GK One-Liners

What: 17 June 2026 marks the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, observed under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). This year’s theme is “Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore.”, coinciding with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026.

How: The Day was established in 1994 through UNGA Resolution A/RES/49/115, the same year the UNCCD itself was adopted, building directly on commitments made at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Each year the Day is used to mobilise governments and civil society around land degradation and drought resilience.

Why: A staple of UPSC GS-III environment static GK and other exams’ “Important Days” sections. The cluster of linked facts — founding year, resolution number, parent convention — makes this prime ground for swap-type questions confusing UNCCD with UNFCCC or UNEP.

Key MCQ anchors: 17 June; theme “Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore.”; UNCCD; established 1994; UNGA Resolution A/RES/49/115; linked to 1992 Rio Earth Summit; International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026.

What: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has released a revised Wholesale Price Index (WPI) series with a new base year of 2022-23, replacing the earlier base year of 2011-12. The series is released by the Office of the Economic Adviser under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I).

How: The revision follows an International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendation to periodically update index base years to reflect current economic structure. The old WPI will continue running alongside the new Producer Price Index (PPI) for 5 years before being phased out; the May 2026 release came with a back series covering April 2023 to April 2026 (37 months).

Why: A regular feature in Banking exam economy sections (IBPS PO, RBI Grade B, SBI PO) — base-year changes, transition windows, and the issuing authority are frequent direct-recall targets.

Key MCQ anchors: New base year 2022-23; old base year 2011-12; DPIIT, MoC&I; 5-year WPI-PPI transition; IMF recommendation; back series April 2023-April 2026 (37 months).

What: The Indian Army has received 106 jet-powered Agniveg (Peacekeeper) drones from SMPP Limited, developed in partnership with Belarus-based KB Indela. Of these, 100 are operational drones and 6 are for training.

How: The drones operate at speeds up to 450 kmph (with a 750 kmph variant under development), have a 180 km operational range, and a Circular Error Probable (CEP) — the radius within which a strike is expected to land — under 5 metres, allowing functioning in GPS-denied environments.

Why: Frequently tested in Defence current-affairs sections of CDS, NDA, and state PSC exams; the numeric specs and the foreign-partner name make this rich ground for number traps and entity-swap traps.

Key MCQ anchors: 106 drones; SMPP Limited; 100 operational + 6 training; partner KB Indela, Belarus; range 180 km; speed 450 kmph (750 kmph future variant); CEP under 5m; GPS-denied capability.

What: Union Minister Prahlad Joshi, holding charge of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), launched the WT-MARUT Portal at the Global Wind Day Conference 2026 in Goa, supporting India’s target of 100 GW wind energy capacity by 2030.

How: The portal was developed with support from the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) and is intended to streamline tracking and coordination of wind capacity addition as India scales up toward its 2030 target.

Why: Relevant for Environment and Economy sections testing renewable-energy targets, ministry-portal pairings, and launch-venue facts — also fertile ground for NOT-format questions mixing true and false claims about the launch.

Key MCQ anchors: WT-MARUT; Prahlad Joshi, MNRE; Global Wind Day Conference 2026, Goa; 100 GW wind target by 2030; IWTMA support.

What: Jio Platforms became the only Indian tech company featured in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s Global Top 20 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applicants list for 2025. Overall, India ranked 12th globally with 3,070 PCT applications, while China topped the list with 73,718 applications.

How: The PCT allows an inventor to seek patent protection across multiple countries through a single international filing; such rankings reflect a country’s or company’s research and development output reaching global intellectual-property markets.

Why: High-yield for Science & Tech and Economy sections — it pairs a corporate “only/first” tag with India’s comparative global standing, a classic combination for rank-trap and number-trap MCQs.

Key MCQ anchors: Jio Platforms; only Indian company in WIPO’s Top 20 PCT applicants 2025; India ranked 12th globally; 3,070 PCT applications; China topped with 73,718.

What: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Denmark for a non-invasive underwater survey of the Danish ship Oresund, which sank in 1619 CE near Karaikal, Puducherry.

How: The agreement was signed between ASI’s Underwater Archaeology Wing and Denmark’s Njord Centre, extending ongoing India-Denmark cooperation in maritime heritage research.

Why: Useful for Culture and International Relations sections of UPSC and state PSCs; the combination of a historical date, a shipwreck name, and two named bilateral institutions makes this strong material for year-trap and location-trap questions.

Key MCQ anchors: ASI; Denmark MoU; ship Oresund; sank 1619 CE; near Karaikal, Puducherry; ASI’s Underwater Archaeology Wing; Denmark’s Njord Centre.