UPSC Current Affairs Quiz — 13 September 2026

1.

A Badri embryo produced by in vitro fertilisation was carried to birth by a Sahiwal cow. The resulting calf is:

A Badri-Sahiwal crossbreed A Sahiwal calf A Badri calf, because the Sahiwal cow was only the recipient and not the genetic mother A clone of the Sahiwal cow

From: Badri Cattle: OPU-IVF Calf Born at Pantnagar via a Sahiwal Recipient Open full article →

2.

Consider the following statements about assisted reproduction in cattle:

1.In artificial insemination, semen is placed in the female's reproductive tract and fertilisation occurs inside her body.

2.In in vitro fertilisation, fertilisation and early embryo development take place in the laboratory.

3.Embryo transfer is the subsequent placement of an embryo into a recipient animal.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Badri Cattle: OPU-IVF Calf Born at Pantnagar via a Sahiwal Recipient Open full article →

3.

Consider the following statements about Badri cattle:

1.They are also known as Pahadi cattle.

2.Their home tract lies in the hill districts of Uttarakhand.

3.They are a wild bovine species rather than a livestock breed.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Badri Cattle: OPU-IVF Calf Born at Pantnagar via a Sahiwal Recipient Open full article →

4.

Consider the following statements about the Pantnagar birth:

1.The calf is a clone produced without combining an egg and a sperm.

2.Immature eggs, called oocytes, were collected from donor cows with ultrasound guidance and matured in the laboratory.

3.The recipient cow had to be at a compatible stage of her reproductive cycle for the transfer to succeed.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Badri Cattle: OPU-IVF Calf Born at Pantnagar via a Sahiwal Recipient Open full article →

5.

Producing more calves through embryo technology does not by itself preserve a breed's genetic diversity because:

Repeatedly using a very small set of parents can narrow the diversity of the population Laboratory-born calves cannot reproduce naturally Recipient cows always pass on their own genes Embryo transfer changes the calf's breed

From: Badri Cattle: OPU-IVF Calf Born at Pantnagar via a Sahiwal Recipient Open full article →

6.

In road construction, aggregate refers to:

The bitumen that binds the surface layer The granular material forming much of a road's structure, which carries and distributes traffic loads The paint used for lane markings The drainage pipes laid beneath the pavement

From: Steel Slag Road: Guinness Record for 1.85-km Raigarh Stretch Open full article →

7.

Consider the following statements about steel slag:

1.It forms when fluxes combine unwanted components of molten metal into a separate phase that hardens into a stone-like material.

2.All steel slag is a uniform construction product regardless of the production process.

3.Steelmaking slag should be distinguished from blast-furnace slag produced during ironmaking.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Steel Slag Road: Guinness Record for 1.85-km Raigarh Stretch Open full article →

8.

Consider the following statements about why steel slag must be processed before use in roads:

1.Unprocessed slag can contain recoverable metal and particles of unsuitable size.

2.Some lime and magnesium compounds in slag can react with water and expand, damaging the road above.

3.Leaching, in which water carries soluble substances out of a material, is an environmental concern to be checked.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Steel Slag Road: Guinness Record for 1.85-km Raigarh Stretch Open full article →

9.

Consider the following statements about the Indian steel-slag road technology:

1.The Central Road Research Institute, which developed it, belongs to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

2.An earlier demonstration used processed slag in a road at Hazira near Surat in Gujarat.

3.The technology allows untreated slag to be placed directly in any road layer.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Steel Slag Road: Guinness Record for 1.85-km Raigarh Stretch Open full article →

10.

Consider the following statements about the Colombo Security Conclave:

1.Its members are India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Bangladesh and Seychelles.

2.Pakistan is a member.

3.Its secretariat is in Colombo.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Colombo Security Conclave: Tabletop Exercise Ends at Visakhapatnam Open full article →

11.

A tabletop exercise, such as the one held at Visakhapatnam, is one in which:

Warships conduct live firing at sea Officials work through simulated situations to practise decisions and coordination Troops carry out a real interception of a suspect vessel Navies exchange ships for training cruises

From: Colombo Security Conclave: Tabletop Exercise Ends at Visakhapatnam Open full article →

12.

