary Bill. The claim that it mirrors a Constitutional Amendment Bill by dispensing with a joint sitting is also wrong: it is actually Money Bills and Constitutional Amendment Bills that have NO joint-sitting provision, while an Ordinary Bill deadlock CAN be resolved via a joint sitting under Article 108. Finally, while an Ordinary Bill does need only a simple majority, the claim that the Rajya Sabha can 'never' amend or reject it is false — that co-equal amending power is precisely what distinguishes an Ordinary Bill from a Money Bill.

The static concept

Articles 107-111 — Ordinary Bill legislative procedure, distinguished from the Money Bill procedure (Articles 109, 117) and the Constitutional Amendment Bill procedure (Article 368).

Bacteriophage therapy — the use of viruses that infect bacteria — has drawn renewed scientific attention as a possible route to fight drug-resistant bacterial infections amid the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis. Which of the following best explains why bacteriophages are considered a targeted therapeutic option rather than a broad-spectrum one like conventional antibiotics?

Which of the following best explains why bacteriophages are considered a targeted therapeutic option rather than a broad-spectrum one like conventional antibiotics?

Why this answer

The correct answer is that bacteriophages recognise and lyse only a narrow range of bacterial strains through specific receptor-binding — this host specificity (unlike the broad action of most antibiotics) is precisely why AI tools are now being used to design or select phages matched to particular resistant strains, including drug-resistant E. coli. The toxin-neutralisation option is wrong because phages act by infecting and lysing bacterial cells, not by binding toxins like antibodies do. The 'indiscriminate lysis of human cells' option is wrong — phages infect only prokaryotic bacterial cells via specific surface receptors and cannot infect human cells at all. The 'suppressing bacterial immune defences' option is wrong and conflates two unrelated mechanisms — antibiotics such as beta-lactams act by inhibiting cell-wall synthesis, not by 'suppressing bacterial immunity', and phages do not work through this route either.

The static concept

Microbes in human welfare — bacteriophage biology, host specificity, and phage therapy as an emerging alternative to antibiotics against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The Supreme Court Collegium's recent recommendations for the Chief Justices of the High Courts of Patna, Calcutta, Bombay, and Punjab and Haryana have renewed attention on the constitutional and judicial framework governing the appointment and transfer of High Court judges. In this context, which one of the following statements is correct?

Why this answer

The correct statement is that the Supreme Court Collegium for High Court appointments (including Chief Justices) consists of the Chief Justice of India plus the two senior-most Judges of the Supreme Court, a composition settled by the Third Judges Case (1998). The '99th Amendment' statement is wrong on two counts: that amendment created the NJAC, not the Collegium (which evolved through the Three Judges Cases via judicial interpretation, not a constitutional amendment), and the NJAC Act along with the 99th Amendment was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015, so neither is in force today. The 'sixty-five years' statement is wrong — a High Court Judge retires at 62, while the 65-year age applies to a Supreme Court Judge; the two are not the same. The statement about the transfer Collegium having the same two-member composition as the appointments Collegium is wrong — under the Memorandum of Procedure, a transfer proposal is initiated by the Chief Justice of India in consultation with the four senior-most puisne Judges of the Supreme Court, not two.

The static concept

Article 217 + Article 222 — appointment and transfer of High Court judges and Chief Justices, operationalised through the judicially evolved Collegium system (Three Judges Cases, 1981/1993/1998)

Coastal stretches along Asia's eastern seaboard periodically face intense tropical cyclones, keeping renewed attention on how such storms interact with shoreline landforms. With reference to coastal geomorphology, consider the following statements:

1. 1.Cyclone-driven storm surges are a major agent of coastal erosion and can rework beaches, shortening depositional landforms such as spits and bars.
2. 2.Coral reefs and mangrove stands act as natural buffers that dissipate the wave energy generated by cyclones, thereby reducing storm-surge damage to the adjoining coast.
3. 3.Sea caves, arches and stacks are depositional landforms produced when storm waves deposit eroded material at the base of a coastal cliff.
4. 4.Tropical cyclones intensify most rapidly over the equator itself, where the Coriolis force is strongest and sea surface temperatures are highest.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Why this answer

