Daily Current Affairs Quiz for UPSC Prelims 2027 — 19 August 2026

The Governor's relationship with the elected State government has recently drawn renewed attention amid a dispute over the Governor directly summoning a state official without going through the Council of Ministers. With reference to Article 163 of the Constitution, which of the following best describes the constitutional position of the Governor of a State?

Why this answer

The correct answer is that the Governor is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers except where the Constitution expressly requires discretion — this is the exact text of Article 163(1). The first option fails because it claims 'no exceptions whatsoever', but Article 163(1) itself carves out discretionary matters. The third option is wrong because the Governor cannot invoke discretion merely on personal judgement of 'good governance' — as Shamsher Singh v. State of Punjab (1974) and Nabam Rebia v. Deputy Speaker (2016) held, discretion is confined to situations the Constitution explicitly provides for, not a general power to override the Council of Ministers. The fourth option is wrong because the Governor's executive functions are aided by the STATE Council of Ministers, not by advice from the President.

The static concept

Article 163 — Governor bound by aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, except in matters of express constitutional discretion.

The licensing and supervision regime for opium poppy cultivation in India — recently back in focus amid farmer concerns over changes to the crop's processing and procurement policy — operates under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Which authority holds statutory responsibility for licensing cultivators, supervising cultivation, and procuring the opium produced under this Act?

Which authority holds statutory responsibility for licensing cultivators, supervising cultivation, and procuring the opium produced under this Act?

Why this answer

The Central Bureau of Narcotics, functioning under the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance, is the statutory licensing and supervisory authority for opium poppy cultivation under the NDPS Act, 1985 — its District Opium Officers issue licenses, its Narcotics Commissioner enforces the annual Minimum Qualifying Yield criteria, and the CBN procures the opium tendered by cultivators. The Narcotics Control Bureau is a distinct body under the Ministry of Home Affairs tasked with drug-law enforcement and coordinating action against trafficking and illicit narcotics — it has no role in licensing licit cultivation. The Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, regulates agricultural produce grading and certification (such as AGMARK) and is likewise unconnected to narcotics licensing. Placing the Narcotics Commissioner's office under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is also wrong — that office heads the CBN, which sits within the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, not Health.

The static concept

Regulatory architecture for licit opium cultivation under the NDPS Act, 1985 — licensing, supervision and procurement vested in the Central Bureau of Narcotics, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

India's crude oil import bill has recently surged amid renewed volatility in global oil prices. Given India's heavy dependence on imported crude, which one of the following best explains the specific channel through which a sustained rise in global crude prices threatens India's external sector stability?

Why this answer

The correct explanation is that crude oil imports directly widen the merchandise trade deficit, which is the largest component of the current account deficit — with India importing nearly nine-tenths of its crude requirement, price rises translate almost mechanically into a costlier import bill. The 'invisible trade / capital account' option is wrong because crude oil is visible (merchandise) trade and its impact flows through the current account, not the capital account. The 'only below three months' cover option is wrong because it invents an absolute threshold — CAD pressure from oil prices operates continuously, regardless of the reserve-cover level, though thin reserves worsen the consequences. The remittances option is wrong because it substitutes a genuine but secondary invisibles-account channel (Gulf remittances) for the direct, dominant merchandise-import channel the question is actually testing.

The static concept

Balance of Payments — Current Account Deficit, with the merchandise trade deficit (driven substantially by crude oil imports) as its largest component.

The constitutional relationship between a State Governor and the Council of Ministers under Article 163 has drawn renewed attention amid recurring Centre-State friction over gubernatorial conduct. With reference to this relationship, which one of the following statements is correct?

Why this answer

The correct statement is that the Governor's own decision on whether a matter falls within his discretion is final and immune from judicial review on that specific ground. Article 163(1) gives the Council of Ministers the duty to aid and advise the Governor 'except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his functions... in his discretion' — so discretion is NOT total absence of aid-and-advice (ruling out the 'bound in every matter, no discretion' option) but a carved-out exception. Separately, the Constitution expressly bars any court from inquiring into what advice Ministers gave the Governor, which rules out the option claiming courts may examine that advice. And Article 163(1)'s own text is the source of the discretion — it is not merely convention, which rules out the 'unwritten convention only' option.