Consider the following statements about the conclave's areas of cooperation:

1.Maritime safety and security is one of the five founding areas.

2.Trafficking and transnational organised crime is another.

3.Cybersecurity, including critical infrastructure and technology, is also among them.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Colombo Security Conclave: Tabletop Exercise Ends at Visakhapatnam Open full article →

13.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing are related but distinct. Unreported fishing means:

Catches are concealed or misstated where reporting is required Fishing takes place without any management arrangement in force Fishing violates applicable rules or permissions Foreign vessels fish in a country's waters

From: Colombo Security Conclave: Tabletop Exercise Ends at Visakhapatnam Open full article →

14.

Maritime domain awareness, referred to by the Defence Ministry, means:

Owning the largest fleet in a region Having a naval base on every coast Claiming exclusive rights over neighbouring waters Understanding activity in the maritime environment well enough to recognise risks and make decisions

From: Colombo Security Conclave: Tabletop Exercise Ends at Visakhapatnam Open full article →

15.

Consider the following statements about the location of the Ramanathaswamy Temple:

1.It stands at Rameswaram on Pamban Island in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.

2.The Palk waters lie to the north of the island-and-shoal chain and the Gulf of Mannar to its south.

3.Adam's Bridge, also called Ram Setu, is a chain of shallow shoals extending between the Indian and Sri Lankan sides.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Ramanathaswamy Temple: The Backdrop for Modi's BRICS Welcome Open full article →

16.

Consider the following statements about the temple's religious standing:

1.Ramanathaswamy is counted among the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines.

2.Rameswaram belongs to the four-site all-India Char Dham circuit with Badrinath, Dwarka and Puri.

3.Kedarnath is one of the four sites of that all-India Char Dham circuit.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Ramanathaswamy Temple: The Backdrop for Modi's BRICS Welcome Open full article →

17.

In a South Indian temple complex, a gopuram is:

The sanctum containing the principal object of worship A towering gateway marking an entrance into the temple enclosure A sacred bathing tank The pillared corridor around the shrine

From: Ramanathaswamy Temple: The Backdrop for Modi's BRICS Welcome Open full article →

18.

The temple records 22 theerthams. A theertham is:

A carved pillar A festival procession A sacred water source or bathing place A form of Shiva

From: Ramanathaswamy Temple: The Backdrop for Modi's BRICS Welcome Open full article →

19.

Consider the following statements about the temple's history:

1.The present complex was built in a single phase during the Mauryan period.

2.Substantial construction is placed from the twelfth century onwards.

3.The Sethupathi rulers are identified as important contributors to the complex.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Ramanathaswamy Temple: The Backdrop for Modi's BRICS Welcome Open full article →

20.

Consider the following statements about the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network:

1.It was launched at Paro in Bhutan in January 2011.

2.Its secretariat is in New Delhi.

3.Its eight members include Afghanistan, Maldives and Pakistan alongside India.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: SAWEN: Kathmandu Declaration Targets Wildlife Traffickers' Money Open full article →

21.

The Kathmandu Declaration stresses financial investigation of wildlife crime because:

Seizing a consignment does not by itself identify the organisers or remove their profits Wildlife products cannot be identified without bank records Customs officers lack the power to seize consignments Money laundering is not an offence in South Asian countries

From: SAWEN: Kathmandu Declaration Targets Wildlife Traffickers' Money Open full article →

22.

Asset recovery, as used in the declaration, differs from confiscating a trafficked animal at a border in that it:

Returns the animal to the wild Applies only to live animals Requires no evidence Seeks to deprive offenders of criminal proceeds through the applicable legal process

From: SAWEN: Kathmandu Declaration Targets Wildlife Traffickers' Money Open full article →

23.

Consider the following statements about SAWEN and CITES:

1.SAWEN replaces the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora for its member countries.

2.CITES regulates trade in listed species through controls such as permits and certificates.

