UPSC Quiz – 2026 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 26th October 2026

Solution (a)
Explanation: The Sakharov Prize is awarded by the European Parliament, was established in 1988, and is named after Andrei Sakharov — a Soviet physicist, dissident and human-rights advocate — to recognise individuals, groups or organisations defending human rights, fundamental freedoms, freedom of thought and international law, carrying €50,000 in prize money, with the first recipients in 1988 being Nelson Mandela and Anatoli Marchenko jointly. The ICC was established in 2002 under the Rome Statute, which entered into force on 1 July 2002, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, as a permanent and independent international criminal court with jurisdiction over four core crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression, prosecuting individuals rather than resolving disputes between states. Statement 3 reverses the two courts’ functions — a high-value trap: the ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the UN that settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions, while the ICC tries individuals for serious international crimes and is not a UN principal organ. The ICC and its officials were awarded the 2026 Sakharov Prize on 22 October 2026, with the award ceremony scheduled for 16 December in Strasbourg, France.
Why this question? The ICC-ICJ role reversal is the classic institutional trap; the Sakharov Prize’s founding details add factual precision.
Why important for UPSC? International courts, human rights awards and UN institutional architecture are recurring IR prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions distinguishing the ICC from the ICJ and identifying international awards with their awarding bodies.

Solution (a)
Explanation: Azerbaijan is located in the South Caucasus, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, with its capital at Baku. It borders Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran and Türkiye and lies along the Caspian Sea. Its official language is Azerbaijani, its currency is the Azerbaijani manat, it declared independence in 1918 and restored it in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and it has been a UN member since 2 March 1992. India and Azerbaijan are seeking to reset bilateral relations following tensions over Azerbaijan’s response to Operation Sindoor (May 2025), when Azerbaijan criticised India’s military strikes on Pakistan; Azerbaijan’s close relations with Pakistan and Türkiye have also complicated India’s regional diplomatic calculations. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Baku on 23 October 2026, meeting President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, with discussions covering trade, energy, connectivity and regional security. For India, Azerbaijan matters for energy security (ONGC Videsh has invested in the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli oil fields and the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline), connectivity (an important transit country for the INSTC, linking India with Iran, the Caspian region, Russia and Europe), and consular cooperation (Azerbaijan has helped evacuate Indian nationals, including students, from Iran during regional conflict). Options (b), (c) and (d) misstate the region, capital, borders or sea.
Why this question? The South Caucasus location, Caspian littoral and five-neighbour border set are the primary discriminators, with INSTC and energy linkages adding strategic depth.
Why important for UPSC? Caucasus geopolitics, INSTC connectivity and India’s energy security are recurring IR-geography prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to one-liner questions on countries’ geographical location, capitals and strategic connectivity corridors.

Solution (d)
Explanation: The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) was established at COP27 in 2022 (Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt) and operationalised at COP28 in 2023 (Dubai, UAE), under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement framework, to assist developing countries particularly vulnerable to climate change in addressing economic and non-economic loss and damage. It is governed by a 26-member Board, comprising 12 members from developed countries and 14 from developing countries; the Philippines hosts the Board, while the World Bank hosts the Secretariat and serves as interim trustee. “Loss and damage” refers to climate-related harm occurring despite mitigation and adaptation efforts, including economic losses (damage to homes, infrastructure, agriculture and livelihoods) and non-economic losses (loss of life, cultural heritage, biodiversity, territory and community identity), covering both extreme weather events and slow-onset processes such as sea-level rise and desertification. On 22 October 2026, the Board provisionally set aside US$21.6 million for Nepal following Bhote Koshi flash floods in August 2026 — including US$1.6 million for oversight costs — marking the Fund’s first response to a specific disaster, using a pilot approach allowing Nepal to submit a funding request under the Barbados Implementation Modalities (BIM) outside the standard submission period, subject to approval of Nepal’s request. The amount is less than 0.5% of Nepal’s estimated recovery and reconstruction needs of approximately US$4.77 billion, highlighting the gap between climate-related losses and available finance. All three statements are accurate.
Why this question? Tests the Fund’s COP chronology, governance structure (Philippines Board vs. World Bank Secretariat) and the first-disaster allocation specifics—a multi-layered climate-finance question.
Why important for UPSC? Climate finance, loss and damage and COP outcomes are recurring environment prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on climate funds, their establishment at specific COPs and governance arrangements.

