Current Affairs Quiz

Statement 1 is correct: The Santhal Rebellion was directed against the oppressive policies of the British East India Company and the exploitation by *zamindars* and moneylenders, who were collectively referred to as *Dikus* (outsiders).
Statement 2 is incorrect: The Santhal Rebellion resulted in the creation of the Santhal Parganas district and the passing of the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act. The Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (1908) was passed later, largely as a result of the Birsa Munda Ulgulan (1899-1900).

Statement 1 is correct: General Dhiraj Seth has taken charge as the 31st Chief of the Army Staff, succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi.
Statement 2 is incorrect: He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA) and was commissioned into the Armoured Corps (not the Infantry Regiment) in December 1986.

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was established in 1889, long before the creation of the United Nations or World War II. Furthermore, it is an independent global organization of national parliaments, not a specialized agency of the UN (though it holds permanent observer status at the UN).
Statement 2 is correct: The headquarters of the IPU is indeed located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Statement 1 is correct: International Asteroid Day is observed on June 30 to mark the date of the Tunguska event in 1908, the largest recorded asteroid airburst/impact on Earth, occurring over Siberia, Russia.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The Main Asteroid Belt is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, not Earth and Mars.

Statement 1 is correct: The White-Rumped Vulture (*Gyps bengalensis*) is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN due to a catastrophic population decline.
Statement 2 is correct: The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in Tamil Nadu (and the adjoining Sigur plateau) forms a crucial stronghold, holding the last sizeable population of these vultures in South India.
Statement 3 is incorrect: The massive decline of the vulture population in India was not primarily caused by DDT, but rather by Diclofenac, a veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat livestock. Vultures feeding on the carcasses of treated cattle suffered fatal renal failure.

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Political Council of the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) is chaired by the Prime Minister of India, not the President. The Executive Council is chaired by the National Security Advisor (NSA).
Statement 2 is correct: While India maintains a strict 'No First Use' (NFU) policy against non-nuclear states, the 2003 doctrine clearly states that India retains the option of using nuclear weapons in retaliation to a major attack involving biological or chemical weapons.
Statement 3 is incorrect: 'Canisterisation' involves keeping the missile mated with its warhead in a sealed, ready-to-launch container. This reduces launch time and indicates a higher level of operational readiness, contrary to keeping them separate (de-mated).

Statement 1 is incorrect: SIPRI is an independent international research institute based in Sweden. It is not a specialized agency of the United Nations, nor does it work under the UN Security Council.
Statement 2 is correct: SIPRI is globally renowned for its annual SIPRI Yearbook, which provides comprehensive open-source data and analysis on global armed conflicts, military expenditure, arms transfers, and nuclear weapons stockpiles.

Statement 1 is correct: Anthropocentrism is the belief that humans are superior, leading to a bias where animal intelligence and emotional depth are unfairly judged exclusively against human standards (e.g., expecting them to process death exactly as humans do).
Statement 2 is incorrect: The "minimal concept of death" deliberately removes the requirement for complex emotional grief or human-like mourning rituals. It defines the understanding of death simply as the cognitive ability to recognize the irreversible loss of a living body's functions (permanent non-functionality).

Statement 1 is correct: Leprosy is caused by *Mycobacterium leprae*. It is unique because, besides humans, it can naturally infect nine-banded armadillos and red squirrels.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Smallpox is a viral disease (caused by the *Variola virus*). Furthermore, during the Columbian Exchange, it was spread from the Old World (Europe) to the Americas, not the other way around.
Statement 3 is correct: Sambhu Nath De, an Indian medical scientist and researcher, made the groundbreaking discovery of the cholera toxin, which fundamentally explained the pathogenesis of *Vibrio cholerae*.

Statement 1 is correct: INS Udaygiri (a Project 17A stealth frigate), along with INS Kavaratti and INS Shakti, recently visited Sattahip Port in Thailand as part of the Eastern Fleet's operational deployment.
Statement 2 is correct: The maiden bilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Thai Navy is named 'Ex Ayutthaya', connecting the cultural heritage of Ayodhya in India and Ayutthaya in Thailand.