UPSC Daily Quiz 1 July 2025

The Indian Navy’s INS Tabar responded swiftly to rescue crew members in the Gulf of Oman as a fire broke out on an oil vessel recently.

About INS Tabar:

• INS Tabar (F44) is the third of the Talwar-class frigates of the Indian Navy.
• It was built for the Indian Navy in Russia.
• It was commissioned in 2004. It is among the earliest stealth frigates of the Indian Navy.
• The ship is part of the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet, which is based at Mumbai under the Western Naval Command.
• It was the first naval vessel to take deterrent action against piracy and has thereafter successfully foiled several pirate attacks.
• The ship is equipped with sophisticated missile systems, radar technology, electronic warfare suites, and aviation assets, including helicopters.
• The ship is also outfitted with advanced firefighting and damage-control capabilities, making it capable of handling emergency scenarios.
• It has a complement of 280 personnel. The crew is specially trained to carry out rescue missions, environmental protection duties, and humanitarian assistance operations, in addition to traditional naval warfare tasks.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

The details of new Animal Discoveries and Plant Discoveries and new records were released by the Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change recently.

About Animal Discoveries and Plant Discoveries 2024:

• The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), the country’s premier institution for faunal exploration and research, publishes Animal Discoveries every year detailing the new discoveries of fauna.
• Similarly, the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), the country’s premier organisation for plant research and taxonomy, publishes Plant Discoveries every year detailing the new discoveries of flora.
• Highlights of 2024 Reports:
• India added 683 new species to its fauna in the year 2024, which included 459 new species and 224 species new records.
• The country also added 433 taxa of flora during the same period, which included 410 species and 23 infra-specific taxa of plants.
• The maximum number of new discoveries of fauna in 2024 was recorded from Kerala—with 101 species (80 new species and 21 new records)—followed by Karnataka—82 (68 new species and 14 new records). Tamil Nadu recorded 63 discoveries, with 50 new species and 13 new records.
• In the eastern and northeastern parts of the country, Arunachal Pradesh recorded 72 animal discoveries (42 new species and 30 new records), Meghalaya 42 new discoveries (25 new species and 17 new records), and West Bengal 56 new discoveries (25 new species and 31 new records).
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands, another biological hotspot in the country, recorded 43 new discoveries of fauna from the region, which included 14 new discoveries of fauna and 29 new records.
• The significant faunal discoveries for the year 2024 include two new genus and 37 species of reptiles and five new species of amphibians.
• The significant discovery of reptiles included Dravidoseps gouensis, belonging to the new genus, and Anguiculus dicaprioi is a member of the Colubridae family, named after Hollywood star, Leonardo Di Caprio.
• In terms of plant discoveries, the highest number of flora discovered was from Kerala (58), followed by Maharashtra (45) and Uttarakhand (40).
• The new plant discoveries for 2024 record 154 angiosperms, 4 pteridophytes, 15 bryophytes, 63 lichens, 156 fungi, 32 algae and 9 microbes.
• The hotspot regions, such as the Western Ghats and the North-Eastern regions, have contributed 35% of total discoveries.
• The plant discoveries for the year 2024 include wild relatives of many potential horticultural, agricultural, medicinal, and ornamental plants such as begonia, impatiens (balsams), legumes, zingibers, orchids, etc.
• In terms of flora, the significant discoveries include important orchid species such as Bulbophyllum gopalianum, Coelogyne tripurensis, Gastrodia indica, and Gastrodia sikkimensis.
• Several new species belonging to important plant groups such as legumes, zingers, grasses, etc, were also discovered.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

The Union government recently ordered the fast-tracking of the launch of 52 dedicated surveillance satellites under the SBS-III programme.

