Search Previous Year Questions

The correct answer is option 1.

 Key Points

• India’s life expectancy rose from 58.6 years in 1990 to 72 years in 2023 according to the UNDP’s Human Development Report 2025.
• India in HDI 2025:
• Life expectancy: 72 years (2023)
• HDI value: 0.685
• Rank: 130 out of 193 countries (improved from 133^rd in 2022).
• Contribution to HDI rise & other indicators:
• India’s HDI value for 2023 is 0.685, up from 0.676 in 2022.

Additional Information

About HDI

• The HDI is a composite statistic created by the UNDP to emphasize that human development is more than just economic growth.
• It was first introduced in 1990, largely through the efforts of economist Mahbub ul Haq and UNDP, to provide a broader measure of development than GDP alone.
• It measures long-term progress in three basic dimensions:
• A long and healthy life (life expectancy at birth)
• Access to knowledge / education (mean years of schooling + expected years of schooling)
• Decent standard of living (GNI per capita in PPP)
• Composite index measuring:
• Health (Life expectancy at birth)
• Education (Mean & Expected years of schooling)
• Income (GNI per capita)

The correct answer is option 2.

Key Points

AI Action Summit held in Paris, February 2025:

• The summit ran 10–11 February 2025 at the Grand Palais, Paris.
• It was co-chaired by France (President Emmanuel Macron) and India (Prime Minister Narendra Modi)
• It followed earlier AI summits: the AI Safety Summit (2023, Bletchley Park, UK) and the AI Seoul Summit (2024)
• Over 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries attended, representing governments, international organizations, academia, private sector, and civil society
• The summit was part of a week of events (AI Action Week, Feb 6–11) including scientific conferences, cultural programs, and business sessions
• Five thematic pillars guided the summit’s agenda:
• Public Service AI
• Future of Work
• Innovation & Culture
• Trust in AI
• Global Governance of AI
• A “Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and the Planet” was adopted, with signatories from ~60+ countries including France, China, India; however the US and UK did not sign
• Investment announcements: France announced massive investment pledges (≈ €109 billion) for AI development, infrastructure, and data centers
• Projects: The Paris Peace Forum played a coordinating role. 50 selected AI projects from 111 countries were showcased.
• The summit also launched Current AI, a foundation backed by multiple countries to fund open, public interest AI initiatives.
• The next summit in the series: AI Impact Summit will be hosted by India in Delhi in February 2026

The correct answer is option 2.

Key PointsEmma Stone’s Oscar win and Poor Things:

• This was Emma Stone’s second Oscar win in the Best Actress category. Her first was for La La Land (2016).
• Poor Things received 11 nominations at the 96^th Academy Awards and won 4 Oscars including Best Actress for Stone.
• The film also won in categories like Production Design, Costume Design, and Makeup & Hairstyling.
• The movie is based on a novel by Alasdair Gray and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

Additional Information96th Academy Awards (2024):

• Best Picture: Oppenheimer
• Best Director: Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)
• Best Actor: Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)
• Best Actress: Emma Stone (Poor Things)
• Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)
• Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)
• Best Original Screenplay: Anatomy of a Fall
• Best Adapted Screenplay: American Fiction
• Best Animated Feature: The Boy and the Heron
• Best International Feature Film: The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom)

The correct answer is option 3.

Key Points

• At the 70^th National Film Awards, Kutch Express (Gujarati) won the Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values
• The film also won three awards in total at that edition.
• Also, Manasi Parekh (lead actor in Kutch Express) won the Best Actress (Leading Role) award (shared) in that edition.

 Additional Information70th National Film Awards:

• Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Mithun Chakraborty
• Best Feature Film: Aattam (Malayalam)
• Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Kantara (Kannada)
• Best Actor: Rishab Shetty for Kantara
• Best Actress: Nithya Menen for Thiruchitrambalam (Tamil) and Manasi Parekh for Kutch Express (Gujarati)
• Best Director: Sooraj Barjatya for Uunchai (Hindi)
• Best Hindi Film: Gulmohar
• Best Non-Feature Film: Ayena (Mirror)

The correct answer is option 4.

Key Points2024 Ramon Magsaysay Award:  

• Karma Phuntsho (Bhutan)
• He is a Bhutanese scholar, former monk, and cultural historian.
• In 2024, he became the first Bhutanese to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award in over six decades.
• Award citation: For “invaluable and enduring contributions towards harmonizing the richness of his country’s past with the diverse predicaments and prospects of its present, inspiring young Bhutanese to be proud of their heritage and confident in their future.”
• He founded the Loden Foundation (Bhutan) and worked on documenting Bhutanese manuscripts, cultural heritage, and promoting education consistent with tradition and modernity.
• Rural Doctors Movement (Thailand)
• This is a collective of healthcare professionals in Thailand, working to improve rural and underserved health systems.
• Recognized for “historic and continuing contribution to their people’s health—and to the recognition and fulfilment as citizens with basic rights” by championing access to healthcare for rural populations.
• Their work has influenced health policies and the expansion of universal health care in Thailand, particularly in remote areas.
• Miyazaki Hayao (Japan)
• Co-founder of Studio Ghibli, globally celebrated for his animated films.
• His cinematic works often address deep themes — environmental protection, human suffering, conflict, feminism, psychological growth — through imaginative storytelling.
• The Ramon Magsaysay Award citation highlights his “lifelong commitment to the use of art, specifically animation, to illuminate the human condition... devotion to children as the torchbearers of the imagination.”
• Among your options, Karma Phuntsho, Rural Doctors Movement, and Miyazaki Hayao were all recipients of the 2024 Ramon Magsaysay Award.
• Thus, “more than one of the above” is indeed correct.
• The 2024 awardees represent diverse fields: cultural scholarship, public health, and creative arts.