The static concept

Article 163 — Council of Ministers to aid and advise the Governor, except in matters requiring the Governor's discretion; finality of the Governor's discretion-determination and the bar on judicial inquiry into ministerial advice.

The Census 2027 questionnaire's collection of respondents' religion, caste, and place of birth has drawn renewed attention to how India's constitutional commitment to secularism operates in practice. With reference to this concept, consider the following statements:

1. 1.The word 'Secular' was inserted into the Preamble to the Constitution of India by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976.
2. 2.The Supreme Court, in S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994), held that secularism forms part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution.
3. 3.Because the Constitution declares India a Secular State, no organ of the State, including the Census, is constitutionally permitted to record a respondent's religion.
4. 4.Parliament's authority to conduct the decennial Census is derived directly from the Preamble's objective of securing 'Justice, social, economic and political' to all citizens.

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: 'Secular' (along with 'Socialist' and 'Integrity') was added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment, 1976. Statement 2 is right: in S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994), the Supreme Court affirmed secularism as part of the Basic Structure, meaning it cannot be abrogated even by a constitutional amendment. Statement 3 is wrong — Indian secularism means principled state neutrality and equal respect for all religions (not a wall of separation), and the State routinely collects religion data for demographic and welfare planning without this being a secularism violation. Statement 4 is wrong — the Census is conducted under the Census Act, 1948, whose legislative competence flows from Article 246 read with Entry 69 of the Union List, not from the Preamble, which is not a source of legislative power.

The static concept

Preamble — 'Secular' (42nd Amendment, 1976) and secularism as part of the Basic Structure Doctrine (S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, 1994).

State-level moves to expand health insurance for senior citizens have recently drawn renewed attention to India's broader landscape of social-security and health-insurance schemes for the elderly. With reference to the following schemes/programmes and their actual features, consider the pairs given below:

1. 1.Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) — provides a health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year to households identified as economically vulnerable through the SECC database
2. 2.AB PM-JAY Vay Vandana Yojana — provides an additional ₹5 lakh per year health cover to all senior citizens aged 70 and above, irrespective of their income
3. 3.Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) — extended health insurance cover to the entire Indian population from its 2008 launch
4. 4.Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) — a health insurance policy for senior citizens administered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
5. 5.National Programme for Health Care for the Elderly (NPHCE) — established dedicated geriatric units in district hospitals under the National Health Mission

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Why this answer

The correct count is 'Only three pairs'. AB PM-JAY is rightly described — ₹5 lakh/family/year cover for households flagged as deprived under the SECC database. AB PM-JAY Vay Vandana Yojana is rightly described — it gives every senior citizen aged 70+ an additional ₹5 lakh/year cover regardless of family income. NPHCE is rightly described — it set up geriatric units in district hospitals under the National Health Mission. RSBY is wrongly described: it covered only BPL families from 2008, not the 'entire population' — that absolute claim is false. PMVVY is wrongly described: it is a guaranteed-pension scheme run by LIC under the Ministry of Finance, not a health-insurance policy under the Ministry of Health.

The static concept

Health insurance and social-security architecture for senior citizens — from RSBY (2008) through Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY (2018) to the AB PM-JAY Vay Vandana Yojana (2024) top-up, alongside NPHCE's geriatric-care infrastructure under the National Health Mission.

The continuing exchange of long-range missile and drone strikes in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has kept the human cost of modern warfare and the rules meant to restrain it back in focus, prompts a review of the legal framework governing the conduct of hostilities. In this context, consider the following statements:

1. 1.The four Geneva Conventions of 1949, along with their Additional Protocols, constitute the principal treaty-based framework of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), also called the law of armed conflict.
2. 2.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) functions as a specialized agency of the United Nations, deriving its mandate to monitor the Geneva Conventions directly from the UN Charter.
3. 3.Under the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court can exercise jurisdiction over war crimes committed on the territory of a non-States Party only if that State has separately ratified the Statute, admitting no exception.
4. 4.India is a party to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 but has not ratified the two Additional Protocols of 1977 relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts.
5. 5.The principle of proportionality restricting attacks that cause excessive incidental civilian harm was first codified in the original 1949 Geneva Conventions, predating its later elaboration in the 1977 Additional Protocols.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Why this answer

