UPSC Current Affairs Quiz, 28 October 2026

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct. When a tropical cyclone makes landfall, it is cut off from the warm ocean waters that supply heat and moisture to sustain it. As a result, it weakens in stages — from a cyclonic storm to a deep depression and eventually to a low-pressure area or remnant circulation. This staged weakening is a well-established feature of the tropical cyclone life cycle, consistently reflected in IMD forecasting bulletins. Statement 2 is incorrect on two counts. An upper-air cyclonic circulation is a precursor weather feature, not a named cyclonic storm. IMD classifies and names a system as a cyclonic storm only after it reaches a defined wind-speed threshold. Moreover, at the stage of an upper-air circulation or nascent low-pressure area, the future track and intensity are inherently uncertain, and IMD typically cautions that it is 'too early to forecast' the system's influence on specific regions — which is precisely the caveat issued in operational forecasts for such developing systems. Statement 3 is correct. The northeast monsoon (also called the retreating monsoon) is the primary rainfall mechanism for peninsular India — especially Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, and to a lesser extent Kerala — between October and December. During this season, low-pressure systems that develop over the Bay of Bengal track westward or northwestward and can bring significant rainfall to these states, helping to compensate for any deficiency accumulated during the southwest monsoon.

Explanation

Article 243G (inserted by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, 1992) empowers State legislatures to endow Panchayats with powers and responsibilities for preparing plans for economic development and social justice — this is the foundational constitutional provision for Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs). Pair 1 is correctly matched. The Eleventh Schedule, also added by the 73rd Amendment, lists 29 functional subjects (including agriculture, land improvement, rural electrification, rural housing, etc.) that State legislatures may devolve to Panchayats; it does not itself mandate devolution but specifies the domain of possible devolution. Pair 2 is correctly matched. The eGramSwaraj portal is a digital governance tool under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for preparing GPDPs, and its mandate flows from the Part IX / 73rd Amendment framework (Articles 243–243O and the Eleventh Schedule). The Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution pertains to the 18 functional domains of Urban Local Bodies (Municipalities) under the 74th Amendment — it has no bearing on gram panchayats. Pair 3 is therefore incorrectly matched.

Explanation

All three pairs are correctly matched. The UNFCCC (1992) is the umbrella framework treaty that created the foundational categories of Annex I countries (developed nations and economies in transition) and Non-Annex I countries (developing nations including India and China), but did not itself impose quantified emission targets. The Kyoto Protocol (1997) operationalised the UNFCCC by imposing legally binding greenhouse-gas reduction targets exclusively on Annex I countries, and introduced market-based flexible mechanisms — the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Joint Implementation (JI), and Emissions Trading (ET) — to allow cost-effective compliance. The Paris Agreement (2015), adopted at COP21, fundamentally shifted the architecture from top-down Annex-I-only mandates to a bottom-up system of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) from all Parties, with the collective goal of keeping global warming well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. The Lancet Countdown report benchmarks climate-health indicators — such as the three million heat-related deaths recorded since the Paris Agreement — against precisely these Paris warming limits, making this treaty architecture directly relevant to evaluating global health and adaptation commitments.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct. India's non-GM-only import policy for soybeans restricts sourcing to countries that cultivate non-GM varieties — primarily a handful of West African nations. This regulatory constraint reduces supply competition and elevates the price at which compliant imports clear customs, which is a structural feature of India's soybean import parity framework. Statement 2 is correct. When domestic soybean prices surge, the cost of raw material for Indian crushing mills rises sharply. Since soymeal is a by-product of soybean crushing, its production cost rises proportionally, eroding the price advantage that Indian soymeal enjoyed in global markets (particularly in Southeast Asia and the Middle East). This inverse relationship between domestic soybean prices and soymeal export competitiveness is a well-established feature of India's oilseed economy. Statement 3 is incorrect. Palm oil — not soybean oil — is historically the dominant vegetable oil import in India, accounting for roughly 60–65% of India's total edible oil import volume and value. India's edible oil import dependence is anchored in palm oil (from Indonesia and Malaysia), with soybean oil and sunflower oil playing secondary roles. India is actually a significant soybean processor for soymeal (an animal-feed export) rather than a large importer of soybean oil relative to palm oil.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct. The Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) is an inter-ministerial, multi-agency coordination mechanism — not an investigative body. It brings together over 40 ministries, central agencies, State governments, and other stakeholders to align drug control efforts, share intelligence, and review policy. The Vision Document on Drug Control (2026–2029) was itself launched at a NCORD meeting, illustrating its coordinating (not investigative) role. Statement 2 is correct. The NDPS Act contains a significant departure from the ordinary criminal law presumption of innocence. Under Section 35, courts are required to presume the culpable mental state of the accused, and under Section 54, where a person is found in possession of substances beyond a specified threshold (particularly at commercial-quantity levels), the burden shifts to the accused to explain possession. This reverse-burden mechanism has been upheld by the Supreme Court as constitutionally valid. Statement 3 is incorrect. The NDPS Act does, in fact, provide for attachment, seizure, and forfeiture of property derived from drug trafficking. Chapter VA of the Act (inserted by the 1989 amendment) specifically empowers designated authorities to identify, freeze, attach, and forfeit assets that represent the proceeds of drug offences. The NCB and its counterparts are mandated to follow the money trail precisely because the statutory framework enables action against illicit wealth — addressing a key criticism that enforcement often catches low-level carriers while the financial beneficiaries remain untouched.