Indian Polity & Judiciary (1–9)
Q1. On 16 February 2026, the Supreme Court referred a batch of petitions to a Constitution Bench concerning which provision of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023?
A) Section 8(1)(j) of RTI Act (original)
B) Section 44(3) of DPDP Act (amending RTI)
C) Section 23 of DPDP Act
D) Section 12 of RTI Act
Correct Answer: B.
Explanation: Section 44(3) imposes a blanket exemption on disclosure of “personal information” under RTI, even in larger public interest, which petitioners argue dismantles the right to know and transparency.
Q2. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 16 February 2026 cleared the ?92,000 crore Great Nicobar Island mega-infrastructure project, citing its:
A) Purely economic benefits
B) Complete absence of ecological concerns
C) Strategic importance and adequate safeguards in EC conditions
D) Only tourism potential
Correct Answer: C.
Explanation: NGT disposed of challenges, directed strict compliance with 2022 EC conditions (coral reefs, leatherback turtles, ICRZ), and noted a High-Powered Committee had addressed earlier issues.
Q3. Which project did the Union Cabinet/CCEA approve on/around 16 February 2026 as India’s first underwater road-cum-rail tunnel?
A) Under Ganga near Patna
B) 33.7 km twin-tube under Brahmaputra (Gohpur–Numaligarh, Assam)
C) Under Hooghly in Kolkata
D) Under Godavari in Andhra Pradesh
Correct Answer: B.
Explanation: Cost ? ?18,662 crore; 15.79 km twin-tube section; reduces travel time from ~6 hours to 20 minutes; fully funded by Centre.
Q4. On 16 February 2026, the Supreme Court rejected petitions seeking FIR against Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for alleged hate speech and directed petitioners to approach:
A) Supreme Court itself
B) CBI
C) Gauhati High Court
D) NHRC
Correct Answer: C.
Q5. CBSE clarified on 16 February 2026 that from the 2026 board examinations, Class 10 students:
A) Can skip the first attempt entirely
B) Need only internal assessment
C) Have two equal attempts with best score counted
D) Must appear in the first examination; <3 subjects = “essential repeat” category
Correct Answer: D.
Q6. A three-month caste dispute at an anganwadi centre in Nuagaon village, Kendrapara (Odisha) was resolved on 16 February 2026 when upper-caste children returned to accept food cooked by a:
A) OBC helper
B) Dalit helper (Sharmistha Sethy)
C) ST helper
D) General category helper
Correct Answer: B.
Q7. The NGT bench that cleared the Great Nicobar project on 16 February 2026 was headed by:
A) Justice A.K. Goel
B) Justice Surya Kant
C) Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi
D) Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava (Kolkata Bench)
Correct Answer: D.
Q8. Petitions challenging the DPDP Act’s impact on RTI argue that the amendment cynically uses the right to:
A) Privacy to cripple the right to information
B) Equality
C) Freedom of speech
D) Life and liberty
Correct Answer: A.
Q9. The Great Nicobar project includes an international transshipment port at:
A) Port Blair
B) Chennai
C) Galathea Bay
D) Visakhapatnam
Correct Answer: C.
Geopolitics & World News (Q10–19)
Q10. According to Reuters (16 Feb 2026), the U.S. military is planning for possible strikes on Iran that could last:
A) 48 hours
B) Several weeks if ordered by President Trump
C) Only defensive
D) Jointly with NATO
Correct Answer: B.
Explanation: Follows Trump’s December 2025 assurance to Netanyahu of U.S. backing for Israeli strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile programme if no nuclear deal is reached.
Q11. At the Munich Security Conference (reported 16 Feb), Republican Senator Lindsey Graham explicitly called for:
A) Regime change in Iran
B) Immediate NATO withdrawal
C) Peace with Russia
D) Sanctions relief for Iran
Correct Answer: A.
Q12. On 16 February 2026, Ukraine launched a drone strike on the Russian Black Sea port of:
A) Sevastopol
B) Taman (causing fires and damage to oil terminal)
C) Novorossiysk
D) Kerch
Correct Answer: B.