3.CITES is not a blanket ban on every movement of every wild species.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: SAWEN: Kathmandu Declaration Targets Wildlife Traffickers' Money Open full article →

24.

Consider the following statements about Buxa Tiger Reserve:

1.It lies in Alipurduar district of northern West Bengal.

2.Bhutan lies along its northern side and Assam towards its east.

3.Its forests connect with the wider Manas landscape and, towards the west, with the Jaldapara area.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Buxa Tiger Reserve: Tigress Transfer Planned from Bihar's Valmiki Open full article →

25.

Consider the following statements about Valmiki Tiger Reserve, the proposed source of the tigress:

1.It lies in West Champaran district of north-western Bihar.

2.It adjoins Nepal and connects with Nepal's Chitwan forests.

3.It is an adjoining section of Buxa Tiger Reserve.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Buxa Tiger Reserve: Tigress Transfer Planned from Bihar's Valmiki Open full article →

26.

Under the International Union for Conservation of Nature's guidance, a conservation translocation should:

Be carried out whenever a reserve has spare forest cover Move animals only between reserves in the same state Deliver a measurable conservation benefit after assessment of habitat, suitability, disease and risks to the source population Be judged successful once the animal has been transported

From: Buxa Tiger Reserve: Tigress Transfer Planned from Bihar's Valmiki Open full article →

27.

A wildlife corridor is best described as:

A fenced road built for animals A usable connection between habitats that allows animals to move across the wider landscape A uniformly wide strip of untouched forest The core zone of a tiger reserve

From: Buxa Tiger Reserve: Tigress Transfer Planned from Bihar's Valmiki Open full article →

28.

Which one of the following would count as evidence of tiger recovery at Buxa, as opposed to merely an action taken?

The capture of a tigress at Valmiki Survival, suitable movements and eventual reproduction of the released animal over successive years The transport vehicle reaching Buxa A single sighting after release

From: Buxa Tiger Reserve: Tigress Transfer Planned from Bihar's Valmiki Open full article →

29.

Consider the following statements about bivalves:

1.They are molluscs whose soft body is protected by two hinged shell halves.

2.They are small fish enclosed in shells.

3.Many of them feed by filtering particles from water passing across their gills.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Deltachion ravenshaw: New Clam Species from Odisha's Devi Estuary Open full article →

30.

In the name Deltachion ravenshaw, the two parts respectively denote:

The genus and the species The family and the genus The collector and the collection site The order and the family

From: Deltachion ravenshaw: New Clam Species from Odisha's Devi Estuary Open full article →

31.

Consider the following statements about the collection setting:

1.An estuary is a coastal waterbody where river water and seawater meet and mix.

2.Salinity in an estuary can change with freshwater flow and tides.

3.The collection area lies near Astaranga in Puri district, on Odisha's Bay of Bengal coast.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Deltachion ravenshaw: New Clam Species from Odisha's Devi Estuary Open full article →

32.

A formal description of a new species, such as this clam, establishes:

That the animal is abundant along the whole Odisha coast A defined reference that other researchers can recognise and investigate further Its commercial value and pollution-removal capacity That the animal evolved recently

From: Deltachion ravenshaw: New Clam Species from Odisha's Devi Estuary Open full article →

33.

Consider the following statements about Fermat's Last Theorem:

1.It states that a to the power n plus b to the power n equals c to the power n has no solution in positive whole numbers when n is an integer greater than two.

2.When the exponent is two, positive whole-number solutions such as 3, 4 and 5 exist.

3.It states that no positive whole-number solutions exist even when the exponent is two.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Fermat's Last Theorem: Full Proof Formalised in Lean in 11 Days Open full article →

34.

Consider the following statements about the proof of the theorem:

1.Andrew Wiles completed the decisive work in 1994, with an important contribution from Richard Taylor, and the papers appeared in 1995.

2.The route to the proof connected Fermat's equation with elliptic curves and modular forms.

3.Elliptic curves are mathematical objects described by particular cubic equations, not ordinary ellipses.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Fermat's Last Theorem: Full Proof Formalised in Lean in 11 Days Open full article →

35.

