The Economic Survey is prepared by:

The Economic Survey is prepared by:
Answer: D. The Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs, under the Chief Economic Adviser
The Survey is prepared under the CEA (V. Anantha Nageswaran) and tabled before the Budget.
Who chairs the 16th Finance Commission?
Answer: B. Arvind Panagariya
Arvind Panagariya chairs the 16th. N.K. Singh chaired the 15th and Y.V. Reddy the 14th.
The RBI transfers its surplus profits to the government under which provision?
Answer: B. Section 47 of the RBI Act, 1934
Section 47 requires surplus profits to be paid to the Union. Section 7 lets the government give directions to the RBI.
How many days of wage employment a year does the VB-G RAM G Act guarantee to a rural household?
Answer: A. 125
It raised the guarantee from MGNREGA's 100 days to 125.
The census in India is conducted under:
Answer: B. The Census Act, 1948
The Census Act, 1948 governs it; 'Census' is entry 69 of the Union List.
The PM E-DRIVE scheme is administered by which Ministry?
Answer: C. Ministry of Heavy Industries
Heavy Industries runs PM E-DRIVE, as it ran the earlier FAME schemes.
Which wetland became India's 100th Ramsar site in June 2026?
Answer: D. Jai Prakash Narayan Bird Sanctuary (Surha Tal), Uttar Pradesh
Surha Tal in Ballia was the 100th. Shekha Jheel was the 99th; Chilika was among the first two (1981).
The first international conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels, in April 2026, was co-hosted by:
Answer: D. Colombia and the Netherlands
It met at Santa Marta, Colombia.
In April 2026 the IUCN moved the emperor penguin from Near Threatened to:
Answer: C. Endangered
It skipped Vulnerable and went straight to Endangered, driven by the loss of sea ice.
The SHANTI Act, 2025 is mainly about:
Answer: A. Allowing private participation in nuclear power under a licensing regime
It lets permitted private companies and joint ventures build and run nuclear plants and handle fuel, ending the State monopoly under the 1962 Act.
When did India reach its target of 20% ethanol blending in petrol?
Answer: B. 2025
E20 was reached in 2025. The original target year of 2030 had been brought forward to 2025-26 in 2022.
India's Phase I strategic petroleum reserves are located at:
Answer: A. Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur
The three Phase I caverns are at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur. Chandikhol is a Phase II site.
Artemis II (April 2026) was the first crewed flight to the Moon's vicinity since:
Answer: A. Apollo 17 in 1972
Apollo 17 (December 1972) was the last crewed lunar mission before Artemis II.
Which ISRO mission set a record by placing 104 satellites in orbit in a single launch?
Answer: C. PSLV-C37 (2017)
PSLV-C37 launched 104 satellites in February 2017. LVM3-M4 launched Chandrayaan-3; PSLV-C25 launched Mangalyaan.
In cybersecurity, a 'zero-day' vulnerability is one that:
Answer: C. Is unknown to the software's maker, so no fix yet exists
Zero-day flaws are unknown to the vendor; Project Glasswing (April 2026) was set up to find and patch such flaws.
The Corruption Perceptions Index is published by:
Answer: D. Transparency International
Transparency International, based in Berlin, publishes the CPI. India ranked 91st in the 2025 index.
According to the SIPRI Yearbook 2026, India's nuclear arsenal was estimated at about:
Answer: C. 190 warheads
About 190 for India, about 170 for Pakistan and more than 600 for China.
Which of these is NOT one of the four sub-indices of the Global Gender Gap Index?
Answer: C. Access to justice
The four are economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.