Current Affairs MCQs – July 06

With reference to water stress in India, consider the following statements:

1. India possesses about 4% of the world’s freshwater resources while supporting nearly 18% of the global population.
2. According to NITI Aayog, India’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply by 2030.
3. India is currently classified as a water-scarce country because its per-capita annual water availability has already fallen below 1,000 m³.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Explanation

• Indian cities are facing a dual crisis of strict water rationing and relentless heatwaves exceeding 42°C, following a 40% rainfall deficit that made June 2026 the country’s fifth-driest since 1901.

Statement 1 is correct

• India has about 4% of global freshwater resources but supports around 18% of the world’s population.

Statement 2 is correct

• NITI Aayog projects that water demand could be twice the available supply by 2030, potentially causing significant GDP losses.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• India’s per-capita water availability is around 1,400 m³ (2025). It has not yet crossed the 1,000 m³ absolute scarcity threshold, though it is projected to approach it by 2050.

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only; Difficulty Level: Medium

With reference to the India–Israel Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA), 2025, consider the following statements:

1. It is the first Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) signed by India under its revised Model BIT framework with an OECD member country.
2. The Agreement extends investment protection to portfolio investments such as qualifying shares, bonds and corporate debt, in addition to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
3. The Agreement incorporates the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) clause to ensure non-discriminatory treatment for investors from third countries.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• The India–Israel Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA), signed in September 2025 and effective from 4 July 2026, is the first investment treaty signed with an OECD member under India’s revised Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) framework. It replaces the 1996 India–Israel Investment Treaty and reflects India’s updated approach to balancing investor protection with regulatory autonomy.

Statement 2 is correct

• Unlike India’s earlier BIT framework, the Agreement adopts a broader definition of investment. It extends treaty protection not only to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) but also to qualifying portfolio investments, including:
  • Shares and stocks,
  • Equity holdings,
  • Bonds, and
  • Corporate debt.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• The Agreement does not include the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) clause. Instead, it explicitly excludes MFN treatment to prevent treaty shopping, whereby investors route investments through third countries solely to claim more favourable protections available under another investment treaty.

Answer: (b) Only two; Difficulty Level: Medium

With reference to the fisheries sector in India, consider the following statements:

1. India is the world’s second-largest fish-producing country and contributes about 8% of global fish production.
2. Fisheries account for the highest share in Agricultural Gross Value Added (GVA) among all agriculture and allied sectors.
3. Women employed in the fisheries sector are predominantly engaged in marine capture fishing activities.
4. The estimated resource potential of India’s deep-sea and offshore fisheries includes both conventional and non-conventional fishery resources.

How many of the statements given above are not correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• India is the world’s second-largest fish-producing nation, contributing around 8% of global fish production. The sector has witnessed rapid growth, with fish production increasing from 95.79 lakh tonnes in FY 2013–14 to 197.75 lakh tonnes in FY 2024–25, representing an increase of over 106%.

Statement 2 is correct

• The fisheries sector contributes nearly 7.43% of Agricultural Gross Value Added (GVA), making it the largest contributor among all agriculture and allied sectors. It is a key driver of food security, rural employment, and export earnings.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Women constitute about 32% of the workforce in the fisheries sector. However, they are primarily engaged in post-harvest activities such as fish processing, grading, drying, packaging, and marketing—not in marine capture fishing, which is largely undertaken by men.

Answer: (a) Only one; Difficulty Level: Medium

Nameri Tiger Reserve, recently seen in the news due to a significant rise in its tiger population, is located in which one of the following States?

1. Arunachal Pradesh
2. Meghalaya
3. Nagaland
4. None of the above

Explanation

Option (d) is correct

• Tiger population in Assam’s Nameri Tiger Reserve rose fourfold, from 3 tigers in 2022 to 12 by the end of 2025. Nameri Tiger Reserve lies in northern Sonitpur district, Assam, along the Eastern Himalayan foothills. It is Assam’s second tiger reserve, after Manas, and is located within the Sonitpur Elephant Reserve.
• Its northern boundary connects the reserve with Arunachal Pradesh’s Pakke Tiger Reserve, facilitating transboundary megafauna movement.

Answer: (d) None of the above; Difficulty Level: Medium

 With reference to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), consider the following statements:

1. It is the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, operated by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).
2. The LHC is located entirely within the territory of Switzerland.
3. Superfluid helium is used to cool the superconducting magnets of the LHC, enabling them to generate extremely strong magnetic fields.
4. The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 by the ATLAS and CMS experiments confirmed the mechanism through which elementary particles acquire mass.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. 1, 3 and 4 only
2. 1 and 2 only
3. 2, 3 and 4 only
4. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is operated by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) and is designed to study the fundamental constituents of matter and the forces governing them.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• The LHC is not located entirely within Switzerland. It is housed in a 27-km circular tunnel about 100 metres underground, straddling the Franco-Swiss border. Consequently, parts of the accelerator lie in both Switzerland and France.

Statement 3 is correct

• The LHC employs superfluid helium to cool its superconducting magnets to 1.9 K (-271.3°C), making it colder than outer space. At this temperature, the magnets become superconducting and generate magnetic fields nearly 100,000 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field, enabling proton beams to be steered at nearly the speed of light.

Statement 4 is correct

• In 2012, the ATLAS and CMS experiments independently confirmed the existence of the Higgs boson, providing experimental validation of the Higgs mechanism, which explains how elementary particles acquire mass under the Standard Model of particle physics.

Answer: (a) 1, 3 and 4 only; Difficulty Level: Medium