Lean, used in the September 2026 formalisation, is best described as:

A spreadsheet for large calculations A search engine for mathematical papers A programming language and proof assistant whose small trusted kernel checks formal proofs step by step A database of solved equations

From: Fermat's Last Theorem: Full Proof Formalised in Lean in 11 Days Open full article →

36.

What was new in Anthropic's September 2026 announcement about Fermat's Last Theorem?

The theorem was proved for the first time A complete computer-checked formalisation of the already established proof was produced A counterexample to the theorem was found The theorem was extended to negative numbers

From: Fermat's Last Theorem: Full Proof Formalised in Lean in 11 Days Open full article →

37.

Testing very many numbers cannot prove Fermat's Last Theorem because:

Computers cannot handle large exponents The equation has no numbers to test There are infinitely many combinations and exponents, so a proof must give a reason covering them all Testing is forbidden by the theorem's statement

From: Fermat's Last Theorem: Full Proof Formalised in Lean in 11 Days Open full article →

38.

Consider the following statements about the Hasdeo river:

1.It rises on the Sonhat Plateau in northern Chhattisgarh and flows generally southwards.

2.It is a left-bank tributary of the Mahanadi.

3.The Mahanadi carries its water eastwards through Chhattisgarh and Odisha to the Bay of Bengal.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Hasdeo River: Three Students Swept Away near Devri in Janjgir-Champa Open full article →

39.

A river's left bank and right bank are identified by:

The bank nearer the northern side The direction a person on the bank happens to face Facing downstream, in the direction of flow The bank on which the larger town stands

From: Hasdeo River: Three Students Swept Away near Devri in Janjgir-Champa Open full article →

40.

Near the Hasdeo's source on the Sonhat Plateau, streams flowing north enter the Ganga basin while those flowing south enter the Mahanadi basin. The higher land separating them is called:

A drainage divide A confluence A delta A floodplain

From: Hasdeo River: Three Students Swept Away near Devri in Janjgir-Champa Open full article →

41.

Consider the following statements about the Hasdeo-Bango project:

1.It is also called the Minimata Hasdeo Bango project and is built on the river in Korba district.

2.Its reservoir and canal network supply irrigation, including to the Janjgir-Champa region.

3.The existence of the dam upstream establishes that it caused the September 2026 accident.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Hasdeo River: Three Students Swept Away near Devri in Janjgir-Champa Open full article →

42.

In river measurement, discharge differs from water level in that discharge is:

The height of the water surface at a reference point The volume of water passing a section during a given time The depth of the deepest point in the channel The speed of the current at the surface

From: Hasdeo River: Three Students Swept Away near Devri in Janjgir-Champa Open full article →

43.

Consider the following statements about Mayun Island:

1.Also known as Perim, it belongs to Yemen and lies in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

2.The strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

3.The strait separates the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa, with Djibouti and Eritrea on the African side.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Mayun Island: Houthis Reported to Seize Bab-el-Mandeb Outpost Open full article →

44.

For a ship sailing from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean by the Suez route, the correct sequence is:

Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab-el-Mandeb, Suez Canal Gulf of Aden, Suez Canal, Bab-el-Mandeb, Red Sea Gulf of Aden, Bab-el-Mandeb, Red Sea, Suez Canal Bab-el-Mandeb, Gulf of Aden, Suez Canal, Red Sea

From: Mayun Island: Houthis Reported to Seize Bab-el-Mandeb Outpost Open full article →

45.

The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, are best described as:

A country bordering the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait An armed political movement originating in northern Yemen and a party to the country's conflict The internationally recognised government of Yemen A regional shipping regulator

From: Mayun Island: Houthis Reported to Seize Bab-el-Mandeb Outpost Open full article →

46.

Consider the following statements about the significance of the reported capture:

1.A maritime chokepoint's importance depends on the traffic using it and the availability of alternatives.

2.Ships avoiding the Red Sea can sail around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, lengthening many Asia-Europe journeys.

3.The capture report proves that the strait is now closed to shipping.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3

From: Mayun Island: Houthis Reported to Seize Bab-el-Mandeb Outpost Open full article →