The answer is 'Only two' — statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 1 is right: storm surges strip sediment from beaches and reshape depositional forms like spits and bars. Statement 2 is right: coral reefs and mangroves absorb wave energy and are recognised coastal-protection features against cyclone surge. Statement 3 is wrong — caves, arches and stacks are erosional landforms carved by wave action against a cliff face, not depositional accumulations of eroded material. Statement 4 is wrong — the Coriolis force is weakest (near zero) at the equator and strongest at the poles, which is precisely why tropical cyclones almost never form within about 5 degrees latitude of the equator, not the reverse.

The static concept

Coastal Geomorphology and Tropical Cyclones — erosional landforms (cliffs, caves, arches, stacks) versus depositional landforms (beaches, spits, bars) reshaped by storm surge, and natural buffers (coral reefs, mangroves) against cyclone-driven coastal erosion.

The one-year extension recently granted to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director's tenure beyond his date of superannuation, mirroring an earlier extension for the CBI Director, has renewed attention on the statutes that govern the appointment and tenure of India's key constitutional and statutory watchdogs. With reference to the following pairs of posts and the primary statute governing their appointment/tenure, consider:

1. 1.Chief Election Commissioner — Representation of the People Act, 1951
2. 2.Enforcement Directorate Director — Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003
3. 3.Central Bureau of Investigation Director — Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946
4. 4.Central Vigilance Commissioner — Right to Information Act, 2005
5. 5.Comptroller and Auditor General — Government of India Act, 1935

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Why this answer

Only two pairs are correctly matched. The ED Director's tenure and its extension are governed by the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003 (as amended in 2021) — correct. The CBI Director's tenure and its extension are governed by the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 (as amended in 2021) — correct. The Chief Election Commissioner's appointment and tenure are now governed by the CEC and other ECs (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 — not the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals with conduct of elections and electoral offences, so that pair is wrong. The Central Vigilance Commissioner's own appointment and tenure are fixed by the CVC Act, 2003 itself, not the RTI Act, 2005 — wrong. The CAG's conditions of service flow from the CAG's (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971 under Article 148, not the pre-constitutional Government of India Act, 1935 — wrong.

The static concept

Appointment, tenure and extension provisions of key constitutional/statutory authorities — Election Commission (Article 324 + CEC and other ECs Act, 2023), CAG (Article 148 + CAG's Act, 1971), CVC (CVC Act, 2003), and the ED/CBI Directors' tenure extensions under the CVC Act, 2003 and DSPE Act, 1946 respectively.

The Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls under Article 324 has renewed attention on the constitutional architecture governing India's representative democracy, including the distinct mechanisms for adjudicating disputes over a legislator's party affiliation. With reference to the Anti-Defection Law under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, consider the following statements:

1. 1.The decision on a question as to whether a member of a House has become subject to disqualification under the Tenth Schedule is referred to the Election Commission of India, and its decision on the matter is final.
2. 2.In the case of a nominated member of a House, disqualification under the Tenth Schedule is attracted only if such a member joins a political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which he takes his seat in that House.
3. 3.In Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu (1992), the Supreme Court held that since the Presiding Officer exercises a political function under the Tenth Schedule, the decision is not subject to judicial review under any circumstance.
4. 4.A member of a House who has voluntarily given up the membership of the political party on whose ticket he was elected is liable to be disqualified under the Tenth Schedule, even where he has not tendered a formal letter of resignation from that party.
5. 5.The Tenth Schedule, as originally enacted, protected a member from disqualification where a 'split' had occurred in his party and at least one-fourth of the legislators of that party had split away; this defence was omitted by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Why this answer

The correct count is two. The nominated-member rule is correct: disqualification attaches only if such a member joins a political party after six months from taking his seat, not before. The voluntary-giving-up-membership statement is also correct: courts have consistently held this can be inferred from a member's conduct even without a formal resignation letter. The statement attributing the disqualification decision to the Election Commission of India is wrong — Paragraph 6 of the Tenth Schedule vests this power in the Chairman or Speaker of the House concerned, not the ECI. The claim that Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu (1992) placed the Presiding Officer's decision wholly beyond judicial review is wrong — that judgement held the decision is subject to judicial review, but only on limited grounds such as mala fide, perversity, and breach of natural justice. The 'split' defence statement is wrong on the numeral — the original threshold was one-third of the legislature party, not one-fourth, before its removal by the 91st Amendment Act, 2003.