The correct answer is option 4.

Key PointsAkashteer (India’s automated Air Defence Control & Reporting System):

• Akashteer is described as the core of the Indian Army’s Air Defence (AAD) system.
• It is integrated with the IACCS (Indian Air Force’s Integrated Air Command & Control System) and TRIGUN (Navy’s system), enabling jointness across services.
• It helps provide a unified air situation picture and faster decision making across air defence assets.
• The media and official releases describe Akashteer as a shift from traditional passive defence to more proactive capabilities (automation, faster responses) in the Indian air defence network.

Analysis of the statements

• “Akashteer is the core of the Indian Army’s Air Defence (AAD) system.”
• True. Official sources explicitly call it the “core” of Army’s AAD.
• “It seamlessly integrates India’s larger C4ISR.”
• True, in the sense that it integrates radar, sensors, command & control assets, and is connected with the IAF’s IACCS and Navy’s TRIGUN, which is part of a broader C4ISR framework.
• “It reflects a strategic shift from passive defence to proactive retaliation.”
• True (or largely so). The coverage of Akashteer emphasizes automation, real-time responsiveness, and the ability to intercept threats proactively rather than only reacting passively.

The correct answer is option 4.

Key PointsIndia’s indigenous defence ecosystem under Make in India:

• F-35 Lightning II
• ❌ Incorrect.
• The F-35 is an American 5^th-generation stealth fighter developed by Lockheed Martin (USA), not part of India’s Make in India program.
• Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun
• ✔️ Correct.
• The Arjun MBT was developed by India’s DRDO and manufactured by Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Avadi.
• It is a flagship indigenous tank project.
• Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS)
• ✔️ Correct.
• ATAGS is a 155mm, 52-calibre towed artillery gun developed by DRDO in partnership with Indian private firms (Bharat Forge, Tata).
• Successfully tested and inducted under Make in India.
• More than one of the above
• ✔️ Correct. Both Arjun MBT and ATAGS are part of India’s indigenous ecosystem.

The correct answer is option 2.

Key Points

• International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed on January 27 each year.
• This date marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp by Soviet forces in 1945.
• The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as the official day of remembrance in 2005 (UNGA Resolution 60/7).
• The day commemorates the six million Jews and millions of other victims (Roma, disabled, political prisoners, etc.) murdered during the Holocaust.
• Many countries also hold their own national remembrance days, but January 27 is the globally recognized Holocaust Memorial Day.

The correct answer is option 2.

Key Points

• Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, won the 2025 International Booker Prize.
• It is the first collection of short stories and the first work translated from Kannada to win the prize.
• The stories (12 in total) span the period 1990–2023, focusing on women’s lives in patriarchal communities in southern India.
• The £50,000 prize is shared equally between the author and the translator.
• The book Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, which won the 2025 International Booker Prize, was translated from Kannada to English by Deepa Bhasthi
• Distinction:
• First ever Kannada-language book to win.
• First short story collection to receive the award.
• Themes: Women’s lives, patriarchy, and social realities in southern India (stories spanning 1990–2023).

Additional Information

About the International Booker Prize

• Established: 2005 (as the Man Booker International Prize), restructured in 2016 into its current form.
• Purpose: To honor the best book translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland in the previous year.
• Eligibility:
• Open to novels and short story collections.
• Both the author and the translator are recognized.
• Prize Money: £50,000, split equally between the author and translator.
• Annual Recognition: It highlights global literature and promotes translations, giving voice to stories outside the Anglophone world.
• Significance: It has boosted readership of translated works; e.g., Han Kang’s The Vegetarian (2016) and Olga Tokarczuk’s Flights (2018) saw global acclaim after winning.

The correct answer is option 1.

Key PointsIndus Waters Treaty (1960) between India and Pakistan:

• Allocation of Rivers:
• Eastern Rivers (allocated to India): Ravi, Beas, Sutlej
• Western Rivers (allocated to Pakistan, with limited Indian use): Indus, Jhelum, Chenab

Additional Information

• Signed on: 19 September 1960 in Karachi.
• Parties: India & Pakistan.
• Brokered by: World Bank after years of negotiation (since 1948 disputes post-Partition).
• Signatories:
• Jawaharlal Nehru (Prime Minister of India)
• Ayub Khan (President of Pakistan)
• W.A.B. Iliff (World Bank Vice-President)
• River Allocation
• Eastern Rivers (to India): Ravi, Beas, Sutlej
• India gets exclusive rights to use waters for agriculture, domestic, and industrial purposes.
• Western Rivers (to Pakistan): Indus, Jhelum, Chenab
• Pakistan gets exclusive use.
• India is allowed limited use → non-consumptive (navigation, hydropower, fisheries) and some irrigation (up to 3.6 MAF).