UPSC Current Affairs Quiz, 3 August 2026

Explanation

Pair 1 is correctly matched: in India, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), constituted under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, is the apex body that grants approval for the environmental release and commercial cultivation of GM crops. Pair 2 is incorrectly matched: gene-edited crops (developed using tools such as CRISPR-Cas9) are NOT regulated identically to transgenic/GM crops under current Indian law. Unlike transgenic crops — which involve insertion of foreign DNA from another species — gene editing typically makes targeted modifications within the organism's own genome without introducing foreign genetic material. India, like several other countries, is debating a lighter regulatory pathway for gene-edited crops precisely because they are considered conceptually distinct from GMOs; ICAR has developed gene-edited rice varieties that are awaiting a separate commercial-release framework, and industry is pushing for their explicit recognition in the proposed Seed Bill separate from GM-crop rules. Treating them as identical to transgenics would be a regulatory conflation that India's scientific community and industry are actively seeking to correct. Pair 3 is correctly matched: Bt Cotton was the first — and so far the only — GM crop permitted for commercial cultivation in India, released in 2002.

Explanation

Pair 1 is correctly matched: HEFA (Higher Education Financing Agency) is a specialised body that provides financial assistance in the form of loans — not grants — to Centrally Funded Institutions (CFIs) for infrastructure development, including hostels, laboratories, and academic buildings. This is the key institutional distinction: HEFA operates on a loan-based model, not a grant-in-aid model, ensuring that resources are recycled for future infrastructure creation. Pair 2 is incorrectly matched: The Post-Matric Scholarship Schemes for SC, ST, and OBC are Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) — not Central Sector Schemes. They are implemented by State Governments and Union Territories, and are administered centrally by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (for SC and OBC) and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (for ST). They are not implemented directly by the Department of Higher Education. This distinction between 'Central Sector Scheme' (100% centrally funded, implemented by Centre) and 'Centrally Sponsored Scheme' (cost-shared, implemented by States) is a fundamental classification in Indian fiscal federalism. Pair 3 is correctly matched: PM-Vidyalaxmi, launched in November 2024, is a Central Sector Scheme under which collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans are provided to students who secure merit-based admission in Quality Higher Education Institutions (QHEIs). It also provides interest subvention for students from families with annual income up to Rs 8 lakh.

Explanation

NEP 2020 is India's overarching education reform document that places multidisciplinarity at the heart of higher education transformation and recommends a shift toward experiential, inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented, and learner-centred pedagogy — Statement 1 is correct. The National Credit Framework (NCrF) is a mechanism introduced under NEP 2020 to bridge the gap between formal academic credentials and vocational/skill education; it allows learners to accumulate credits earned through skill-based courses as part of their degree requirements, thereby integrating skill education into mainstream academia — Statement 2 is correct. Both statements accurately reflect the NEP 2020 framework and the NCrF's design principle.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct. Under Article 254 of the Constitution, in the Concurrent List (List III of the Seventh Schedule), both Parliament and State Legislatures can legislate; however, in case of repugnancy between a Central and a State law on a Concurrent subject, the Central law prevails — unless the State law has received Presidential assent. Education was moved to the Concurrent List by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976. Statement 2 is false and reflects a common misconception. Being on the Concurrent List does not strip States of independent legislative or administrative authority. In practice, most government schools and school boards are under State/UT administration — they are not 'mere implementing agencies' of the Centre. The Centre and States share responsibility, with States holding substantial operational autonomy, as seen in schemes like PM POSHAN where States decide menus and procure local food items within prescribed norms.