UPSC Daily Quiz 30 June 2025

The Union Railway Minister recently launched a new app, RailOne, in New Delhi.

About RailOne App:

• It is a new super app designed to serve as a one-stop platform for all railway-related queries and passenger needs.
• The app has been conceived by the Railways’ public sector undertaking (PSU), the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS).
• RailOne is designed to bring every railway service—ticket booking, real-time tracking, food ordering, PNR status, refunds, porter booking, and last-mile taxi—into one seamless, user-friendly platform.
• It eliminates the need for multiple apps by integrating functionalities from IRCTC Rail Connect, UTSonMobile, Rail Madad, NTES, and Food on Track.
• Reserved tickets will continue to be offered on IRCTC. The RailOne app has also been authorised by IRCTC, just like many other commercial apps who have partnered with IRCTC.
• Key features of RailOne:
• Book reserved and unreserved tickets: Easily plan journeys and book tickets using the “Plan My Journey” tool with support for multiple classes and quotas.
• My Bookings: Check your entire booking history—both reserved and unreserved—with filtering options for duration and type.
• Live train tracking and PNR updates: Get real-time updates on train status, platform numbers, and expected delays.
• Coach Position Finder: View your coach location on the platform to ease boarding.
• Food ordering on the go: Order meals from partner vendors directly from your seat.
• Rail Madad integration: Lodge complaints or share feedback directly with Indian Railways and track resolution status.
• Refund management: Initiate and track refunds for canceled or missed trains through a simplified interface.
• Multilingual support: Use the app in multiple Indian languages for easier access across regions.
• Single sign-on: Users can log in using their IRCTC or UTS credentials without remembering multiple passwords.
• Secure R-Wallet payments: Pay securely using Indian Railways’ own digital wallet with biometric or mPIN authentication.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The pharma unit of Sigachi Industries in Hyderabad, which makes microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), was the scene of a lethal accident recently, with the toll rising to 36.

About Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC):

• It is a free-flowing powdery substance extracted as a pulp from fibrous plant material called refined wood pulp.
• It is a purified, partially depolymerized cellulose having the formula (C6H10O5)n.
• Chemically, it is an inert substance, is not degraded during digestion, and has no appreciable absorption.
• As a natural, fiber-rich component, it’s nontoxic and chewable.
• Wood is the most common source of pharmaceutical MCC, in which cellulose chains are closely packed in layered form and are held together by a cross-linking polymer and strong hydrogen bonds.
• Its crystalline structure is due to its microfibres having a high degree of three-dimensional internal bonding.
• During compression, MCC plastically deforms, and therefore, interparticle bonding increases. The plasticity of the MCC is the main reason for its exceptional binding property.
• Applications:
• It is used as a texturizer, extender, emulsifier, and binder in the pharmaceutical industry and as a bulking agent in food production.
• Its vital use is in the making of vitamin supplements and tablets.
• MCC can add weight to a drug and facilitate the active ingredients to function effectively while making the drug conform to weight specifications.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) recently said its Kochi zonal unit busted “India’s most prolific darknet drug syndicate” operating under the name “Ketamelon”.

About Darknet:

• Darknet refers to a segment of the internet that is accessible only through advanced protocols designed to provide user anonymity and security.
• Unlike the surface web, which can be easily accessed using standard search engines and web browsers, darknet content is not indexed and requires specialized tools, such as privacy-focused browsers like Tor, to access.
• Tor (The Onion Router) is free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication.
• Tor utilizes a method known as onion routing, which anonymizes users by routing their connections through multiple volunteer-operated servers, making it difficult to trace their actual IP
• The concept of the darknet is closely related to the dark web, but the terms are not entirely interchangeable.
• The dark web is the content found on darknet networks.
• “Darknet” and “dark web” are also often incorrectly used interchangeably with “deep web.”
• The deep web encompasses everything not indexed by conventional search engines but may still be accessed through regular web browsers if the URL is known.
• The darknet represents a deeper layer of the web, hosting content that is intentionally hidden and only reachable by a select group of users.
• Darknet also includes friend-to-friend (F2F) networks that allow secure, private communications among known individuals.
• While darknet technologies can provide a means for users to bypass censorship and maintain privacy in their online activities, they are also associated with illegal activities such as the trade of illicit goods and services.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Yield on India’s benchmark 10-year bonds will stay soft in July, according to Bank of Baroda (BoB) Research.

What is a Bond?

