29 May 2026 — Daily Current Affairs Quiz
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Governance
SARTHAK-PDS — Umbrella Scheme for PDS Modernisation
Approved by CCEA (chaired by PM Modi). Full form: Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling-Income with Automation in PDS. Outlay: Rs 25,530 crore for five years up to 31 March 2031 (16th Finance Commission cycle). Merges intra-State foodgrain movement scheme and SMART-PDS. Leverages AI, ML, NLP, and Blockchain. Implemented by DFPD (MoCAF&PD). Covers 81.35 crore NFSA beneficiaries.
International
India–USA Critical Minerals Framework (Quad FM Meeting)
Signed by EAM Dr S. Jaishankar (India) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the 11th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi. Framework: ‘Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths.’ USA has mobilised over USD 30 billion globally; a parallel Quad framework (India, USA, Japan, Australia) mobilises up to USD 20 billion across the Indo-Pacific.
Polity
High-Level Committee on Demographic Change (MoHA)
Chaired by Justice (Retd) Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar (retired Supreme Court Judge). Studies demographic change from illegal immigration and abnormal factors. Members: Mritunjay Kumar Narayan (Census Commissioner), Durga Shanker Mishra (retd IAS), Balaji Srivastava (retd IPS), Dr Shamika Ravi (PM-EAC). Member Secretary: Sandeep Namdeo, Joint Secretary (Foreigners-I).
Agriculture
Record Foodgrain Production — 3rd Advance Estimates 2025-26
Released by Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Total foodgrain: record 376.563 Million Tonnes (MT) — 5.3% higher than last year’s 357.732 MT. Rice: record 154.024 MT. Wheat: record 120.657 MT (up 2.29%). Estimates use remote sensing, Crop Cutting Experiments and the Weekly Crop Weather Watch Group.
Economy
Tripura Mission Queen Pineapple — NE Horticulture Initiative
Launched by Union Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (MDoNER) with Tripura CM Dr Manik Saha. Outlay: Rs 236 crore. Timeline: Q2 FY26 to Q4 FY28. Promotes Tripura’s GI-tagged Queen Pineapple. Uses a ‘Hub and Spoke’ model — central processing hub near Agartala airport and eight collection centres. Focus on pineapple cultivation and value-chain development.
Defence
AMCA — India’s First Indigenous 5th-Generation Stealth Fighter
MoD issued RFP for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Led by ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency) under DRDO. Earmarked: Rs 15,000 crore for 5 flying prototypes + 1 structural test aircraft. HAL excluded for the first time. Private contenders: Tata Advanced Systems, L&T-BEL-Dynamatic consortium, Bharat Forge-BEML-Data Patterns consortium. New 650-acre facility at Puttaparthi, AP.
Digital Governance
MobiKwik — RBI Payment Aggregator-Physical (PA-P) Licence
One MobiKwik Systems Limited secured RBI in-principle approval for a Payment Aggregator-Physical (PA-P) licence — enables offline merchant payments across India. Plans to scale soundboxes and EDC machines; targeting 10x merchant-business growth by FY28. Q4FY26 net profit: Rs 4.38 crore (vs Rs 56 crore loss in Q4FY25). A PA aggregates customer payments to merchants through one or more channels.
Sports
India Wins AAA Hosting Rights — Chandigarh & Bhubaneswar
Asian Athletics Association (AAA) awarded India: 2027 Asian Relay Championships → Chandigarh; 2028 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships → Bhubaneswar (Kalinga Stadium — India’s first permanent indoor track-and-field facility). Announced at AAA council meeting chaired by Dahlan Al Hamad in Hong Kong. 2027 Relays is the 3rd edition; 2028 Indoor is India’s first since 2004. Bid by Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
Science
Loktak Protocluster — 12.6 Billion Year Old Galaxy City
Discovered by Dr Ronaldo Laishram (NAOJ — National Astronomical Observatory of Japan). A ‘city of galaxies’ (protocluster) — 12.6 billion years old, located in the constellation Sextans. Named after Manipur’s Loktak Lake. Universe was ~1.2 billion years old at the time. Data from Subaru Telescope (Japan) and NASA JWST. Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Sports
Raja Randhir Singh — First Indian OCA President (Obituary)
Raja Randhir Singh passed away at 79 in New Delhi. Five-time Olympian (1968–1984) in trap and skeet shooting. Arjuna Awardee (1979). First Indian shooter to win gold at the Asian Games (1978 — Men’s Trap). Former Secretary General of IOA. First Indian to serve as President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
🎴 Revision Flashcards
Click each card to flip and test your recall
Tap to Reveal
What is the outlay and end year of the SARTHAK-PDS umbrella scheme?
