UPSC Quiz – 2026 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 31st October 2026

Solution (d)
Explanation: The Gangetic River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is India’s National Aquatic Animal (declared in 2009), classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and CITES Appendix I. It inhabits the freshwater river systems of the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna and Karnaphuli–Sangu basins across India, Nepal and Bangladesh, and is functionally blind, using ultrasonic echolocation to navigate and locate prey; locally known as Susu, it serves as an indicator of river health. India’s conservation measures include Project Dolphin (launched 2020 to conserve river and marine dolphins), the Comprehensive Action Plan (2022–2047) for dolphin conservation and habitat protection, and community participation involving local communities and Ganga Praharis in monitoring, rescue and conservation. Statement 3 is correct: UNEP recognised India’s Ganges River Dolphin recovery programme as one of 35 UN World Restoration Flagships in its report Nature’s Comeback – Scaling Ecosystem Restoration for People and Planet, acknowledged for biodiversity recovery, ecosystem restoration and green job creation, within the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) led by UNEP and FAO, which documents restoration across 252 million hectares in 149 countries generating over one million green jobs. All three statements are accurate.
Why this question? Tests the species’ legal/ecological status, echolocation adaptation and the UNEP recognition—three independent factual layers.
Why important for UPSC? Species in news, riverine biodiversity and ecosystem restoration are recurring environment prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on river dolphins, their conservation status and international restoration recognitions.

Solution (a)
Explanation: Surangams are traditional underground horizontal tunnels, also called tunnel wells, found mainly in Kasaragod (Kerala) and parts of Dakshina Kannada (Karnataka). They are dug horizontally into laterite hills and hillocks, and groundwater seeps through the porous rock into the tunnel and flows out naturally under gravity, used for drinking water and irrigation. They do not require pumps or electricity, and some tunnels extend up to 300 metres. Historically, they are similar in principle to the Qanat system of Persia, though their precise historical origins remain uncertain. Option (b) describes surface canals, not underground tunnels. Option (c) describes modern tube wells requiring electricity. Option (d) describes concrete rainwater tanks. A revival initiative covers eight gram panchayats in Kasaragod district — Kayyur-Cheemeni, Kodom-Belur, Kallar, Pallikkara, Bedadka, Puthige, Chengala and Kumbla — to improve groundwater recharge, conserve rainwater and sustain river flows, involving VB-G RAM G rural employment workers with technical support from the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), and includes tunnel repairs, rainwater infiltration measures, recharge points and water-storage structures, alongside a survey to document location, condition and water availability.
Why this question? The gravity-flow, no-electricity mechanism and the Qanat comparison are the primary discriminators, with modern/constructed alternatives as traps.
Why important for UPSC? Traditional water harvesting, groundwater conservation and indigenous knowledge are recurring geography prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to one-liner questions on traditional water harvesting structures and their working principles.

Solution (d)
Explanation: The Sankosh River is a transboundary river shared by Bhutan and India, known in Bhutan as Puna Tsang Chhu (Punatsangchhu). It originates in northern Bhutan in the eastern Himalayas and is formed by the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers near Punakha, flowing south through Bhutan, entering India and passing through Assam before joining the Brahmaputra system. Its length is approximately 321 km (214 km in Bhutan and 107 km in India), and it forms part of the Assam–West Bengal inter-state boundary in its lower course. Statement 3 is correct: a GLOF from Shintaphu Lake in Bhutan on 29 October 2026 triggered flood alerts along the Sankosh River in West Bengal and Assam, with around 10,000–12,000 people evacuated from vulnerable areas of West Bengal as a precaution; the flood surge passed through the river without causing major inundation. A GLOF occurs when water stored in a glacial lake is suddenly released due to the failure of its natural dam, and the Shintaphu Lake breach released an estimated 7.4 million cubic metres of water into the Mo Chhu river system, with the Central Water Commission issuing a flood advisory for Alipurduar (West Bengal) and Dhubri (Assam). All three statements are accurate.
Why this question? Tests the river’s transboundary course, formation and GLOF-hazard linkage—a multi-layered geography question.
Why important for UPSC? Himalayan rivers, GLOF hazards and disaster management are recurring geography-disaster prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on transboundary Himalayan rivers, their tributaries and GLOF risks.

Solution (a)
Explanation: The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) was established in 1963 under the National Cooperative Development Corporation Act, 1962, as a statutory corporation under the Ministry of Cooperation, with the objective to plan, promote and finance cooperative development. Its areas cover agriculture, processing, storage, marketing, dairy, fisheries, poultry, handloom, sericulture and other rural income-generating activities, with financial assistance provided through State Governments and directly to eligible cooperative societies. Its FY 2025–26 performance includes ₹1.27 lakh crore financial assistance disbursed, ₹1,475 crore net profit, a 99.84% loan recovery rate and zero net NPAs, with cumulative disbursement of ₹4.14 lakh crore since the establishment of the Ministry of Cooperation (up to October 2026). Its important initiatives include Sahakar Navachar Yojana (up to ₹25 lakh grant for cooperative innovations), Nandini Sahakar (women-led cooperatives), Yuva Sahakar (young and innovative cooperatives) and Ayushman Sahakar (healthcare infrastructure through cooperatives). The 93rd General Council meeting was held on 29 October 2026 in New Delhi under the chairmanship of the Union Cooperation Minister, reviewing financial performance and discussing a 25-year institutional roadmap. Options (b), (c) and (d) misstate its nature, legal basis or parentage.
Why this question? The statutory corporation nature and the FY 2025–26 performance figures are the primary discriminators, with private bank/constitutional body/subsidiary as traps.
Why important for UPSC? Cooperative sector, the Ministry of Cooperation and rural credit are recurring economy-governance prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to one-liner questions identifying cooperative institutions by their legal basis and financial performance.

Solution (c)
Explanation: Ayushman Vay Vandana was launched on 29 October 2024 as part of Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), providing up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of socio-economic status or income. Senior citizens in families already covered under AB PM-JAY receive an additional top-up of up to ₹5 lakh annually, exclusively for themselves. It is implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reaching approximately 6 crore senior citizens belonging to 4.5 crore families. In its two years, it facilitated 23.46 lakh authorised hospital admissions worth ₹5,668.80 crore, with cataract surgery the most frequently availed procedure (4.71 lakh treatments) and chronic haemodialysis around 2.90 lakh treatments. Mollisia sokpayensia is a new fungal species discovered by a team led by Manipur scientist Dr. Laishram Shantikumar Singh, associated with the rare medicinal plant Panax sokpayensis in the Sikkim Himalaya, published in the 2026 volume of the journal Fungal Diversity. It is a fungal endophyte — a fungus living inside healthy plant tissues without causing visible disease symptoms — found at Jorbotay, Uttarey, West Sikkim, at an altitude of 1,800–2,300 metres, and isolated from the plant’s rhizome using Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA). The research was supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), adding to fungal diversity documentation in the Indian Himalaya, with further research required to establish medicinal or commercial applications. Both statements are accurate.
Why this question? Combines health welfare (eligibility universality and top-up structure) with microbiology (endophyte classification and isolation method) in a two-part format testing breadth.
Why important for UPSC? Senior citizen healthcare and Himalayan fungal biodiversity are recurring prelims themes across health and environment.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on AB PM-JAY eligibility extensions and on new species discoveries with their ecological associations.