Daily Current Affairs Quiz for UPSC Prelims 2027 — 17 August 2026

Senior police officers have flagged 'digital arrest' scams — where fraudsters impersonate law-enforcement officials over video calls to extort victims — as a fast-growing form of cybercrime. Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, which provision specifically criminalises 'cheating by personation' using a computer resource or communication device, the offence most directly matching such impersonation-based frauds?

Why this answer

The answer is Section 66D — it specifically punishes cheating by personation by using a computer resource or communication device, exactly the mechanism behind 'digital arrest' scams where a fraudster poses as a police or enforcement official. Section 66C is a distinct offence: it covers fraudulent or dishonest use of another person's identifying feature (password, electronic signature) rather than impersonating someone to cheat a victim. Section 66F covers cyber terrorism — acts threatening India's unity, security, or sovereignty — a far more severe and differently-defined offence, not ordinary impersonation fraud. Section 69 is not a penal provision for fraud at all; it empowers the government to intercept, monitor, or decrypt information through a computer resource.

The static concept

Information Technology Act, 2000 — Chapter XI penal provisions (Sections 66C, 66D, 66F) criminalising identity theft, personation-based cheating, and cyber terrorism respectively.

Earthquake and volcanic activity in eastern Indonesia has recently drawn renewed attention to plate-boundary processes in the eastern Indian Ocean region. In this context, which one of the following best explains why India's Barren Island volcano and the seismically active islands of Indonesia lie along the same broad tectonic setting?

Which one of the following statements is correct?

Why this answer

The correct answer is the subduction-arc explanation. Barren Island sits on the Andaman-Sumatra volcanic arc, formed where the Indo-Australian Plate subducts beneath the Burma Plate (part of the wider Sunda/Eurasian system) — the same convergent boundary that runs through Sumatra and Java, where Indonesia's seismicity is concentrated. The 'passive margin/intraplate stress' option is wrong because this is an active convergent plate boundary, not a stable margin. The 'hotspot/mantle plume' option is wrong because Barren Island and Indonesia's arc volcanoes are subduction-related, not fixed-plume volcanism like Hawaii. The 'Himalayan collision' option is a trap — it correctly names the Indo-Australian Plate but wrongly extends the continent-continent collision boundary (which produced the Himalayas) to explain island-arc volcanism, which is actually an oceanic-continental subduction process further east.

The static concept

Plate tectonics — the Indo-Australian Plate's subduction beneath the Burma Plate forming the Andaman-Sumatra volcanic-seismic arc, distinct from its continental collision with the Eurasian Plate forming the Himalayas.

Mediation efforts in the Israel-Palestine conflict have recently drawn renewed attention. Which of the following most accurately reflects India's stated official position on this conflict?

Why this answer

India's official position, as stated by the External Affairs Minister and reaffirmed in MEA parliamentary answers, backs a negotiated two-state solution and calls for ceasefire, hostage release, and humanitarian access — but Jaishankar has explicitly said India 'cannot be a broker nation,' distinguishing its advocacy from active mediation. India also abstained on a UNGA resolution calling for an immediate unconditional ceasefire, arguing this is consistent with favouring dialogue over one-sided resolutions. The option claiming India offered formal mediation is wrong — India has never positioned itself as an official broker between Israel and Hamas. The option claiming India voted for 'every' ceasefire resolution is wrong — the recorded abstention contradicts 'consistently' and 'unwavering'. The option claiming Palestinian-statehood support began only after October 2023 is wrong — MEA answers describe this as a long-held, consistent position, not a post-2023 shift.

The static concept

India's foreign policy tradition of strategic autonomy and non-alignment, applied to contemporary Middle East diplomacy and UN voting behaviour.

India's extradition treaties with its South Asian neighbours — such as the one with Bangladesh, whose 'political offence exception' has drawn renewed attention amid recent diplomatic friction in the neighbourhood — sit within a wider legal architecture. Which one of the following statements best describes how this framework actually operates in India?

