UPSC Daily Current Affairs Quiz : 10 January 2026

Question 1: With reference to recent developments in India–U.S. relations, consider the following statements:

1. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected the claim that the India–U.S. trade deal failed due to the absence of communication between the Prime Minister of India and the U.S. President.
2. According to the MEA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to each other multiple times in 2025 on issues related to bilateral cooperation.
3. The United States is considering legislation that could impose punitive tariffs on countries importing Russian oil, citing concerns related to the Ukraine conflict.
4. India stated that its energy policy decisions are primarily guided by political considerations rather than market dynamics.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Question 2: With reference to the recent decision of the Union Public Service Commission to introduce face authentication at examination venues, consider the following statements:

1. UPSC decided to make face authentication mandatory for all candidates after conducting a successful pilot project at select centres in Gurugram.
2. The pilot project for AI-enabled facial authentication was carried out with the assistance of the National e-Governance Division (NeGD).
3. UPSC has decided to rely exclusively on facial recognition technology and has ruled out Aadhaar-based biometric authentication in future examinations.
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Question 3: With reference to the National Improvised Explosive Device Data Management System (NIDMS) recently launched by the Government of India, consider the following statements:

1. NIDMS is a national digital platform that contains details of all bomb blasts and IED-related incidents in India since 1999.
2. The system is headquartered at the National Security Guard (NSG) garrison in Manesar and can be accessed by State police, Central Armed Police Forces and investigating agencies.
3. NIDMS is limited to post-blast forensic analysis and does not support trend analysis, pattern recognition or predictive assessment of terrorist incidents.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Question 4: With reference to the opinion of the Attorney-General on the relationship between the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and the Right to Information Act, consider the following statements:

1. The Attorney-General opined that the DPDP Act, 2023, does not dilute the RTI Act because Section 8(2) of the RTI Act still mandates disclosure of exempt information when a larger public interest outweighs harm.
2. The amendment to Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act completely removes the possibility of disclosing personal information under any circumstances.
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Question 5: With reference to the recent observations of the National Green Tribunal regarding the Varanasi ‘Tent City’, consider the following statements:

1. The National Green Tribunal held that the Tent City set up on the Ganga riverbed in Varanasi was operated in violation of environmental norms and the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016.
2. The NGT directed that environmental compensation imposed on the private operators of the Tent City must be recovered expeditiously.
3. The NGT conclusively ruled that the Tent City was illegally established within the Kachhua Wildlife Sanctuary, which had been de-notified in 2020.
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?