Solution (a)
Explanation: AEBS is an active vehicle-safety technology that detects potential collisions and automatically applies brakes if the driver fails to respond adequately. It uses cameras, radar and, in some systems, LiDAR to monitor the road and identify obstacles, with the objective of preventing collisions or reducing their severity, and is classified as a component of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Its operation involves detection (sensors identify a vehicle, pedestrian or other obstacle), warning (visual or audible alerts to the driver), and braking (automatic application if the driver does not react). The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed making AEBS mandatory in all new passenger-car models from 1 October 2030 and in all existing and new models from 1 October 2032, as part of a draft amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, published in October 2026. The proposed timeline also requires M1 and N1 vehicles fitted with AEBS to comply with AIS-185 from 1 October 2028, where M1 covers passenger vehicles with up to eight seats besides the driver and N1 covers goods vehicles with a maximum mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes. Its benefits include reducing rear-end collisions and severity, improving protection for drivers and vulnerable road users, and adding a safety layer independent of driver reaction time; limitations include reduced performance in heavy rain, fog, poor lighting or with dirty sensors, false alerts or braking, and varying performance with speed, road layout and obstacle type. Options (b), (c) and (d) misdescribe its nature, scope or location.
Why this question? The active-safety/ADAS classification and the 2030/2032 timeline are the primary discriminators, with passive safety features as distractors.
Why important for UPSC? Road safety technologies, vehicle regulations and ADAS adoption are emerging S&T-governance prelims themes.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to one-liner questions on vehicle safety technologies, their classification and regulatory timelines.

Solution (c)
Explanation: The SAMHiTA (South Asian Manuscript Histories and Textual Archive) Project was launched at Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to preserve and digitise ancient manuscripts reflecting the shared Buddhist and cultural heritage of India and Sri Lanka, with the temple being the first Sri Lankan institution to partner with the initiative and the first phase covering 100 ancient palm-leaf manuscripts. It is implemented by the India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi, with support from the Government of India, including the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Its objective is to create a digital archive and relational database of Indian and South Asian manuscripts preserved in libraries, archives and repositories outside India, with information shared through PANDiT — Prosopographical Database of Indic Texts and Records, which documents South Asian intellectual history; “Samhita” is a Sanskrit word meaning a collection or compilation. Its significance includes cultural preservation of fragile palm-leaf manuscripts, research and scholarship, strengthening Buddhist heritage and India–Sri Lanka civilisational links, cultural diplomacy, and digital humanities; India–Sri Lanka share more than 2,500 years of historical and religious connections, with a Cultural Cooperation Agreement signed on 29 November 1977 and India announcing a dedicated US$15 million grant in 2020 to support Buddhist ties. The China Zorrilla is described as the world’s largest battery-electric ship, a high-speed, battery-electric passenger and vehicle ferry built by Australia’s Incat Tasmania for South American ferry operator Buquebus, operating between Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, across the Río de la Plata, under the Uruguayan flag, and named after China Zorrilla, the celebrated Uruguayan actress and theatre personality. It is approximately 130 metres long and 32 metres wide, carries up to 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles, uses more than 40 MWh of energy storage with over 250 tonnes of batteries, is propelled by eight electric motors powering waterjets, and reaches approximately 25 knots. Its environmental significance includes lower operational emissions, reduced noise and vibration, and demonstrating electrification potential for high-capacity, short-distance ferry routes — though overall climate benefits depend on the electricity source, battery production and lifecycle impacts. Both statements are accurate.
Why this question? Combines cultural heritage-digitisation (SAMHiTA’s institutional structure and PANDiT linkage) with green transport technology (battery-electric ship specifications) in a two-part format testing breadth.
Why important for UPSC? Cultural diplomacy, manuscript preservation and maritime decarbonisation are recurring prelims themes across art-culture and environment.
PYQ Pattern Link: Similar to questions on cultural preservation projects with international partnerships and on electric vessels and clean shipping technologies.