13 September 2025 · Shift 1

Gwalior Fort Gwalior Fort sits on a long sandstone hill stretching about 2 km — Statement 1 is correct. The Urwahi and southern approaches have famous colossal rock-cut Jain tirthankara sculptures (15th century) — Statement 2 is correct. The Chaturbhuj Temple (876 CE), famous for the earliest inscribed zero, is dedicated to Vishnu — Statement 3 is also correct; hence option (d).

Bhakti — two streams The Bhakti tradition is classically divided by the conception of God. Saguna bhakti worships God with form and attributes (Rama, Krishna); Nirguna bhakti worships the formless (Kabir, Nanak). Hence option (b).

Annamacharya Annamacharya (15th century) was the legendary Telugu saint-composer of Tirupati. He composed some 32,000 sankirtanas in praise of Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala. He is regarded as the earliest known composer of Carnatic-style padams — option (a).

Hockey — flat side rule A hockey stick has one flat face and one rounded face. Restricting play to the flat face keeps the ball’s bounce and rebound predictable and uniform for everyone — ensuring fair play. Hence option (c).

Regulating Act — Governor The Regulating Act, 1773 elevated the Governor of Bengal to Governor-General of Bengal. Warren Hastings became the first, assisted (and often outvoted) by an Executive Council of four members. Bombay and Madras were made subordinate to him — option (c).

Milkha Singh — Rome 1960 In the Rome 1960 400 m final, Milkha Singh missed bronze by a whisker, finishing fourth. His timing of 45.6 seconds stood as the Indian national record until 1984. Hence option (b).

2024 — BIT & NIRI India's model BIT (followed in the Uzbekistan treaty) requires investors to first exhaust domestic remedies for about five years before international arbitration — Statement 1 is wrong. NIRI is a broad infrastructure-readiness index covering states/sectors, including private-investment indicators — not only Smart Cities — Statement 2 is wrong. Hence Neither 1 nor 2 — option (d).

SPM Swimming Stadium The Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Swimming Pool Complex is in New Delhi (Talkatora area). It was renovated for the 2010 Commonwealth Games aquatics events. Hence option (c).

Heart: A History — Edgar "Heart: A History" (2018) is Sandeep Jauhar’s non-fiction account of cardiology woven with memoir. The Edgar Award for Best Novel honours mystery FICTION. Being non-fiction, the book is simply not eligible for that award — option (d).

Gorges — hard rocks A gorge is a deep, narrow valley with steep rocky walls. Such steep walls can stand only in hard, resistant rocks; soft material would collapse into wide valleys. Hence option (c).

Li-ion plant — Tirupati India's first lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility (by Munoth Industries) opened at Tirupati in September 2022. It was inaugurated by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, then MoS for Electronics & IT. Hence option (d).

Census — negative growth Census 2011 recorded a decadal growth of −0.58% for Nagaland. It was the only Indian state with negative population growth in 2001–2011. Hence option (d).

Rate of natural increase Natural increase counts only births and deaths, excluding migration. Rate of natural increase = birth rate − death rate. Hence option (a).

SSLV-D2 SSLV-D2 (10 February 2023) placed EOS-07, Janus-1 (USA) and AzaadiSAT-2 in a 450 km circular orbit; the rocket has three solid stages plus a liquid Velocity Trimming Module — Statement 1 is correct. SSLV is designed for launch-on-demand: quick readiness, low turnaround and minimal infrastructure — Statement 2 is correct. Hence Both — option (c).

Telomerase Telomeres are protective caps at chromosome ends that shorten with each cell division. Telomerase adds repeat sequences back, lengthening telomeres. Hence option (a).

Sarkaria Commission The Sarkaria Commission (1983–88) examined Centre-State relations. It recommended a permanent Inter-State Council under Article 263 with its own secretariat; the Council was set up in 1990. Hence option (b).

Copper base — conduction Copper is one of the best conductors of heat. A copper base spreads heat quickly and evenly across the vessel, preventing hot spots and burning. Hence option (c).

Uniform Civil Code Criminal law in India is already uniform; personal laws (marriage, divorce, inheritance) vary by religion. The UCC (Article 44, DPSP) aims to give all citizens one common set of personal laws. Hence option (c).

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund AIF (2020) is a ₹1 lakh crore financing facility with interest subvention and credit guarantee. It funds post-harvest infrastructure — cold storage, warehouses, sorting-grading units and agri-logistics. Hence option (b).

IILB (A–R) IILB is a GIS-enabled national portal mapping industrial parks, land parcels and their infrastructure — A is true. It is run by DPIIT (Ministry of Commerce & Industry), not the Ministry of Mines — R is false. Hence option (c).

Global Peace Index 2024 GPI 2024 (IEP) notes that average global peacefulness has deteriorated since 2008. The Ongoing Conflict and Safety & Security domains have worsened, while the Militarisation domain has recorded improvement over the period. Hence option (c).

SAPCC 2025 — budget Adaptation spending in the SAPCCs is concentrated where climate vulnerability is highest. The Agriculture and Water Resources sector received the largest share of the adaptation budget in the updated 2025 plans. Hence option (d).

Textile industry India’s textile industry is unique in being complete in the value chain. From cotton/fibre production to spinning, weaving, processing and garments — it is largely self-reliant end to end. It is also a major exporter — hence option (c).

Inter-State Council — Article 263 Article 263 empowers the President to establish an Inter-State Council for coordination between states and the Centre. It was set up in 1990 on the Sarkaria Commission’s recommendation. Article 262 deals with inter-state water disputes — hence option (a).

Atmospheric layers Weather events (clouds, rain, storms) occur in the troposphere, not the stratosphere — Statement 1 is wrong. The ozone layer lies mainly in the stratosphere (15–35 km), not the troposphere — Statement 2 is wrong. The statements have swapped the layers — hence Neither; option (d).