Q13. Israeli forces killed at least how many Palestinians in Gaza in the 24 hours preceding 16 February 2026 reports (post U.S.-brokered ceasefire)?
A) 3
B) 100
C) 50
D) 11
Correct Answer: D.
Q14. A record 250,000 people rallied in Germany (16 Feb reports) on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference protesting against the government of:
A) Russia
B) Iran
C) China
D) North Korea
Correct Answer: B.
Q15. The partial U.S. government shutdown (reported 16 Feb 2026) was entering its:
A) First week
B) Second month
C) Third day
D) Sixth month
Correct Answer: C.
Q16. India’s AI Impact Summit 2026 (opened 16 Feb, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi) is the first global AI summit hosted in the:
A) Global North
B) Global South
C) Europe
D) BRICS-only format
Correct Answer: B.
Explanation: 5-day event (16–20 Feb); >20 Heads of State, 60 Ministers, 500 global AI leaders; pillars — People, Planet, Progress.
Q17. PM Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai on 17 February 2026 to inaugurate:
A) India-France Year of Innovation 2026
B) QUAD Summit
C) G20 follow-up
D) SCO Defence Ministers meet
Correct Answer: A.
Q18. PM Modi is scheduled to visit Israel on:
A) 16–17 Feb
B) 25–26 Feb 2026 (to address Knesset)
C) March 2026
D) Never (cancelled)
Correct Answer: B.
Q19. A Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon trading card sold at auction on 16 February 2026 for a record:
A) $5.2 million
B) $25 million
C) $1.2 million
D) $16,492,000
Correct Answer: D.
Sports & Olympics (20–24)
Q20. In the inaugural 2026 NBA All-Star Game under the new USA vs World round-robin format, the championship was won by:
A) Team World
B) USA Stars (defeated USA Stripes 47-21 in final)
C) USA Stripes
D) International All-Stars
Correct Answer: B.
Q21. At Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics (Day 10, 16 Feb), U.S. athlete Elana Meyers Taylor won gold in:
A) Women’s monobob (her first Olympic gold at fifth Games)
B) Alpine skiing
C) Figure skating
D) Biathlon
Correct Answer: A.
Q22. Canada secured gold and silver on 16 Feb 2026 at Milano Cortina in:
A) Snowboarding
B) Only hockey
C) Curling
D) Freeski big air & short-track speed skating
Correct Answer: D.
Q23. In women’s ice hockey semifinals (16 Feb 2026), USA defeated Sweden:
A) 2-1
B) 5-0
C) 3-2
D) 4-1
Correct Answer: B.
Q24. The 2026 Winter Olympics are being hosted jointly by:
A) Beijing & Zhangjiakou
B) Paris & Alps
C) Milan & Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy)
D) Vancouver & Whistler
Correct Answer: C.
Arts, Education, Disasters & Miscellaneous Current Affairs (25–39)
Q25. Veteran Hollywood actor Robert Duvall, known for roles in The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, passed away at age:
A) 85
B) 95
C) 78
D) 102
Correct Answer: B.
Q26. JEE Main 2026 topper Shreyas Mishra (Delhi, 100 percentile) credited his success to:
A) Deleting all social media apps and sacrificing time with friends
B) Coaching only
C) Online gaming
D) Group study
Correct Answer: A.
Q27. Seven people were killed in a fire at a chemical factory in Bhiwadi on 16 February 2026. The state is:
A) Haryana
B) Rajasthan
C) Gujarat
D) Punjab
Correct Answer: B.
Q28. A drone strike on a crowded market outside Sodari, North Kordofan (Sudan) on 16 Feb killed:
A) 12 people
B) 5 people
C) 28 people
D) 50 people
Correct Answer: C.
Q29. A motorcycle bombing near a police station in Bannu District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan) killed two (including a child) and injured:
A) 5
B) 12
C) 20
D) 30
Correct Answer: B.
Q30. The India AI Impact Summit 2026 expects approximately how many visitors?
A) 10,000
B) 50,000
C) 1 million
D) 250,000
Correct Answer: D.
