Geopolitics & World News Involving India (Questions 1–10)
Q1. On 20 February 2026, India signed an agreement to join which U.S.-led coalition aimed at building resilient supply chains for critical minerals, electronics and AI?
A) Quad Critical Minerals Forum
B) Pax Silica
C) Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Supply Chain Pillar
D) Minerals Security Partnership (MSP)
Correct Answer: B.
Explanation: Pax Silica (signed by Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw with U.S. Under Secretary Jacob Helberg at the AI Impact Summit) counters China’s dominance in rare earth refining and economic coercion. Members include US, Canada, Japan, South Korea and EU.
Q2. What is the primary objective of Pax Silica as stated by U.S. Under Secretary Jacob Helberg on 20 Feb 2026?
A) Military alliance against China
B) Joint space exploration programme
C) Reclaiming sovereignty over economic security and rejecting “weaponised dependency”
D) Global climate finance mechanism
Correct Answer: C.
Q3. At the India AI Impact Summit 2026 (concluding phase on 20 Feb), Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced which initiative involving three new subsea cable corridors to make India a global AI hub?
A) India Stack 2.0
B) Indo-Pacific Cable Initiative
C) Digital Silk Road
D) America-India Connect (AIC)
Correct Answer: D.
Explanation: AIC includes India–South Africa, India–Singapore and India–Australia corridors with Visakhapatnam as the third international landing station; part of Google’s $15 billion India AI plan.
Q4. On 20 February 2026, India and the UK launched which task force under the India-UK Vision 2035 to accelerate offshore wind capacity (target 30 GW by 2030)?
A) Blue Economy Taskforce
B) Renewables Trade Corridor
C) Green Hydrogen Alliance
D) Offshore Wind Taskforce
Correct Answer: D.
Q6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the plenary of the India AI Impact Summit on/around 20 Feb 2026, stated that India sees “future, not fear” in:
A) Quantum computing
B) Artificial Intelligence
C) Nuclear fusion
D) 6G technology
Correct Answer: B.
Q7. Which country announced on 20 Feb 2026 that it will host the next Global AI Summit after India’s 2026 edition?
A) France
B) Switzerland
C) Singapore
D) UAE
Correct Answer: B.
Q8. On 20 Feb 2026, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the India-U.S. interim trade pact is likely to be operationalised in:
A) February 2026
B) March 2026
C) April 2026
D) October 2026
Correct Answer: C.
Q9. India attended the inaugural meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” (on Gaza) as an observer nation. The meeting was held on:
A) 17 February 2026
B) 18 February 2026
C) 19 February 2026
D) 20 February 2026
Correct Answer: C.
Q10. FCI signed an MoU with WFP on/around 20 Feb 2026 to supply how many lakh MT of rice (up to 25% broken) over the next five years for global humanitarian assistance?
A) 1
B) 2
C) 5
D) 10
Correct Answer: B.
Indian Polity & Governance (Questions 11–20)
Q11. On 20 February 2026, a Supreme Court bench headed by CJI Surya Kant directed the Calcutta High Court to depute judicial officers for which state’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls?
A) Bihar
B) West Bengal
C) Tamil Nadu
D) Maharashtra
Correct Answer: B.
Explanation: Extraordinary situation cited; status report on violence sought; EC to publish processed list by 28 Feb 2026.
Q12. The Election Commission informed states on 19-20 Feb 2026 that SIR in the remaining 22 States/UTs is expected to begin from:
A) February 2026
B) March 2026
C) April 2026
D) June 2026
Correct Answer: C.
Q13. Kerala’s final electoral roll after SIR (published 20-21 Feb 2026) has approximately how many crore voters?
A) 2.0
B) 4.1
C) 3.2
D) 2.69
Correct Answer: D.
Q14. On 20 Feb 2026, the Supreme Court deprecated the practice of filing petitions merely to “embarrass” state governments ahead of Assembly elections. The observation was made by:
A) CJI D.Y. Chandrachud
B) CJI Surya Kant
C) Justice B.R. Gavai
D) Justice Hima Kohli
Correct Answer: B.