Why this answer

The correct statement is the one holding that murder and terrorism are carved out of the political offence exception and that Indian courts examine extraditability — this is exactly how the Extradition Act, 1962 framework and the India-Bangladesh treaty (signed 2013, amended 2016) operate: dual criminality and judicial scrutiny are built in, not bypassed. The claim that the MEA is 'bound to reject' a request the moment the political offence exception is invoked is wrong — the exception has carve-outs, and courts, not the ministry alone, assess whether it genuinely applies. The claim that the 2013 treaty has never been amended is wrong — it was amended in 2016. The claim that the Ministry of Home Affairs, not the MEA, decides extradition requests is wrong — the MEA's CPV Division is India's designated central authority for extradition matters.

The static concept

Extradition Act, 1962 and India's bilateral extradition treaties — political offence exception with carve-outs, dual criminality, and the judiciary's role in extradition decisions.

With reference to In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and human embryonic development, consider the following statements:

1. 1.In IVF, fertilisation of the egg by sperm takes place outside the human body, in a laboratory setting.
2. 2.During human embryonic development, the blastocyst stage is formed before the morula stage.
3. 3.In IVF, embryos are commonly transferred into the uterus at the blastocyst stage, about five to six days after fertilisation.
4. 4.The world's first IVF baby, Louise Brown, was born in India in 1978.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Why this answer

The answer is 'Only two' — statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 1 is right: IVF means fertilisation of egg and sperm occurs outside the body, in a laboratory dish, before the embryo is transferred to the uterus. Statement 3 is right: modern IVF protocols commonly culture the embryo to the blastocyst stage, roughly five to six days post-fertilisation, before transfer, since this improves implantation selection. Statement 2 is wrong — in human embryonic development the morula (a solid ball of cells) forms first, and only later hollows out and differentiates into the blastocyst; the sequence in the statement is reversed. Statement 4 is wrong — the world's first IVF baby, Louise Brown, was born in Oldham, England (UK), in 1978, not India.

The static concept

Biotechnology — Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART): IVF procedure and the zygote–morula–blastocyst sequence in early human embryonic development.

Judicial independence has recently drawn renewed attention after a neighbouring South Asian legislature moved a Bill to extend judges' retirement age, reviving debate on how constitutions insulate judicial tenure from ordinary legislative or executive control. With reference to the constitutional safeguards on the tenure and removal of key constitutional authorities in India, consider the following pairs:

1. 1.Judge of the Supreme Court — Holds office until the age of 65 years (Article 124(2))
2. 2.Judge of a High Court — Holds office until the age of 62 years (Article 217(1))
3. 3.Comptroller and Auditor General — Removable only in the manner and on the grounds applicable to a Judge of the Supreme Court (Article 148(1))
4. 4.Chief Election Commissioner — Removable by the President on the advice of the Council of Ministers, in the same manner as an ordinary civil servant

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Why this answer

The answer is 'Only three pairs' — the first three are correctly matched. Supreme Court judges hold office till 65 years under Article 124(2). High Court judges hold office till 62 years under Article 217(1). The CAG is removable only in the manner and on the grounds applicable to a Supreme Court judge, per Article 148(1). The fourth pair is wrong: the Chief Election Commissioner is NOT removable like an ordinary civil servant — Article 324(5)'s proviso gives the CEC the same protection as a Supreme Court judge, requiring the same rigorous, near-impossible-to-invoke removal process, precisely so that the body conducting elections cannot be pressured by the executive of the day.

The static concept

Judicial independence — security of tenure and removal safeguards for constitutional authorities (Articles 124, 217, 148, 324).

Recent commemorations of a regional Backward Classes leader and freedom fighter from Andhra Pradesh have drawn renewed attention to India's socio-religious reform movements among backward and lower castes. With reference to these movements and their institutional legacy, consider the following statements:

1. 1.The Satyashodhak Samaj, founded by Jyotirao Phule in 1873, sought to end the social and economic exploitation of peasants and the lower castes by the Brahmin priesthood.
2. 2.The Justice Party, founded in Madras in 1916, campaigned for reserved representation of non-Brahmin communities in government employment and legislative bodies.
3. 3.The Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, established under the guidance of Sree Narayana Guru, worked chiefly to secure temple-entry rights and social dignity for the Ezhava community of Travancore.
4. 4.The first Backward Classes Commission, headed by Kaka Kalelkar, was constituted under the Government of India Act, 1935, soon after its enactment.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Why this answer

The answer is 'Only three' — statements 1, 2, and 3 are correct, statement 4 is not. Phule's Satyashodhak Samaj (1873) is correctly described as targeting Brahmin-priesthood exploitation of peasants and lower castes. The Justice Party (1916, Madras) correctly campaigned for non-Brahmin representation in jobs and legislatures. The SNDP Yogam correctly focused on temple-entry and dignity for the Ezhava community under Sree Narayana Guru. Statement 4 fails: the Kaka Kalelkar Commission, India's first Backward Classes Commission, was constituted in 1953 under Article 340 of the Constitution — years after Independence and the Constitution's commencement — not under the colonial-era Government of India Act, 1935.

