Current Affairs MCQs – June 19-20

Recently seen in the news, Ariane 6 is best described as:

1. A reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the United States for interplanetary missions.
2. A next-generation European heavy-lift launch vehicle designed to provide independent access to space.
3. A space station module developed jointly by the European Union and Russia.
4. A satellite-based broadband internet constellation operated by Amazon.

Explanation

Option (b) is correct

• Ariane 6 is Europe’s next-generation heavy-lift launch vehicle, developed by the European Space Agency and operated by Arianespace to provide independent access to space.
  • It carried 36 Amazon Project Kuiper satellites, marking the heaviest payload ever launched by an Ariane rocket.

Answer: (b) A next-generation European heavy-lift launch vehicle designed to provide independent access to space; Difficulty Level: Medium

With reference to the QS World University Rankings 2027, consider the following statements:

1. The QS World University Rankings are published annually by a UK-based higher-education analytics firm, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
2. India was the fifth most-represented country in the QS World University Rankings 2027.
3. IIT Delhi emerged as the highest-ranked Indian institution in the 2027 rankings.

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

• QS World University Rankings are published annually by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a UK-based higher-education analytics firm. The rankings use multiple indicators, including Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, Citations per Faculty, Faculty-Student Ratio, International Faculty Ratio, International Student Ratio, Sustainability, and Employment Outcomes, among others.

Statement 2 is correct

• India was the 5th most-represented nation in the 2027 rankings, after the US, the UK, mainland China, and Germany.

Statement 3 is correct

• IIT Delhi was the highest-ranked Indian institution, placed 118^th globally.

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

Project Nimbus, recently seen in the news, is best described as:

1. A joint military exercise conducted by Israel and the United States to enhance missile defence capabilities.
2. A cloud-computing and artificial intelligence (AI) project undertaken by Google and Amazon for the Israeli government.
3. A satellite-based surveillance programme developed by Israel for monitoring activities in West Asia.
4. A humanitarian initiative launched by the United Nations for post-conflict reconstruction in Gaza.

Explanation

Option (b) is correct

• Project Nimbus is a cloud-computing and artificial intelligence (AI) contract awarded jointly to Google and Amazon by the Israeli government in 2021.
• The project aims to provide cloud infrastructure, data storage, AI tools, and other digital services to various government departments and public institutions in Israel.
• The project has faced criticism from human rights groups and activists, who argue that the technologies could potentially be used for surveillance of Palestinian activists and impose a brutal siege on Gaza.

Answer: (b) A cloud-computing and artificial intelligence (AI) project undertaken by Google and Amazon for the Israeli government.; Difficulty Level: Medium

With reference to Drunix, recently launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), consider the following statements:

1. Drunix is an open-source blockchain platform developed by NPCI to support blockchain and tokenisation ecosystems.
2. It is built as a completely new blockchain system from scratch without relying on any existing distributed ledger technology framework.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Drunix is an open-source blockchain platform developed by NPCI to support blockchain and tokenisation ecosystems.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Drunix is not built from scratch; it is developed by re-engineering Hyperledger Fabric, with enhancements such as horizontal scaling, higher parallelisation, SQL support, and improved efficiency.

Answer: (a) 1 only; Difficulty Level: Easy

With reference to the First Constitutional Amendment Act, 1951, consider the following provisions:

1. It added three new grounds of reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech under Article 19(2), including public order and incitement to an offence.
2. It inserted Article 15(4) empowering the State to make special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes.
3. It introduced Articles 31A and 31B to protect agrarian reform laws from judicial review on the ground of violation of Fundamental Rights.
4. It added the Ninth Schedule to shield certain laws from judicial review with respect to Fundamental Rights.

How many of the above provisions were added by the First Constitutional Amendment Act, 1951?

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

Explanation

All are correct

• 2026 marks 75 years since President Rajendra Prasad gave his assent to the First Amendment Act, 1951, which radically reshaped fundamental rights and judicial review.
• Key Provisions of the First Constitutional Amendment Act, 1951:
  1. The 1^st Amendment Act added three new grounds for reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech under Article 19(2): public order, friendly relations with foreign states, and incitement to an offence.
  2. Clause (4) was added to Article 15, empowering the State to make special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes.
  3. Articles 31A and 31B were introduced to protect agrarian land reform laws from legal challenge on the ground that they violated fundamental rights.
  4. The 9^th Schedule was added, originally shielding any law placed under it from judicial review on the ground that it violated Fundamental Rights.
  5. The amendment modified Article 19(6) to ensure that State nationalisation or operation of any trade or business could not be invalidated on the ground of violating a citizen’s right to practise any profession or carry on any occupation.

Answer: (c) All four; Difficulty Level: Hard

With reference to the World Economic Forum’s Energy Transition Index (ETI) 2026, consider the following statements:

1. Sweden retained the top position in the ETI 2026 for the third consecutive year.
2. The ETI assesses countries based on the dimensions of security, equity, and sustainability of energy systems.
3. India improved its ranking in ETI 2026, recording gains in transition readiness and low-carbon employment.

How many of the statements given above are not correct?

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

Explanation

• The World Economic Forum (WEF) published the 2026 Energy Transition Index (ETI) to benchmark global progress towards sustainable, secure, and equitable energy systems.
• Findings:

Statement 1 is correct

• Advanced economies held 14 of the top 20 positions, with Sweden retaining the top spot for the third consecutive year, followed by Finland and Denmark.

Statement 2 is correct

• Only 24% of the 120 assessed countries improved simultaneously across all three core dimensions of security, equity, and sustainability.
• Despite a record $2.3 trillion in global clean-energy investment, overall transition readiness declined for the first time in more than a decade, driven by surging geopolitical risks.
• Global energy investment reached $3.3 trillion in 2025, with renewables and nuclear generating 42% of electricity and adding nearly 800 GW of capacity.

Statement 3 is correct

• India recorded one of the largest gains in transition readiness, moving up two places to 70^th in the ETI 2026, improving its score by 1.9%. Its low-carbon jobs rose by 24% in 2024, with hydropower leading.

Answer: (d) None; Difficulty Level: Medium

With reference to the TRISHNA satellite mission, recently in the news, consider the following statements:

1. TRISHNA is a joint Earth observation mission between ISRO and JAXA, aimed at monitoring land surface temperature and ecosystem changes.
2. It will be placed in a Geostationary Orbit to enable continuous real-time monitoring of the same region of Earth.

Which of the statements given above is/are not correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

Both statements are incorrect

• India and France will jointly launch the TRISHNA (Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment) satellite in 2027.

• TRISHNA is a collaborative Earth observation mission between the ISRO and the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES, French Space Agency).
• Major Payloads:
  • Thermal Infrared (TIR) Payload – CNES: Thermal Infrared sensors to measure land surface temperature and evapotranspiration.
  • Visible–Near Infrared–Short Wave Infrared (VNIR-SWIR) Payload – ISRO: Measures vegetation, surface reflectance, and biophysical parameters.
• It will operate in a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 761 km, with a planned 5-year mission life.
• Spatial Resolution: 57 m resolution over land/coastal regions & 1 km over oceans & polar regions.
• It will support monitoring of droughts, urban heat islands, glacier dynamics, snowmelt, permafrost changes, and ecosystem health.

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2; Difficulty Level: Medium