prestorming

1) With reference to New Consumer Price Index (CPI) released recently consider the following statements

This new CPI series revised base year from 2011 to 2025.
This will be released on monthly basis by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The basket of items is expanded in the new CPI.

Select the correct statements suing the codes below:

Answer : b

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect – Base year revised from 2012 to 2024 to reflect structural changes in consumption, urbanisation, and digitalisation.
Statement 2 is correct – The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) releases the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on a monthly basis.
The first release of the new series occurred on February 12, 2026, for the month of January 2026.
Statement 3 is correct – New CPI Index revises CPI item basket and updates weights using the latest Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) of 2023-24 data.
Basket of Items expanded –
- Weighted items increased from 299 to 358 items.
- Service items increased from 40 to 50.

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2) Consider the following statements about Urban Challenge Fund (UCF)

UCF is a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme administered by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
It aims to support urban infrastructure projects and boost market-driven urban development.

Select the correct statements using the codes given below:

Answer : c

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct – The Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) is a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) approved by the Union Cabinet in February 2026.
It is administered and monitored by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
Statement 2 is correct – The primary objective of the UCF is to support transformative and bankable urban infrastructure projects through a competitive "challenge-mode".
It marks a paradigm shift from traditional grant-based funding to market-driven urban development,
- Requiring cities to leverage market finance (like municipal bonds and PPPs) for at least 50% of the project cost.

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3) Consider the following statements

Project Cheetah launched in 2022, with the translocation of the first batch of cheetahs from Namibia.
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying of India is the implementing agency of the project.

Select the correct statements using the codes below:

Answer : a

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct – Project Cheetah was formally launched on September 17, 2022.
The first phase involved the translocation of eight African cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
Statement 2 is incorrect – The project is implemented by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

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4) Which of the following statements about speed breeding is incorrect?

a. It is a set of techniques that creates new crop varieties using the transgenic processes.
b. With speed breeding, plants grow faster, so the same plant type can complete 4 to 5 full life cycles in one year.
c. It involves the manipulation of photoperiod, light intensity and spectrum, temperature, humidity, soil moisture and CO2 levels.
d. The crop varieties of speed breeding are highly climate resilient, high yield producing.

Answer : a

Explanation

Option a is correct answer – Speed breeding is primarily a non-transgenic method that accelerates the plant's natural growth cycle through environmental manipulation.
While it can be combined with advanced tools like gene editing (transgenics) or genomic selection.
The core "speed breeding" methodology itself relies on optimizing light and temperature in controlled environments to trigger faster flowering and seed maturity.

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5) Circular Economy is guided by which among the following principles

Select the correct answer using the codes below:

Answer : d

Explanation

All the given are correct. The circular economy is guided by the principles 6Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refurbish, Recover, and Repair, ensuring that materials remain in productive use for extended periods.
By 2050, India’s circular economy is expected to reach a market value of $2 trillion and create 10 million jobs.