The static concept

Socio-Religious Reform Movements among Backward and Lower Castes — Satyashodhak Samaj, the Justice Party (non-Brahmin movement), and the SNDP Yogam — and their constitutional legacy via Article 340 and the Backward Classes Commissions.

Allegations of genocidal rhetoric by foreign officials — cited before international judicial bodies as part of war-crimes and genocide-accountability proceedings — have renewed attention on how India's constitutional order engages with international law and treaty obligations. With reference to select provisions/doctrines of the Constitution of India and their correct subject-matter, consider the following pairs:

1. 1.Article 51 — Directs the State to promote international peace and security and foster respect for international law
2. 2.Article 253 — Empowers Parliament to make laws for implementing international treaties, agreements and conventions
3. 3.Article 372 — Provides for the continuance of India's pre-Constitution international treaty obligations
4. 4.The Preamble — The sole source of the Basic Structure doctrine as laid down in Kesavananda Bharati (1973)
5. 5.Article 1 — Defines 'State' for the purpose of enforcing obligations under international human-rights instruments

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Why this answer

Only two pairs are correctly matched. Article 51 (a DPSP under Part IV) does direct the State to promote international peace and foster respect for international law — correct. Article 253 does empower Parliament to legislate for implementing any international treaty, agreement or convention, overriding the usual Union-State legislative distribution — correct. Article 372, however, provides for the continuance of pre-existing DOMESTIC laws after the Constitution commenced — it is not the provision governing treaty continuity, so that pairing is wrong. The Basic Structure doctrine from Kesavananda Bharati (1973) was drawn from the essential features of the Constitution as a whole (federalism, judicial review, fundamental rights, rule of law, etc.), not from the Preamble alone — calling the Preamble the 'sole source' is false, though the Preamble was itself held to be part of the Constitution's basic structure. Article 1 declares 'India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States' — it defines India's name and territory, not the term 'State'; that definition, relevant to enforcing Part III obligations, is given in Article 12. So two of the five pairs hold.

The static concept

Preamble and Basic Structure Doctrine — the Preamble's status post-Kesavananda Bharati (1973), and India's constitutional hooks (Articles 51, 253, 372, 1, 12) for engaging with international law.

Why this answer

A is true and R is false. CDRI is a multi-stakeholder coalition launched by India at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, bringing together national governments, UN agencies, multilateral development banks, private sector, and knowledge institutions to promote disaster- and climate-resilient infrastructure — exactly as A states. R is false: CDRI is NOT a specialized agency of the United Nations; it is an independent, voluntary international coalition with its own secretariat based in New Delhi, and membership/participation in its resilience standards is not legally binding on states. This mirrors how the International Solar Alliance is also an independent India-led coalition, not a UN body.

The static concept

Institutional mechanisms for disaster and climate resilience — India-led international coalitions (CDRI) as instruments of regional cooperation and soft power.

Why this answer

The correct answer is 'A is false, but R is true'. The Assertion is false: neither India nor China treats the LAC as an agreed, delimited international boundary — it is a military control line whose alignment both sides dispute, pending a final settlement; similarly, the MDL only marks where the two Koreas' forces stood at the 1953 armistice, not a peace-treaty boundary, and both Koreas remain technically at war. The Reason is true: both lines trace back to ceasefire/armistice arrangements after fighting stopped — the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement for the MDL, and post-1962 ground positions for the LAC — not to a bilateral treaty formally delimiting the frontier. Because the Reason is true but the Assertion it would be explaining is false, R cannot explain A.

The static concept

Boundary vs frontier and legal-status classification of political boundaries — delimited/demarcated treaty boundaries versus ceasefire/armistice control lines (LAC, LoC, MDL).