UPSC current affairs quiz, 12 October 2026

With reference to Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which one of the following statements is correct?

1. It is the provision for preventive detention of persons for up to one year without trial.
2. It empowers a magistrate to issue orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger, and it replaces Section 144 of the CrPC.
3. It allows the Union Government to suspend telecom services in a district.
4. It empowers the High Court to issue writs for the enforcement of fundamental rights.

Consider the following statements about the Supreme Court's directions of 11 October 2026 on the Delhi protests:
1. No person is to be detained except in accordance with the procedure established by law.
2. The Court quashed all prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS across Delhi.
3. The Court directed that barricades be reviewed forthwith.
How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: A peaceful and unarmed assembly held outside the area covered by a prohibitory order is, in principle, lawful.
Statement-II: Article 19(1)(b) guarantees citizens the right to assemble peaceably and without arms, and a prohibitory order applies only to the area it specifies.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
2. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
3. Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
4. Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Consider the following grounds:
1. Sovereignty and integrity of India
2. Public order
3. Friendly relations with foreign States
4. Decency or morality
How many of the above are grounds on which the right to assemble peaceably and without arms can be restricted under Article 19(3)?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. Only three
4. All four

Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. A petition for habeas corpus to enforce a fundamental right can be filed directly in the Supreme Court under Article 32.
2. The writ of habeas corpus can be issued only against a public authority and never against a private person.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

In the context of protest jurisprudence, the Supreme Court's judgment in Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police (2020) is associated with which one of the following?

1. Banning all protests at Jantar Mantar
2. Holding that public ways cannot be occupied indefinitely for protest
3. Declaring access to the internet a fundamental right in itself
4. Striking down Section 144 of the CrPC

Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, the obligation of public authorities to publish certain categories of information on their own, without any request, is contained in:

1. Section 4
2. Section 6
3. Section 8
4. Section 19

Consider the following statements about the Right to Information Act, 2005:
1. It was enacted on 15 June 2005 and came fully into force on 12 October 2005.
2. Section 4(1)(b) lists 17 categories of information to be published suo motu.
3. A Public Information Officer who fails to publish Section 4 information can be fined ₹250 a day under the Act's express provision on proactive disclosure.
How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: Poor compliance with proactive disclosure under Section 4 of the RTI Act tends to increase the number of RTI applications.
Statement-II: When information that must be published is not available, citizens have to file individual requests to obtain it.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
2. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
3. Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
4. Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Consider the following items:
1. Budget allocated to each agency of the public authority
2. Monthly remuneration of its officers and employees
3. Names and particulars of its Public Information Officers
4. Manner of execution of subsidy programmes and details of beneficiaries
How many of the above are among the categories that Section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act requires a public authority to publish?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. Only three
4. All four

Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. Under the DoPT guidelines, the transparency audit of Section 4 disclosures is to be carried out by a third party.
2. In 2020-21, more than half of all public authorities had their suo motu disclosures audited.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Consider the following statements:
1. Section 4(2) of the RTI Act asks public authorities to make constant efforts to provide information suo motu so that the public has minimum resort to RTI requests.
2. Section 4(4) requires information to be disseminated keeping in view cost-effectiveness and local language.
3. The Central Information Commission hears second appeals and complaints under the Act.
How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

With reference to 'sex reversal' in amphibians, recently in the news, which one of the following statements is correct?

1. It is a change in the chromosomes of an adult frog caused by viral infection.
2. It is the development of an individual into the sex opposite to its genetic sex because environmental factors such as temperature override genetic sex determination.
3. It occurs only in reptiles, whose sex is fixed entirely by nest temperature.
4. It is a breeding technique used in captive conservation to produce more females.

Consider the following statements about the 2026 study on agile frogs:
1. Sex-reversed males were genetically male but looked female.
2. All offspring of sex-reversed males were genetically female.
3. Sex-reversed males sired a share of egg masses smaller than their share of adult males.
How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: Heat-induced sex reversal may fail to offset male-biased sex ratios caused by warming in agile frog populations.
Statement-II: Sex-reversed males in the wild sire disproportionately few offspring, and their offspring are more vulnerable to ranavirus after heat stress.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
2. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
3. Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
4. Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Consider the following statements:
1. Amphibians are the most threatened class of vertebrates according to the second IUCN Global Amphibian Assessment.
2. That assessment found that disease remained the leading cause of amphibian status declines after 2004.
3. About 40% of assessed amphibian species are globally threatened.
How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. In the agile frog study, tadpoles in the heat treatment were raised at about 28°C for six days.
2. The study found that offspring of sex-reversed fathers died at a higher rate from ranavirus than offspring of typical fathers.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Consider the following animals:
1. Agile frog
2. Sea turtles
3. Humans
4. Domestic chicken
How many of the above are animals in which temperature during early development can alter the sex of individuals?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. Only three
4. All four

Which one of the following countries does NOT have a coastline on the Black Sea?

1. Bulgaria
2. Georgia
3. Moldova
4. Romania

Consider the following statements about the Black Sea Grain Initiative:
1. It was signed in Istanbul in July 2022.
2. India was a signatory to it.
3. It ended when Russia did not extend its participation in July 2023.
How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: Türkiye has significant influence over naval traffic into and out of the Black Sea.
Statement-II: The Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, the only sea link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, are governed by the Montreux Convention under which Türkiye controls the Straits.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
2. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
3. Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
4. Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Consider the following countries:
1. Georgia
2. Bulgaria
3. Moldova
4. Romania
How many of the above have a coastline on the Black Sea?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. Only three
4. All four

With reference to recent diplomacy on the Russia-Ukraine war, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. Ukraine's Foreign Minister described India's proposal as the most comprehensive of the four proposals Kyiv had received.
2. Russia formally accepted India's three-part proposal in October 2026.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

The 'Montreux Convention', sometimes seen in the news, relates to:

1. Protection of migratory waterbirds
2. The regime of the Turkish Straits
3. Limits on fishing in the Black Sea
4. Nuclear safety at power plants in conflict zones

With reference to the TRISHNA mission, consider the following statements:
1. It is a joint mission of ISRO and the French space agency CNES.
2. Its primary purpose is to measure land surface temperature to assess water stress and evapotranspiration.
3. It will be placed in a geostationary orbit to provide continuous coverage of India.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Consider the following statements about TRISHNA:
1. The thermal infrared instrument is being developed by CNES.
2. The satellite platform (bus) is being built by ISRO.
3. It will provide images at a resolution finer than 1 m.
How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: A crop under water stress tends to show a higher surface temperature than a well-watered crop.
Statement-II: Transpiration cools leaves, and a plant short of water transpires less.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
2. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
3. Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
4. Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Consider the following satellites:
1. Megha-Tropiques
2. SARAL
3. Oceansat-2
4. TRISHNA
How many of the above are joint missions of ISRO and CNES?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. Only three
4. All four

Which of the following statements about a sun-synchronous orbit is/are correct?
1. A satellite in it passes over a given place at about the same local solar time on each pass.
2. It is a near-polar orbit.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

SARAL, an Indo-French satellite launched in 2013, carried the AltiKa instrument. AltiKa was mainly used to measure:

1. Rainfall over the tropics
2. Sea surface height
3. Land surface temperature
4. Atmospheric ozone