UPSC Quiz – 2026 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 20th October 2026

Solution (d)
Explanation: France — officially the French Republic, with capital Paris — is a semi-presidential republic with French as its official language and the Euro (€) as currency. It is a founding member of the European Economic Community (EU member since 1958) and a founding member of NATO (1949), having rejoined the integrated military command structure in 2009 after withdrawing in 1966. Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Spain and Andorra, and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, English Channel and Mediterranean Sea. Its major rivers include the Seine, Loire and Rhône, and its major mountain ranges include the Alps, Pyrenees and Jura. Statement 3 is correct: French Guiana lies in South America, bordering Brazil and Suriname, and the five overseas departments/regions are Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion and Mayotte — these five, together with Saint-Martin, are EU outermost regions, distinct from overseas countries and territories associated with the EU. All three statements are accurate. France witnessed widespread protests on 17 October 2026 over rising living costs, inequality and deteriorating public services, escalating into violence in several cities, with public buildings including Limoges City Hall set ablaze and shops looted.
Why this question? Tests France’s institutional affiliations (EEC/NATO founding, 2009 rejoining), borders and the outermost-region vs. overseas-territory distinction.
Why important for UPSC? European geography, EU institutional architecture and NATO are recurring IR-geography prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on European countries’ borders, EU membership categories and NATO structures.

Solution (a)
Explanation: Barda Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Barda Hills, Saurashtra region, Gujarat, spread across Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka districts, covering approximately 192.31 sq km, with the Bileshvary and Joghri rivers flowing through it. The Gir–Barda Project, initiated by Gujarat in 1979, aimed to develop Barda as a second habitat for Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica). A male lion naturally arrived in January 2023, and the Gujarat Forest Department subsequently introduced five females — by August 2025, the sanctuary reportedly supported 17 lions, including six adults and 11 cubs. Asiatic lions have thus returned to Barda after approximately 144 years. Its vegetation includes dry mixed deciduous and tropical thorn forests, with species such as babul, bamboo, jamun, ber and dhav, and other fauna including leopard, hyena, wolf, chinkara, sambar and nilgai; local communities include Maldharis, Bharvads, Rabaris and Gadhvis. Barda’s importance lies in reducing dependence on the Gir landscape as the sole core habitat of wild Asiatic lions, supporting expansion into satellite habitats. Options (b), (c) and (d) misstate the location, flagship species or Ramsar status.
Why this question? The Gir-only-habitat assumption is the key conceptual trap; the 1979 Gir–Barda Project and 144-year return timeline add precision.
Why important for UPSC? Asiatic lion conservation, protected areas and human-wildlife conflict are recurring environment prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to one-liner questions on protected areas, their flagship species and conservation translocation programmes.

Solution (d)
Explanation: Vasuki indicus was discovered at the Panandhro Lignite Mine, Kutch district, Gujarat, and belongs to Madtsoiidae, an extinct family of snakes. Researchers studied 27 vertebrae, some preserved in connected sequences, and estimated its length at 10.9–15.2 metres (about 36–50 feet), making it possibly among the largest snakes ever to have existed. It lived during the Middle Eocene, approximately 47 million years ago. The name “Vasuki” refers to the mythical serpent associated with Lord Shiva, and “indicus” refers to India — the species was described by Debajit Datta and Sunil Bajpai of IIT Roorkee, with the underlying study published in Scientific Reports in April 2024. Its broad, cylindrical body suggests a robust build, and researchers inferred that it was probably a slow-moving ambush predator, potentially subduing prey by constriction. It lived in a warm Eocene environment, with the study discussing an estimated average temperature of around 28°C, and its evolutionary relationships provide clues about the geographical dispersal of ancient snakes between the Indian subcontinent, Europe and Africa. All three statements are accurate.
Why this question? Tests discovery location, taxonomic family, length estimation methodology and naming etymology — a multi-layered paleontology question.
Why important for UPSC? Paleontology, fossil discoveries and evolutionary biogeography are recurring S&T prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on fossil discoveries, extinct species and their evolutionary significance.

Solution (a)
Explanation: Kufri Jamunia is a biofortified, table-purpose potato variety developed by the ICAR–Central Potato Research Institute (ICAR-CPRI) and officially released in 2024, aimed at improving nutritional security and addressing “hidden hunger.” It has dark-purple skin and flesh, with oblong tubers and shallow eyes, is medium-maturing, yields approximately 32–35 tonnes per hectare under recommended practices (station trials recorded around 49 tonnes per hectare at 90 days), is recommended for the North Indian plains, and has medium dormancy of 6–8 weeks with good storage quality. Nutritionally, it contains higher levels of several nutrients than conventional potatoes: anthocyanins (natural pigments responsible for its purple colour, possessing antioxidant properties), vitamin C (supporting immune function and collagen formation), carotenoids (pigments with antioxidant activity), and iron and zinc (essential micronutrients supporting normal physiological functions). Option (b) describes a GM crop. Option (c) describes food fortification, which is distinct from biofortification — biofortification improves nutrient content through plant breeding or other crop-development methods (e.g., Kufri Jamunia), whereas food fortification adds nutrients to food during processing (e.g., adding iron or folic acid to flour). Option (d) misdescribes it as a mango variety.
Why this question? The biofortification-vs-fortification distinction is the core conceptual trap, with variety-specific nutritional details adding precision.
Why important for UPSC? Biofortification, nutritional security and ICAR crop development are recurring agriculture prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to one-liner questions distinguishing biofortification from food fortification and identifying crop varieties by their development institutions.

Solution (c)
Explanation: The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), was established in 2018 and inaugurated in January 2020, with the objective of coordinating efforts to prevent and investigate cybercrime, particularly cybercrime affecting citizens. It functions as a national-level coordination framework supporting law-enforcement agencies, with major functions including coordinating cybercrime investigations, facilitating data sharing and analytics, supporting capacity-building and training, improving central-state coordination and promoting public awareness. On 19 October 2026, I4C warned of rising financial fraud involving deepfake videos of public officials, fake government welfare schemes and fraudulent cashback offers on social media, through its National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit (NCTAU). Recent fraud patterns include deepfake scams (manipulated videos of political leaders promoting fictitious welfare schemes), fake benefit claims (victims asked to pay registration, processing or verification fees), cashback scams (fake scratch-card and spin-and-win websites luring users into approving fraudulent UPI collect requests) and identity theft (seeking Aadhaar, PAN, bank details or OTPs). Reporting mechanisms include the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) and the cyber financial fraud helpline 1930; a key safety rule is that a UPI PIN authorises a payment and is not required to receive money. Exercise Akhand Prahar-II was conducted by the Indian Army in October 2026 in the desert sector of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, in the Thar Desert, involving the Black Mace Brigade and Battle Axe Division, to strengthen combat readiness and test technology-enabled combined-arms operations, with key focus areas including integration of New Generation Equipment (NGEs) and Force Multipliers (FMs), integrated battle drills in a multi-domain operational environment, coordination among combat elements and preparedness for evolving challenges of modern warfare. The earlier Exercise Akhand Prahar-I was conducted by the Army’s Southern Command in November 2025 as part of tri-services Exercise Trishul, validating the operational readiness of Konark Corps including Army Aviation support, indigenous drones, counter-drone systems and electronic warfare capabilities.
Why this question? Combines cybersecurity governance (I4C’s institutional details and fraud typologies) with a domestic military exercise, testing two distinct domains in a two-part format.
Why important for UPSC? Cyber fraud prevention, digital security and military exercises are recurring internal security prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on cybercrime institutions, their reporting mechanisms and domestic military exercises with their participating formations.