The answer is 'Only two' — statements 1 and 4 are correct. Statement 1 is correct: the four 1949 Geneva Conventions plus their Additional Protocols form the core treaty framework of IHL. Statement 4 is correct: India ratified the four 1949 Geneva Conventions but has never ratified the two 1977 Additional Protocols. Statement 2 is wrong — the ICRC is an independent, neutral organisation whose mandate flows from the Geneva Conventions themselves, not from the UN Charter; it is not a UN specialized agency, though it holds observer status at the UN General Assembly. Statement 3 is wrong — Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute lets the UN Security Council refer a situation to the ICC, giving it jurisdiction even over non-States Parties (as with Sudan in 2005 and Libya in 2011), so an 'only if ratified, no exception' claim is false. Statement 5 is wrong — the proportionality rule was formalised in the 1977 Additional Protocol I (Articles 51 and 57), not in the original 1949 Conventions.

The static concept

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) — the Geneva Conventions (1949) and their Additional Protocols (1977), governing the conduct of hostilities and protection of civilians in armed conflict.

Peace processes and counter-terrorism strategies against non-state armed groups have recently been back in focus in West Asia. With reference to such groups, consider the following pairs (Group — Reason for being in the news):

1. 1.PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) — Recently made subject to a Turkish law offering a conditional pardon, contingent on the group's full disarmament and dissolution
2. 2.Houthi movement — Continues to contest the internationally recognised government for control of Yemen
3. 3.Hezbollah — A Kurdish separatist militia based in northern Iraq
4. 4.Abdullah Ocalan — Explicitly named among those covered by Turkey's newly signed pardon law

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Why this answer

The answer is 'Only two pairs' — pairs 1 and 2 hold. Pair 1 is correct: Turkey has signed a law offering the PKK a conditional pardon that takes effect only once the group fully disbands and disarms. Pair 2 is correct: the Houthi movement remains in conflict with Yemen's internationally recognised government for territorial control. Pair 3 is wrong — Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia political-militant group, not a Kurdish militia, and it is not based in northern Iraq; that description fits neither its identity nor its geography. Pair 4 is wrong — the pardon law explicitly excludes key PKK figures including Abdullah Ocalan, so he is not among those covered.

The static concept

Geopolitical Conflicts & Regional Crises — non-state armed actors, peace processes, and counter-terrorism frameworks in West Asia.

Why this answer

A is true: India's Gross Expenditure on R&D as a share of GDP (around 0.6-0.7%) has for decades trailed China (over 2%), Japan, and the United States, a persistent gap widely flagged in STIP discussions. R is false: the UGC Act, 1956 governs the coordination and maintenance of standards in university education and empowers the UGC over university teaching posts — it does NOT govern recruitment to India's dedicated scientific research organisations, which instead follow their own service rules (CSIR's own recruitment boards, ICMR, DBT-DAE-ISRO recruitment cells, etc.). Recent commentary on funding scientific research explicitly cites the UGC Act's rigid, university-oriented recruitment framework as a structural bottleneck when misapplied or referenced alongside research-institution hiring, which is precisely why R is not a blanket rule 'across all' publicly funded research bodies. Since R does not hold, it cannot explain A either.

The static concept

Government budget and fiscal policy — Gross Expenditure on R&D as % of GDP, and the University Grants Commission Act, 1956's actual jurisdiction over recruitment and standards in university education.

Why this answer

Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A. Article 266 requires that all tax revenues (other than specifically earmarked cesses backed by a dedicated fund under a distinct law, e.g., the Road and Infrastructure Cess or Health and Education Cess) be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India, from which Parliament may appropriate money for any public purpose via the annual Appropriation Act. So a general tax merely justified in public discourse as being 'for science' or 'for R&D' creates no legal obligation to spend it that way — it simply enlarges the CFI pool. This is precisely why A is true, and R states the constitutional mechanism (CFI credit + Parliamentary appropriation vs. a dedicated-fund cess) that makes A true, making R the correct explanation.

The static concept

Government Budget and Fiscal Policy — Consolidated Fund of India (Article 266), Parliamentary appropriation, and the cess/dedicated-fund exception to general-tax earmarking.