• A bond is a loan made by an investor to a borrower for a set period of time in return for regular interest payments.
• The time from when the bond is issued to when the borrower has agreed to pay the loan back is called its ‘term to maturity’.
• The bond issuer uses the money raised from bonds to undertake various activities such as funding expansion projects, refinancing existing debt, undertaking welfare activities, etc.

What is Bond Yield? 

• It is the return an investor expects to receive each year over its term to maturity.
• It partially depends on coupon payments, which refer to the periodic interest income obtained as a reward for holding bonds.
• The bondholders receive the bond’s face value at the end of the bond’s life. However, one may buy bonds at par value, discount (at a price lower than par value), or premium (at a price higher than par value) as they trade in the secondary market.
• Therefore, the prevailing market price of bonds also affects the bond yield.
• It is calculated by using the following formula:
• Bond Yield = Coupon Amount/Price
• Bond Yield vs. Price:
• The prices at which investors buy and sell bonds in the secondary market move in the opposite direction to the yields they expect to receive .
• Once a bond is issued, it offers fixed interest payments to its owner over its term to maturity, which does not change.
• However, interest rates in financial markets change all the time, and, as a result, new bonds that are issued will offer different interest payments to investors than existing bonds.
• For example, suppose interest rates fall. New bonds that are issued will now offer lower interest payments.
• This makes existing bonds that were issued before the fall in interest rates more valuable to investors, because they offer higher interest payments compared to new bonds.
• As a result, the price of existing bonds will increase.
• Bond yield is the earning of an investor from a bond over a specific tenure, expressed in a percentage. It is dependent on the interest rate and bond price.
• As a result, when the interest rate falls, and the bond price is higher than the face value of the bond, your bond yield will be lower than the coupon rate.
• Similarly, when interest rates rise and bond prices are lower than the face value, your bond yield will be higher than the coupon rate.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) recently clarified that adoptive parents do not need hard copies of adoption orders, as digitally certified versions sent via e-mail are legally valid and sufficient under the current rules.

About Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA):

• It is a statutory body of the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
• It was established in 1990 as an autonomous body.
• Through Section 68 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act 2015), CARA attained the status of a statutory body.
• It functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
• CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with intercountry adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, 1993, ratified by the Government of India in 2003.
• CARA primarily deals with the adoption of orphan, abandoned, and surrendered children through its associated/recognised adoption agencies.
• In India, a child can be placed with a family under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956, Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.
• The mandatory registration of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) and linking to CARA has been provided in the JJ Act 2015.
• Functions of CARA:
• Monitor and regulate the procedure for in-country adoption;
• Receive applications of an Non-Resident Indian (NRI) or Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) or a foreigner living abroad through authorised adoption agency or Central Authority or the Government department or the Indian diplomatic mission concerned and process the same;
• Receive and process applications received from a foreigner or an OCI residing in India for one year or more, and who is interested in adopting a child from India;
• Issue No Objection Certificate in all cases of intercountry adoptions;
• Issue Conformity Certificate in the inter-country adoption cases under Article 23 of the Hague Adoption Convention in respect of intercountry adoption;
• Intimate the immigration authorities of India and the receiving country of the child about the inter-country adoption cases;
• Provide support and guidance to State Adoption Resource Agencies, District Child Protection Units, Specialised Adoption Agencies, and other stakeholders of adoption in related matters, through trainings, workshops, exposure visits, consultations, conferences, seminars, and other capacity-building programmes;
• Coordinate with State Governments or the State Adoption Resource Agencies and advise them in adoption related matters;
• Establish uniform standards and indicators;
• Conduct research, documentation, and publication on adoption and related matters;
• Maintain a comprehensive centralised database relating to children and prospective adoptive parents for the purpose of adoption in the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System;
• Maintain a confidential centralised database relating to children placed in adoption and adoptive parents;
• Carry out advocacy, awareness and information, education, and communication activities for promoting adoption and other non-institutional child care services;
• Enter into bilateral agreements with foreign Central Authorities as prescribed under the Hague Adoption Convention, wherever necessary;
• Authorise foreign adoption agencies to sponsor applications of NRI or OCI or foreign prospective adoptive parents for intercountry adoption of Indian children;
• Set up counselling Centre in its headquarters and support State Adoption Resource Agencies for setting up of counseling centre at the State and District levels;
• It monitors and regulates bodies such as the State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA), Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA), Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA), Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), and District Child Protective Units (DPUs).

Hence both statements are correct.