The static concept

Tenth Schedule — Anti-Defection Law: grounds for disqualification, the Presiding Officer's exclusive adjudicatory role, and its post-91st-Amendment structure.

India's neighbourhood and extended-neighbourhood connectivity diplomacy has drawn renewed attention amid shifting security alignments in West Asia. With reference to India's strategic connectivity and access initiatives, consider the following pairs of Project — Country/Partner:

1. 1.Chabahar Port — Iran
2. 2.Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project — Bangladesh
3. 3.Agartala–Akhaura Rail Link — Bangladesh
4. 4.Motihari–Amlekhgunj Petroleum Pipeline — Nepal
5. 5.International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) — Sri Lanka

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Why this answer

The answer is 'Only three pairs' — pairs 1, 3, and 4 are correctly matched. Chabahar Port is in Iran, developed with Indian assistance to give India sea-land access to Afghanistan and Central Asia without transiting Pakistan. The Agartala–Akhaura Rail Link connects Tripura's Agartala to Bangladesh's Akhaura, operationalised in 2023 to boost India–Bangladesh connectivity. The Motihari–Amlekhgunj Pipeline is South Asia's first cross-border petroleum product pipeline, running from Bihar to Nepal. Pair 2 is wrong: the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project links Kolkata to Sittwe port and onward to Mizoram through Myanmar, not Bangladesh. Pair 5 is wrong: the International North–South Transport Corridor's core partners are India, Iran, and Russia (with Central Asian and Caucasus states), not Sri Lanka.

The static concept

India's neighbourhood and extended-neighbourhood connectivity diplomacy — Chabahar Port (Iran), Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (Myanmar), Agartala–Akhaura Rail Link (Bangladesh), Motihari–Amlekhgunj Pipeline (Nepal), and INSTC (India–Iran–Russia) as instruments of strategic access diversification.

Why this answer

The correct answer is that Assertion (A) is false while Reason (R) is true. A is false because landslide magnitude and destructive impact are NOT determined solely by rainfall intensity and duration — this is the 'true-but-irrelevant-as-a-complete-cause' trap, since it ignores site-specific geology. R is true and correctly identifies that a slope's susceptibility to failure is governed by geomorphological and structural factors — regolith thickness, weathering depth, slope gradient, and joint/fracture orientation relative to the slope face — which independently control shear strength regardless of how intense the triggering rainfall is. Since A is false, R cannot be evaluated as 'the explanation of A' — R stands as an independently true statement about landslide susceptibility.

The static concept

Geomorphology & Landforms — mass wasting and slope failure, governed by regolith thickness, weathering depth, slope gradient, and structural discontinuities (joints/fractures), distinct from the meteorological trigger.

Why this answer

The correct answer is 'A is false but R is true'. The Assertion is false: IDSP is a surveillance mechanism — it collects, analyses, and reports disease trend and outbreak data through a network of surveillance units — it does not itself execute field-level anti-larval or vector-control operations. The Reason is true and correctly states the real division of labour: larval source management, anti-larval spraying, fogging, and other vector-control field operations for diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and malaria are implemented under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, the umbrella scheme for vector-borne disease control in India, while IDSP remains the early-warning and data-surveillance layer that flags when and where such interventions are needed. Because the Assertion is false, the question cannot be about explanation at all — only 'A is false but R is true' fits.

The static concept

Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme — the surveillance-versus-implementation split in India's public health architecture for vector-borne diseases.