Rs 25,530 crore — up to 31 March 2031
16th Finance Commission cycle; covers 81.35 crore NFSA beneficiaries
Tap to Reveal
Who signed the India–USA Critical Minerals framework, and on the sidelines of which meeting?
EAM Jaishankar (India) & Marco Rubio (USA) — 11th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, New Delhi
US mobilised USD 30 billion; Quad framework mobilises USD 20 billion Indo-Pacific
Tap to Reveal
What is India’s record total foodgrain production estimate for 2025-26 (3rd Advance Estimates)?
376.563 Million Tonnes — highest ever (5.3% above last year’s 357.732 MT)
Rice: 154.024 MT (record); Wheat: 120.657 MT (record, up 2.29%)
Tap to Reveal
Which agency leads the AMCA project and what is the earmarked RFP amount?
ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency) under DRDO — Rs 15,000 crore
5 flying prototypes + 1 structural test aircraft; HAL excluded; 650-acre facility at Puttaparthi, AP
Tap to Reveal
Which cities will host the 2027 Asian Relay Championships and 2028 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships?
Chandigarh (2027 Relays) | Bhubaneswar (2028 Indoor)
2028 Indoor is India’s first since 2004; Kalinga Stadium — India’s first permanent indoor athletics track
Tap to Reveal
What is the ‘Loktak Protocluster’ and who discovered it?
A 12.6-billion-year-old ‘city of galaxies’ — discovered by Dr Ronaldo Laishram (NAOJ)
Named after Manipur’s Loktak Lake; Subaru Telescope + JWST; published in Astrophysical Journal Letters
Tap to Reveal
What distinction did Raja Randhir Singh hold in Asian sports administration?
First Indian President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA)
Five-time Olympian (1968–84); Arjuna Award 1979; first Indian shooter to win Asian Games gold (1978)
Tap to Reveal
Who chairs the GoI High-Level Committee on Demographic Change (MoHA)?
Justice (Retd) Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar (retired Supreme Court Judge)
Studies demographic change from illegal immigration; Member Secretary: Sandeep Namdeo
Think & Discuss
India’s Defence Modernisation Dilemma: Should Private Industry Replace PSUs in India’s Most Critical Weapons Programmes?
Context from today’s quiz: The MoD’s RFP for the AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft) — India’s first fifth-generation stealth fighter — marks a landmark shift: HAL, the traditional public sector defence manufacturer, has been excluded for the first time. Private contenders including Tata Advanced Systems, an L&T-BEL-Dynamatic consortium, and a Bharat Forge-BEML-Data Patterns consortium are now competing for a Rs 15,000 crore contract. This signals a potential restructuring of India’s entire defence-industrial complex, where PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings) have historically dominated but often faced criticism for delays and cost overruns.
🤔 Your Perspective Matters
The exclusion of HAL from the AMCA RFP is not just a procurement decision — it reflects a broader policy signal about the future of India’s defence ecosystem. India’s defence exports crossed Rs 21,000 crore in FY24, and the government has set a target of Rs 50,000 crore by 2029. Achieving that demands competitive, efficient, and globally capable manufacturers.
Should India systematically shift its most advanced defence programmes (like AMCA, future warships, and hypersonic missiles) to private-sector-led consortia — or does national security demand that PSUs like HAL, DRDO, and BEL remain central to India’s weapons development?
Should India systematically shift its most advanced defence programmes (like AMCA, future warships, and hypersonic missiles) to private-sector-led consortia — or does national security demand that PSUs like HAL, DRDO, and BEL remain central to India’s weapons development?
- HAL has faced criticism for delays in the LCA Tejas programme, yet it remains India’s only aircraft manufacturer with hands-on fighter experience. Is excluding it from AMCA a pragmatic competitive decision — or does it risk creating a capability gap at a critical moment, given China’s J-20 and Pakistan’s JF-17 Block III?
- The Loktak Protocluster was discovered by an Indian scientist at a Japanese observatory (NAOJ) using international telescopes. How does India’s pattern of producing world-class scientists who work abroad reflect on domestic R&D investment — and what does this mean for the AMCA’s ambition to build indigenous 5th-gen technology?
- The India–USA Critical Minerals framework was signed at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, rare earths) are essential for both EVs and advanced weapons systems like the AMCA. Should India’s defence modernisation and its clean-energy transition be treated as a single integrated strategic challenge?
We’d love to hear your thoughts! Share your perspective in the comments.
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