UPSC Quiz – 2026 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 24th October 2026

Solution (a)
Explanation: SIMBEX (Singapore–India Maritime Bilateral Exercise) is an annual naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), first held in 1994 as Exercise Lion King. The 33rd edition took place in October 2026 at Visakhapatnam and in the Bay of Bengal.

2. With reference to the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) and the recent CREA analysis, which one of the following statements is correct?
(a) GRAP was introduced in 2017 and substantially revised in 2022, with Stage IV (Severe Plus) applying to AQI above 450, and is overseen by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
(b) GRAP was introduced in 2015 and is overseen by the Central Pollution Control Board, with Stage I applying to AQI 301–400.
(c) GRAP applies only to industrial emissions and does not cover construction activities or vehicles.
(d) GRAP is a long-term emission reduction framework rather than an emergency pollution control mechanism.

Solution (a)
Explanation: The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is an emergency framework to control air pollution in Delhi-NCR, introduced in 2017 and substantially revised in 2022, and is overseen by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). Its stages are: Stage I — Poor: AQI 201–300; Stage II — Very Poor: AQI 301–400; Stage III — Severe: AQI 401–450; and Stage IV — Severe Plus: AQI above 450. Measures become progressively stricter, covering construction activities, vehicles, industries and other pollution sources. Option (b) misstates the introduction year, overseeing body and Stage I threshold. Option (c) incorrectly limits GRAP to industrial emissions. Option (d) reverses its nature — GRAP is an emergency framework, not a long-term emission reduction framework. A CREA analysis reported on 22–23 October 2026 found no sustained improvement in Delhi’s winter air quality during the four winters after the 2022 GRAP revision: Delhi’s mean winter AQI rose from 280 in 2022–23 to 295 in 2025–26 (with intervening values of 304 in 2023–24 and 285 in 2024–25), and AQI was higher in the week after GRAP escalation in 10 of 12 examined episodes. Notably, these observations do not by themselves prove that GRAP caused pollution to rise or failed to prevent worse outcomes — a separate study by IITM-Pune and CAQM estimated that GRAP restrictions may have prevented substantially more severe-AQI hours, and the CREA analysis does not establish what pollution levels would have been without the restrictions.
Why this question? The stage-wise AQI thresholds and the GRAP-vs.-CAQM institutional linkage are the primary discriminators, with the “emergency vs. long-term” distinction as a conceptual trap.
Why important for UPSC? Air pollution governance, GRAP and CAQM are recurring environment-governance prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to one-liner questions on pollution control frameworks, their AQI thresholds and overseeing institutions.

Solution (a)
Explanation: The Shamonda virus is an RNA virus belonging to the genus Orthobunyavirus, family Peribunyaviridae, and the Simbu serogroup, and was first isolated from cattle in Nigeria in 1965. Its primary hosts are cattle, with infections also detected in sheep, goats, horses and alpacas, and it is transmitted primarily between animals through biting midges of the genus Culicoides; the likely route in the French human case is a midge bite, though investigations are ongoing. In animals, it causes fever, diarrhoea and weakness, reduced appetite and milk production, and reproductive complications including abortions or congenital abnormalities. Statement 3 is incorrect on a critical point: France did report the first documented human infection in October 2026 in a severely immunocompromised patient who died in early October, but no human-to-human transmission has been identified — the likely route was a midge bite, not human-to-human spread. French authorities and the WHO have stated that no risk to the general population has been identified so far. Human evidence remains extremely limited because only one documented case has been reported, with the patient experiencing serious neurological complications. Historically reported in parts of Africa and Japan, the virus was detected in European livestock in 2026, including Germany, Switzerland and France, raising concerns about livestock health and agricultural productivity.
Why this question? The “human-to-human transmission” trap is the key discriminator; the vector and host range add precision.
Why important for UPSC? Zoonotic diseases, One Health and vector-borne infections are recurring health-environment prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on emerging zoonotic viruses, their vectors and transmission routes.

Solution (a)
Explanation: PM-DAKSH (Pradhan Mantri Dakshata Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi) is a Central Sector Scheme launched in 2020–21 under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, with the objective of improving employability and promoting self-employment among disadvantaged sections through skill development. Its target beneficiaries are Scheduled Castes (SCs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), De-notified Tribes (DNTs), and Safai Karamcharis, including waste pickers. Its major features include skill training through empanelled training institutions, support for both wage employment and self-employment, training programmes linked to employment opportunities and local labour-market needs, and a requirement that training institutions facilitate employment for at least 70% of trained candidates — failure resulting in forfeiture of the third instalment, equivalent to 30% of the training cost. Implementing agencies include the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC), the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) and the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC), all operating under the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. From 2020–21 to 2023–24, 1,87,305 candidates were trained and 96,162 placed, with ₹276.47 crore allotted and ₹309.5 crore expenditure reported. From 2024–25 onwards, the scheme was subsumed under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) to avoid duplication of training programmes. Options (b), (c) and (d) misattribute the ministry, nature or scope.
Why this question? The subsumption under PMKVY and the specific beneficiary categories are the primary discriminators, with other skilling schemes as distractors.
Why important for UPSC? Skill development schemes, social justice and scheme rationalisation are recurring governance prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to one-liner questions on skill development schemes, their target beneficiaries and administrative evolution.

Solution (d)
Explanation: The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2026: The Point of Return, released on 21 October 2026, warns that limiting global warming to 1.5°C without significant overshoot is no longer achievable, but a return to that level by 2100 remains possible with rapid emissions cuts and large-scale carbon dioxide removal. It reports that global GHG emissions reached approximately 58.4 GtCO₂e in 2025, a marginal decline from 2024, though fossil-fuel-related CO₂ emissions continued to rise. Under current policies, warming could reach 2.8°C by 2100; full implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) could limit warming to around 2.6°C; and NDCs plus additional net-zero targets could limit it to around 2.1°C. To return to 1.5°C by 2100, global GHG emissions must fall relative to 2025 levels by 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 69% by 2040, with the lowest-overshoot scenario requiring removal and permanent storage of approximately 320 Gt of CO₂ over this century. The emissions gap is the difference between projected global GHG emissions under countries’ climate commitments or current policies and the lower emissions pathway needed to achieve the Paris Agreement temperature goals. Key recommendations include accelerating renewable-energy deployment and energy efficiency, reducing dependence on coal, oil and gas, cutting methane emissions, strengthening national climate commitments and implementing existing policies, and developing carbon dioxide removal alongside — not as a substitute for — deep emissions reductions. All three statements are accurate.
Why this question? Tests emission figures, temperature projections and required reduction trajectories—a precision-oriented climate report question with multiple numerical layers.
Why important for UPSC? Climate change reports, emissions trajectories and Paris Agreement pathways are recurring environment prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on UNEP reports, their key findings and required emissions reduction pathways.