Q15. The Supreme Court on 20 Feb 2026 dismissed a plea seeking a ban on naming mosques after Mughal emperor:
A) Babur
B) Akbar
C) Aurangzeb
D) Shah Jahan
Correct Answer: A.
Q16. Which Union Minister launched the Vibrant Villages Programme–II (?6,839 crore outlay) in Assam’s Cachar district on 20 Feb 2026?
A) Amit Shah
B) Nitin Gadkari
C) Piyush Goyal
D) Ashwini Vaishnaw
Correct Answer: A.
Q17. On 20 Feb 2026, Youth Congress workers staged a “shirtless protest” at the AI Impact Summit exhibition hall against:
A) CAA rules
B) India-U.S. trade deal and government policies
C) Farm laws 2.0
D) Agnipath scheme
Correct Answer: B.
Q18. The Gender Budget Statement 2026-27, released in February 2026, saw allocation rise to:
A) Rupees 3.50 lakh crore
B) Rupees 5.01 lakh crore
C) Rupees 6.25 lakh crore
D) Rupees 4.20 lakh crore
Correct Answer: B.
Q19. Delhi High Court on 20 Feb 2026 observed “Housework is real work” while granting maintenance to:
A) A working wife
B) A divorced daughter
C) A senior citizen mother
D) A non-earning educated wife
Correct Answer: D.
Q20. Harjot Bains, Education Minister of Punjab, became the first to personally inspect over 2,000 government schools. The milestone was highlighted on:
A) 20 Feb 2026
B) 21 Feb 2026
C) 20 Feb 2026
D) 21 Feb 2026
Correct Answer: B.
Sports (Questions 21–25)
Q21. In the Indian Super League match on 20 February 2026, which team defeated Mohammedan SC?
A) FC Goa
B) Mumbai City FC
C) Kerala Blasters
D) Bengaluru FC
Correct Answer: A.
Q22. Ahead of India’s Super Eight clash against South Africa (22 Feb 2026) in T20 World Cup 2026, head coach Gautam Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel backed opener Abhishek Sharma despite three successive ducks in the tournament. The practice session was held on:
A) 19 Feb
B) 20 Feb
C) 21 Feb
D) 18 Feb
Correct Answer: B.
Q23. The Indian senior women’s football team played a pre-Asian Cup friendly victory against which team in February 2026?
A) Australia
B) Japan
C) Perth RedStar
D) China
Correct Answer: C.
Q24. India is participating in the Hobart leg of the FIH Men’s Pro League 2026 starting around 20 Feb. The team is looking to bounce back after:
A) Olympic qualification loss
B) Recent poor results
C) Asian Games silver
D) Junior World Cup win
Correct Answer: B.
Q25. The 13th edition of MILAN naval exercise (largest multilateral) is scheduled at Visakhapatnam in 2026 with participation from how many nations?
A) 50
B) 42
C) 74
D) 96
Correct Answer: C.
Education, Environment, Schemes & Other Current Affairs (Questions 26–30)
Q26. On the 50th anniversary (2026) of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976, which state reported high relapse rates of rescued labourers due to delayed rehabilitation?
A) Rajasthan
B) Odisha
C) Jharkhand
D) Chhattisgarh
Correct Answer: B.
Q27. The Union Home Minister launched Vibrant Villages Programme–II covering how many strategic villages across 15 States and 2 UTs?
A) 1,200
B) 1,500
C) 1,954
D) 3,100
Correct Answer: C.
Q28. Smooth-coated otters were recorded for the first time in which Uttarakhand wildlife sanctuary on 20 Feb 2026?
A) Rajaji
B) Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary
C) Corbett
D) Gangotri
Correct Answer: B.
Q29. Which AI-powered multilingual voice stack (ASR, TTS, LLMs) was launched on BHASHINI platform during the AI Impact Summit 2026?
A) BhashaGPT
B) IndicVoice
C) VoicERA
D) BharatVani
Correct Answer: C.
Q30. The Indian Air Force conducted water-dropping operations (1.4 lakh litres) in which two North-Eastern states facing early forest fires on 20 Feb 2026?
A) Assam & Meghalaya
B) Tripura & Sikkim
C) Manipur & Mizoram
D) Arunachal Pradesh & Nagaland
Correct Answer: D.
