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Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨 QUESTION 1 Which of the following are the functions of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CSS)? 1. to deal with all defence related issues 2. to deal with economic and political issues impinging on national security 3. to deal with parliamentary affairs 4. to deal with disinvestment of public sector units 5. to deal with issues relating to law and order, and internal security Select the correct answer using the codes given below: (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2, 4 and 5 only (c) 1, 2 and 5 only (d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Explanation — The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), India’s highest decision-making body on national security, has taken stringent actions against Pakistan following the discovery of cross-border links in the terror attack that killed 26 people, including a foreign national, in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. — Functions of the Committee would be as under:- (i) deal with all Defense-related concerns; (ii) to deal with issues of law and order and internal security; (iii) Address foreign policy concerns having security consequences, including agreements with other countries. (iv) deal with economic and political concerns that affect national security; (v) to analyse the workforce requirements for national security, including proposals for the creation of posts with pay scales of rupees 18400-22400 or higher, and the development of new entities to deal with security-related issues; (vi) to review situations relating to projects, acquisition, or procurement of security-related equipment that have not been delegated to be approved either by the Minister-in-Charge of the respective Department or by the Minister of Finance; and (vii) to evaluate cases of increases in firmed-up/revised cost estimates due to factors such as schedule overruns, scope modifications, underestimation, and so on. Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer. QUESTION 2 The term 'corpus delicti' refers to: (a) body of the crime (b) law that allows negligence to be inferred from the mere occurrence of certain types of accidents. (c) physical act of committing a crime (d) intent or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime Explanation — A local court in Maharashtra’s Raigad district sentenced a former police inspector to life imprisonment for the murder of assistant inspector Ashwini Bidre-Gore. — The court relied on technical and circumstantial evidence to reach its decision to reconstruct a series of events. The court determined that she had gone to his house that evening, where she was murdered, and that he had hired two accomplices to help him dispose of the body. The trio dissected the body and dropped it into a creek, using plastic bags and weights to block it from drifting ashore. — Special Public Prosecutor Pradip D Gharat stated that he used corpus delicti to prove the offence. The Latin phrase, which translates to 'body of the crime', is ironically referred to in several Supreme Court decisions where the physical body of a crime victim is never located. Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer. QUESTION 3 Consider the following statements: Statement 1: Initially, the Urdu language was not a part of 14 languages provided in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. Statement 2: It was subsequently added on the recommendation of Jawaharlal Nehru to highlight its role in representing India’s Indo-Islamic heritage. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? (a) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 are correct and Statement 2 is the correct explanation for Statement 1. (b) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 are correct and Statement 2 is not the correct explanation for Statement 1. (c) Statement 1 is correct but Statement 2 is incorrect. (d) Statement 1 is incorrect but Statement 2 is correct. Explanation — Every year, February 21 is observed as International Mother Tongue Day, a day with special significance in India, where hundreds of mother tongues are spoken across the subcontinent. — Initially, the Eighth Schedule listed 14 languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya (renamed Odiya in 2011), Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. — The Eighth Schedule was created as a list of languages that would help to enrich Hindi. Birla notes that M Satyanarayana, a Constituent Assembly member, initially created a list of 12 languages for inclusion in the Schedule, which was approved by Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru then added Urdu to the list, emphasising its importance in symbolising India's Indo-Islamic heritage. Hence, statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is incorrect but Statement 2 is correct. Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer. QUESTION 4 Consider the following: 1. President of India 2. Speaker of the Lok Sabha 3. Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly 4. Comptroller and Auditor-General of India 5. Judges of the High Courts Which of the above get emoluments, allowances and privileges as specified in the Second Schedule? (a) 1, 2 and 4 only (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 2, 3 and 5 only (d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Explanation — In part A, the President and Vice President of India are entitled to get emoluments, allowances and privileges as are specified in the Second Schedule. — Part B is omitted. — In Part C, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of the People and the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Council of States and the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council of a State are entitled to get emoluments, allowances and privileges as are specified in the Second Schedule. — In Part D, the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts are entitled to get emoluments, allowances and privileges as are specified in the Second Schedule. — In part E, the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India get emoluments, allowances and privileges as are specified in the Second Schedule. Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer. (Source: Constitution of India) QUESTION 5 Which of the following states has become the first to implement SC sub-categorisation? (a) Kerala (b) Assam (c) Telangana (d) Odisha Explanation — The Telangana government issued a gazette notification that formally introduced Scheduled Caste sub-categorisation, sometimes known as reservation inside reservation. — According to the notification, Scheduled Castes in the state shall be classified into three groups: Group I, II, and III. — According to the Gazette notification that implemented the Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservation) Act, 2025, Group I will receive 1% of the SC quota of 15%, Group II will receive 9%, and Group III will receive 5%. Group I includes 15 socioeconomically deprived castes, Group II contains 18, and Group III has 26 such castes. Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer. Previous Daily Subject-Wise-Quiz Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 108) Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 107) Daily subject-wise quiz — Science and Technology (Week 107) Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 107) Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment and Geography (Week 107) Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 107) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
