UPSC Quiz – 2026 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 14th October 2026

Solution (d)
Explanation: MY Bharat (Mera Yuva Bharat) was launched on 31 October 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, through its Department of Youth Affairs. It is an autonomous body registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, with its official portal at mybharat.gov.in. Its target group is youth aged 15–29 years. Its objectives include equitable access (connecting young people with opportunities across government departments, businesses and non-profit organisations), experiential learning (practical exposure through structured learning programmes and field activities), volunteering and civic participation, a digital profile and CV builder, mentorship and networking, and youth-led governance through initiatives such as the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue and youth-parliament activities. As of 23 September 2026, MY Bharat had crossed 3 crore registered youth. Recently, MY Bharat organised neighbourhood Youth Parliaments and Yuva Melas across 1,469 locations under the Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Abhiyan, mobilising young people for a drug-free India. All three statements are accurate.
Why this question? Tests institutional character (autonomous society vs. statutory body), target group and recent milestone—a multi-layered governance question.
Why important for UPSC? Youth development, government platforms and drug-free India initiatives are recurring governance prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on government platforms, their institutional status and beneficiary criteria.

Solution (a)
Explanation: The IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) October 2026, released on 13 October 2026, slightly raised its global growth forecast for 2026 to 3.1% and projected 3.4% for 2027, citing resilience supported partly by investment in artificial intelligence, while warning of energy-price shocks, rising debt and uneven growth across countries. Global headline inflation was projected at 4.7% in 2026 and 4.1% in 2027. For India, the growth forecast was raised to 7.0% for FY 2026–27, up from 6.4% in the July projection, with key growth drivers being resilient domestic demand, strong services activity and continued structural reforms. Major global risks identified include prolonged geopolitical conflict, higher energy prices, rising government borrowing costs, extreme weather events and a possible correction in AI-related investment. The WEO is published generally twice a year, in April and October, with updates often released in January and July, and analyses global economic trends and projections for output, inflation, trade and other macroeconomic indicators. Options (b), (c) and (d) misstate the growth figures, inflation projections or India’s forecast trajectory.
Why this question? Tests report-specific figures (global and India growth) plus the IMF-WEO relationship, a standard international-economy format.
Why important for UPSC? International financial institutions, global growth projections and India’s economic outlook are recurring economy prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on IMF/World Bank reports, their frequency and India-specific projections.

Solution (d)
Explanation: The Research, Development and Innovation Fund (RDIF) was approved by the Union Cabinet on 1 July 2025 and launched in November 2025, with a total outlay of ₹1 lakh crore over six years. It is under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology, and is managed as an independent business unit within the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF). Its objectives include mobilising greater private-sector investment in R&D, providing long-term, affordable capital for high-risk, high-impact innovation, supporting indigenous technology development and commercialisation, strengthening strategic technologies, and promoting deep-tech innovation and technological self-reliance. Its funding mechanism includes a Special Purpose Fund (SPF) maintaining the corpus within ANRF, Second-Level Fund Managers (SLFMs) channelling funds through Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and Focused Research Organisations (FROs), and financial instruments such as long-term loans, low- or nil-interest financing and equity. It supports eligible projects at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 and above, with SLFMs expected to mobilise private capital equivalent to RDIF contributions. Its priority areas include AI, quantum computing, robotics and space technology; energy security, energy transition and climate action; biotechnology, biomanufacturing, pharmaceuticals and medical devices; the digital economy, including digital agriculture; and other technologies important for strategic or economic security. On 12 October 2026, the government announced the first cohort of 19 Second-Level Fund Managers, with the Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) approving 14 AIFs and 5 FROs with a total commitment of ₹7,131 crore. All three statements are accurate.
Why this question? Tests fund architecture (ANRF linkage, SLFM mechanism), eligibility thresholds (TRL 4) and priority sectors—a precision-oriented S&T-economy question.
Why important for UPSC? Research funding, deep-tech innovation and ANRF-linked institutional mechanisms are emerging S&T-economy prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on government funds, their nodal departments and eligibility criteria.

Solution (c)
Explanation: Mount Mukut is located in the Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, in the Western Garhwal Himalayas near Mount Kamet, with an elevation of 7,045 metres. Its name derives from “Mukut” meaning crown in Hindi, referring to the peak’s crown-like shape, and the terrain features exposed rock, permanent snow, glaciers and steep ridges. A 17-member Indian Coast Guard (ICG) mountaineering team successfully scaled it on 7 October 2026, with the expedition beginning on 15 September 2026 under the guidance of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), Darjeeling, as the final phase (Phase V) of an 18-month preparatory training programme for a planned Mount Everest expedition in 2027, linked to the Coast Guard’s Swarnim Jayanti celebrations. Exercise IBSAMAR IX (2026) is the ninth edition of the India–Brazil–South Africa Maritime Exercise, first conducted in 2008 and held biennially under the IBSA trilateral cooperation framework, hosted by South Africa with the theme “Stronger Together Towards a Shared Future in the Maritime Domain.” Participating assets include India’s INS Tarkash (a Talwar-class guided-missile stealth frigate with an integral Chetak helicopter), Brazil’s BNS Barroso (with a Lynx helicopter), and South Africa’s SAS Amatola, SAS King Sekhukhune I, SAS Adam Kok III and SAS Manthatisi submarine. Major objectives include enhancing interoperability, strengthening maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, and conducting drills in surface warfare, anti-air warfare and anti-submarine warfare, along with maritime interdiction, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS), anti-piracy operations, search and rescue, damage control and firefighting. The Ministry of Defence announced the deployment on 12 October 2026.
Why this question? Combines geography (Himalayan peak specifics and expedition context) with IR (trilateral exercise structure and participating assets) in a two-part format testing breadth.
Why important for UPSC? Himalayan geography and multilateral maritime exercises are recurring prelims themes across geography and IR.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on Himalayan peaks, mountaineering expeditions and trilateral/bilateral naval exercises with their participating platforms.

Solution (a)
Explanation: TRISHNA stands for Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment and is being developed jointly by ISRO and France’s space agency, CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales). On 11 October 2026, an ISRO official stated the satellite had reached an advanced stage of development and was expected to launch within the next 12–16 months, with a planned launch in 2027. It will operate in a Sun-synchronous orbit at approximately 761 km altitude, with a planned mission life of 5 years and revisit frequency of approximately every 3 days at the equator. Its payloads include a Thermal Infrared (TIR) instrument supplied by CNES with four long-wave infrared channels measuring surface temperature and emissivity, and a Visible–Near Infrared–Shortwave Infrared (VNIR–SWIR) instrument developed by ISRO with seven spectral bands measuring surface reflectance and deriving vegetation and radiation-related parameters, with a planned spatial resolution of around 57–60 metres for land and coastal observations. Its major applications include agriculture (detecting crop water stress and improving irrigation scheduling), water management (estimating evapotranspiration and monitoring water use), climate and ecosystems (studying surface-energy balance, vegetation health and urban heat islands), hydrology and cryosphere (monitoring coastal and inland waters, snow cover and snowmelt), and identifying thermal anomalies, subsurface fires and geothermal resources. Options (b), (c) and (d) misattribute the partner agencies or the mission’s core technology.
Why this question? The partner agency (CNES vs. JAXA vs. NASA vs. Roscosmos) and the thermal infrared technology are the primary discriminators, with applications adding policy depth.
Why important for UPSC? Earth observation satellites, bilateral space cooperation and remote-sensing applications are recurring S&T prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to one-liner questions identifying satellite missions by their partner agencies, payload technology and application domains.