UPSC Daily Current Affairs Quiz : 08 September 2025

Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 3

Explanation:

• The GST Council indeed simplified GST into two main slabs: 5% and 18%, with a special 40% rate for luxury/sin goods.
• The reform is expected to cause a ₹48,000 crore shortfall in revenue, but the government believes rising consumption will make up for it.
• The fiscal deficit target for FY 2025–26 is fixed at 4.4% of GDP (₹15.69 lakh crore).

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Explanation: Hezbollah maintains one of the most powerful non-state military forces while simultaneously holding seats in Lebanon’s Parliament and ministries, making it both a militia and a political actor.

Answer: a) 1 and 2 only
Explanation: The Cabinet building was struck for the first time; Ukraine intercepted 747 drones; Macron (France) and Starmer (UK) condemned it. No mention of Germany.

Answer: D

DNA barcoding is a molecular technology that allows the identification of any biological species by amplifying, sequencing and querying the information from genic and/or intergenic standardised target regions belonging to the extranuclear genomes

Option 1 is incorrect: Geologists use the radiometric dating of uranium and the isotopes of other radioactive elements, combined with observations of fossils and sediment layers, to chart the course of Earth’s natural history and the evolution of life. To measure the age of plant and animal remains from the more recent past, scientists use a radioactive isotope of carbon, called carbon-14, as their clock. As carbon-14 decays, with a half-life of about 5,730 years, it becomes nitrogen-14. Using this clock, they have dated bones, campfires and other objects as old as 60,000 years, and in some cases even older.

Option 2 is correct: DNA barcodes allow non-experts to objectively identify species – even from small, damaged, or industrially processed material. Just as the unique pattern of bars in a universal product code (UPC) identifies each consumer product, a “DNA barcode” is a unique pattern of DNA sequence that can potentially identify each living thing.

Option 3 is correct. cpDNA and mtDNA barcoding protocols are being used more and more in the food industry and food supply chains for food labelling, not only to support food safety but also to uncover food piracy in freshly commercialised and technologically processed products. DNA barcoding helps to identify undesirable animal or plant materials in processed foods.

The correct answer is (a) 1 and 3 only. 

Explanation:

Limboo (Limbu) - Sikkim: This pair is correct. The Limboo tribe is primarily found in the state of Sikkim. 

Karbi - Himachal Pradesh: This pair is incorrect. The Karbi tribe is mainly located in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh. They are not typically found in Himachal Pradesh. 

Dongaria Kondh - Odisha: This pair is correct. The Dongaria Kondh tribe is indigenous to the state of Odisha. 

Bonda - Tamil Nadu: This pair is incorrect. The Bonda tribe is also found in Odisha, not Tamil Nadu.