About Space-Based Surveillance-III Programme (SBS-III):

• It was approved in October 2023, by the Prime Minister-led Cabinet Committee on Security to develop next-generation satellites over the next decade.
• It involves the construction and launch of 21 satellites by India’s space agency, ISRO, and 31 by three private companies.
• The first satellite is expected to be launched by April 2026, with the full constellation targeted for completion by the end of 2029.
• The aim of SBS-3 is to cover much larger areas of China and Pakistan, as well as the Indian Ocean Region, with shorter revisit times (interval between two consecutive surveillance sweeps of the same location) and much better resolution. The space doctrine is also being fine-tuned.
• It enables the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force to monitor adversary movements deep inside hostile territory — including airfields, bases, and staging areas.
• These new satellites will utilise AI and will be able to interact with each other and thus gather GeoIntelligence more effectively.
• A crucial aspect of the project is the planned transfer of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) technology from ISRO to private players, which will allow for rapid satellite launches during emergencies.
• The satellites will operate in both low Earth and geostationary orbits, providing comprehensive coverage and countering China’s advanced anti-satellite capabilities, including kinetic and electronic warfare systems.
• The project cost of SBS-III is pegged at ₹26,968 crore.
• The Defence Space Agency (DSA), which functions under the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) of the Ministry of Defence, is leading the project.
• Formed in 2019, the DSA replaced the Integrated Space Cell and now oversees India’s military space operations.
• It coordinates with ISRO, DRDO, and the armed forces to develop space warfare strategies and safeguard national space assets.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently released the Financial Stability Report for June 2025.

About Financial Stability Report (FSR):

• It is a biannual report released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• It reflects the collective assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on the resilience of the Indian financial system and risks to financial stability.
• Highlights of FSR for June 2025:
• The Indian economy remains a key driver of global growth on the back of sound macroeconomic fundamentals and prudent policies.
• The headwinds from protracted geopolitical tensions, elevated uncertainty and trade disruptions, and weather-related uncertainty pose downside risks to growth.
• The non-performing loans ratio is currently at a multi-decadal low, and the economy and financial system are relatively well positioned to bear the tariff-induced shocks.
• The report said that the gross non-performing asset (GNPA), which is currently as of March 2025 at 2.3% levels, in the baseline scenario, could increase to 2.5% level.
• GNPAs for 46 banks accounting for 98 percent of the total assets of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs), may rise to 2.6 percent by March 2027.
• Capital adequacy across the banking sector remains well above regulatory thresholds, giving banks sufficient buffers to withstand adverse scenarios.
• Even under severe stress test conditions, the capital adequacy ratios of banks would stay comfortably above minimum requirements, a strong signal of the sector’s preparedness to absorb economic shocks.
• India’s growth is largely dependent on domestic demand, and the outlook for food inflation remains favorable as the prices have started to soften and the crop production is at a record level.
• On the domestic front, the financial system remains stable, with healthy balance sheets of both banks and non-banking financial institutions.
• NBFCs remain healthy with good capital buffers, robust earnings, and improving asset quality.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

The Wandan mud volcano recently erupted in Taiwan, sending bubbling mud shooting into the air as locals ignite ejected gases with burning rags.

About Mud Volcano:

• A mud volcano is a small volcano-shaped cone of mud and clay, of height usually less than a few meters, and often a few decimeters.
• It is built by a mixture of hot water and fine sediment that either pours gently from a vent in the ground, like lava fluid flow, or is ejected into the air like a lava fountain by escaping volcanic gas and boiling water.
• The craters are usually shallow and may intermittently erupt mud.
• These eruptions continuously rebuild the cones, which are eroded relatively easily.
• The term “mud dome” is similar to that of mud volcano. It refers to land formations created by geologically excreted liquids and gases, with temperatures much cooler than comparable igneous processes.
• The gases released are usually methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, and the liquid is usually water, frequently acidic or salty.
• Mud volcanoes, also known as “sedimentary volcanoes” or “gas-oil volcanoes,” are close cousins to magmatic volcanoes.
• Like magmatic volcanoes, they can erupt powerfully and hurl flames to great heights, sometimes even several hundred meters.
• They spew out millions of cubic meters of hydrocarbon gases and tons of mud.
• Mud volcanoes also exist on the floor of the sea and can form islands and banks that alter the topography and shape of the coastline.
• Approximately 1,000 mud volcanoes have been identified on land and in shallow water.
• In Europe and Asia, mud volcanoes are known to exist in southeastern Ukraine, Italy, Romania, Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, and China.
• In North and South America, mud volcanoes have been documented in Alaska, California, the Island of Trinidad, Venezuela, and Colombia.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.