UPSC Quiz – 2026 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 7th November 2026

Solution (a)
Explanation: Namika La Pass is located in the Union Territory of Ladakh, in the Zanskar Range of the Himalayas, at an elevation of approximately 3,700 metres (12,139 feet) above sea level, and is also known as the “Pillar of the Sky Pass.” It lies on the Srinagar–Leh Highway (NH-1), connecting the Kargil and Leh regions, and is on the route towards Mulbek Valley, known for its rock-carved Maitreya Buddha statue and Buddhist monastery. A crucial comparison for prelims: Namika La and Fotu La are two major high passes on the Kargil–Leh route, and Fotu La is higher. Options (b), (c) and (d) misstate the range, elevation or highway. On 4 November 2026, two Indian Army personnel were killed after their vehicle plunged into a nearly 600-foot-deep gorge near Namika La Pass, along the Kargil–Leh National Highway.
Why this question? The Namika La–Fotu La elevation comparison and the Zanskar Range location are the primary discriminators, with other ranges/highways as traps.
Why important for UPSC? Himalayan passes, their strategic connectivity and border infrastructure are recurring geography prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to one-liner questions on Himalayan passes, their ranges and the highways they connect.

Solution (a)
Explanation: The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) was established in 1983 through an executive order of the Government of India, with headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and historically functioned under the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), with the objective of regulating nuclear and radiation safety in India and protecting workers, the public and the environment from radiation hazards. Its key functions include developing safety policies, codes, standards and guidelines; granting safety authorisations for siting, construction, commissioning, operation and decommissioning; conducting regulatory inspections and enforcing compliance; prescribing permissible radiation exposure limits; reviewing emergency preparedness and response plans; and monitoring nuclear, radiological and industrial safety. Statement 2 is correct: the SHANTI Act, 2025 confers statutory status on AERB, strengthening its legal authority and institutional independence, and enables regulated private-sector participation in nuclear facilities and related activities. Statement 3 is the key trap: the Act requires Central Government licensing AND AERB safety authorisation — private operators are NOT exempted from AERB authorisation, and safety requirements are retained irrespective of whether the operator is public or private. AERB Chairperson A.K. Balasubrahmanian recently stated that the Board would provide an enabling environment for private-sector participation while maintaining existing nuclear safety standards.
Why this question? The “private operators exempted from AERB” trap inverts the Act’s dual-approval requirement, testing precise regulatory knowledge.
Why important for UPSC? Nuclear regulation, private participation in atomic energy and statutory evolution are recurring S&T-governance prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on AERB’s mandate and legislative changes in nuclear governance.

Solution (c)
Explanation: Exercise Malabar 2026 is a multilateral naval exercise involving India, Japan, the United States and Australia — all four Quad members — with Japan hosting the 2026 edition; the Indian Navy’s indigenous stealth frigate INS Sahyadri arrived at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on 4 November 2026, with the exercise commencing on 5 November and concluding on 12 November 2026. The exercise has harbour and sea phases, with focus areas including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, maritime surveillance and interoperability across maritime domains. Statement 2 is correct: Malabar began in 1992 as a bilateral India–US naval exercise; in 2007, Japan, Australia and Singapore participated in an expanded edition; Japan became a permanent participant in 2015; and Australia rejoined as a permanent participant in 2020, making it a four-nation exercise.
Why this question? Tests the phased evolution of Malabar (1992 bilateral → 2007 expansion → 2015 Japan → 2020 Australia) with the 2026 host and platform details.
Why important for UPSC? Quad cooperation, multilateral exercises and Indo-Pacific security are recurring IR prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on Malabar’s evolution, participating countries and hosting arrangements.

Solution (a)
Explanation: The CAPEX Support Scheme to Promote Critical Mineral Processing was approved by the Union Cabinet on 4 November 2026 with an outlay of ₹2,814 crore, under the Ministry of Mines, for FY 2026–27 to FY 2030–31 (five years), to build domestic processing facilities, increase value addition and reduce dependence on imported high-purity mineral intermediates. It provides a capital subsidy of 30% of eligible investment for establishing four processing plants: two lithium plants (minimum capacity 30,000 tonnes per plant, maximum subsidy ₹500 crore per beneficiary) and two nickel plants (minimum capacity 50,000 tonnes per plant, maximum subsidy ₹900 crore per beneficiary). Lithium plants will process ores and concentrates (excluding brines) into battery-grade products, while nickel plants will produce Class-1 nickel or battery-grade nickel sulphate, with cobalt recovery as a by-product. The total capital support is ₹2,800 crore, with ₹14 crore for administrative expenses. Selection is through a two-stage competitive process — technical qualification followed by financial bidding based on the least CAPEX support sought — with two beneficiaries selected for each mineral, subsidy released in three milestone-linked tranches, and plants generally commissioned within three years of the Letter of Award (outer limit five years, with tapering of support for delays beyond three years). It is expected to attract approximately ₹10,000 crore in investment, with processing capacity of 60,000 tonnes of lithium and 1,00,000 tonnes of nickel, supporting electric mobility, BESS, electronics, defence and speciality steel. Options (b), (c) and (d) misstate the subsidy rate, minerals, ministry or mechanism.
Why this question? The 30% subsidy rate, four-plant structure and mineral-wise capacity/subsidy caps are the primary discriminators.
Why important for UPSC? Critical minerals, battery supply chains and energy transition are recurring economy-S&T prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to one-liner questions on critical mineral schemes and their incentive structures.

Solution (d)
Explanation: The Gaia mission is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission launched on 19 December 2013, operating around the Sun–Earth Lagrange Point 2 (L2), approximately 1.5 million km from Earth, with the objective of creating a highly accurate, three-dimensional map of the Milky Way and studying its formation, structure and evolution, having mapped the positions, distances and motions of nearly two billion stars and other celestial objects. Its key technologies are astrometry (measuring positions, distances and proper motions), photometry (measuring brightness and colour) and spectroscopy (analysing stellar spectra to derive chemical composition, temperature and radial velocity). Statement 3 is correct: an Indian-led team of astronomers used Gaia data to discover that the star cluster UBC 63 — located approximately 4,892 light-years from Earth and previously identified as one loosely bound galactic open cluster — actually consists of two distinct clusters, UBC 63A and UBC 63B, which passed within approximately 7 parsecs (23 light-years) of each other around six million years ago; they are now about 26 parsecs apart and moving away from each other, and are not gravitationally bound. The findings were published in The Astronomical Journal in November 2026. All three statements are accurate.
Why this question? Tests the Gaia mission’s L2 orbit, the three-technique (astrometry-photometry-spectroscopy) architecture and the UBC 63 discovery details.
Why important for UPSC? Space astronomy, stellar clusters and Indian contributions to international missions are recurring S&T prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on Gaia’s objectives, Lagrange point missions and open cluster discoveries.