MCQs on National & International Affairs Dec 2025

Explanation: The Union Cabinet approved the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme with an outlay of ₹3,600 crore to provide education loans to meritorious students for higher studies.

Explanation: Former President Ram Nath Kovind headed the High-Level Committee which recommended holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

Explanation: The PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme was approved with an outlay of ₹10,900 crore to replace the FAME scheme.

Explanation: The Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak 2024 replaces the 90-year-old Aircraft Act of 1934 to modernize India’s aviation regulations.

Explanation: Modeled on Co-WIN, the U-WIN portal maintains an electronic registry of routine immunizations for pregnant women and children.

Explanation: NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is a joint mission to map the entire globe and monitor Earth’s changing ecosystems.

Explanation: Former NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr. Arvind Panagariya was appointed to head the 16th Finance Commission.

Explanation: Bhashini is an AI-led language translation platform aiming to break language barriers and provide digital services in native Indian languages.

Explanation: Abhyas is a High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) designed to serve as a target for evaluation of various missile systems.

Explanation: To shed colonial legacy, Port Blair was renamed to Sri Vijaya Puram, reflecting the historical significance of the Chola empire’s naval expeditions.

Explanation: The Union Cabinet expanded the Ayushman Bharat scheme to provide free health coverage of ₹5 lakh to all senior citizens aged 70 and above, irrespective of their income.

Explanation: India launched Operation Sadbhav to supply relief materials to Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos after they were severely hit by Typhoon Yagi.

Explanation: The 1st Asian Buddhist Summit was hosted by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation in New Delhi.

Explanation: The PM Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) focuses on providing basic facilities to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).

Explanation: The Government of India declared August 23 as National Space Day to commemorate the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon’s south pole.

Explanation: B.V.R. Subrahmanyam took over as the CEO of NITI Aayog, succeeding Parameswaran Iyer.

Explanation: Vande Cargo is an express freight service based on the Vande Bharat platform, designed for fast and safe transportation of high-value goods.

Explanation: The “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” campaign is spearheaded by the National Water Mission under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Explanation: DigiYatra uses Facial Recognition Technology to provide a contactless and seamless boarding experience at airports.

Explanation: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla was selected as the prime astronaut for the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission to the ISS, in collaboration with NASA and ISRO.

Explanation: Senior BJP MP Jagdambika Pal was appointed to head the 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

Explanation: The scheme aims to provide up to 300 units of free electricity every month to 1 crore households by installing rooftop solar systems.

Explanation: The BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) Policy aims to foster high-performance biomanufacturing to shift from chemical to bio-based industries.

Explanation: The Union Cabinet approved Mission Mausam with a budget of ₹2,000 crore for two years to upgrade meteorological forecasting and weather management.

Explanation: INS Arighaat, India’s second indigenous nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), was formally commissioned to strengthen the naval nuclear triad.

Explanation: Donald Trump won the US Presidential elections against Kamala Harris to secure his second non-consecutive term as the 47th President.

Explanation: Keir Starmer became the Prime Minister of the UK after the Labour Party won a landslide victory, ending 14 years of Conservative rule.

Explanation: Marxist-leaning leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential election in Sri Lanka, promising sweeping anti-corruption reforms.

Explanation: Shigeru Ishiba became the Prime Minister of Japan after winning the leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Explanation: Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, won the election to become Mexico’s first female president.

Explanation: The 2024 BRICS Summit was hosted by Russia in the city of Kazan, marking the first summit since the bloc’s major expansion.

Explanation: Brazil hosted the G20 Summit in 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, before handing over the presidency to South Africa for 2025.

Explanation: The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) was hosted by Azerbaijan in its capital city, Baku.

Explanation: The SCO Heads of State Council meeting in 2024 was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, where Belarus was officially admitted as a full member.

Explanation: The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos) assumed the chairmanship and hosted the ASEAN summits in Vientiane in 2024.

Explanation: World leaders adopted the Pact for the Future during the UN Summit of the Future held in New York to address 21st-century global challenges.

Explanation: The European Parliament approved the EU AI Act, establishing the world’s first comprehensive, risk-based legal framework for artificial intelligence.

Explanation: Typhoon Yagi was a deadly tropical cyclone that wreaked havoc across Southeast Asia, particularly severely hitting Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos.

Explanation: India climbed one spot to rank 39th among 133 economies in the Global Innovation Index 2024, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Explanation: India improved slightly to rank 159th out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, up from 161st in 2023.

Explanation: The Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, won the 2024 Peace Prize.

Explanation: South Korean author Han Kang was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2024 for her intense poetic prose confronting historical traumas.

Explanation: SpaceX launched the Polaris Dawn mission, during which billionaire Jared Isaacman and engineer Sarah Gillis conducted the first-ever commercial spacewalk.

Explanation: Australia’s ‘Right to Disconnect’ law came into effect, granting employees the right to ignore work emails and calls outside of working hours.

Explanation: Indian diplomat Indra Mani Pandey assumed charge as the 4th Secretary General of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

Explanation: The ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, is seated at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.

Explanation: FATF recently removed Senegal from its grey list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring after the country improved its AML/CFT framework.

Explanation: The WHO officially certified Egypt as malaria-free, marking a historic public health milestone for the North African nation.

Explanation: El Capitan, located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the USA, broke the exascale barrier to become the fastest supercomputer in the world.

Explanation: António Guterres, a Portuguese politician and diplomat, has been serving as the Secretary-General of the United Nations since 2017.

Explanation: Following the Mahayuti alliance’s sweeping victory in the state assembly elections, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Chief Minister.

Explanation: JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand following the INDIA bloc’s victory in the assembly elections.

Explanation: Nayab Singh Saini retained his position and took oath as the Chief Minister of Haryana.

Explanation: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of J&K after his party won the first assembly elections held in a decade.

Explanation: The Jharkhand government launched the Maiyan Samman Yojana to provide ₹1000 per month financial assistance to eligible women.

Explanation: The Maharashtra government introduced this flagship cash transfer scheme to provide ₹1500 per month to eligible women in the state.

Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Subhadra Yojana in Odisha, providing a total of ₹50,000 to eligible women over five years.

Explanation: The Uttarakhand Assembly passed the UCC Bill, establishing uniform laws for marriage, divorce, and inheritance across all religions.

Explanation: The Uttar Pradesh government is establishing India’s first AI City in Lucknow to foster artificial intelligence innovation and startups.

Explanation: The Hornbill Festival is an annual cultural extravaganza celebrated in Nagaland in December to showcase the state’s tribal heritage.

Explanation: The Sammakka Saralamma Jathara (Medaram Jathara) is a massive tribal festival celebrated in Telangana to honor tribal goddesses.

Explanation: Assam’s Kaji Nemu, known for its unique aroma and health benefits, was granted a GI tag and declared the state fruit.

Explanation: The Karnataka government paused its controversial job quota bill for Kannadigas in the private sector following strong opposition from IT and industry bodies.

Explanation: The Gujarat government, in collaboration with Mazagon Dock, is launching India’s first submarine tourism in Dwarka to explore the submerged ancient city.

Explanation: Gujarat became the first Indian state to launch a dedicated Semiconductor Policy (2022-2027) offering heavy subsidies to attract investments.

Explanation: The newly elected TDP-led government in Andhra Pradesh launched the NTR Bharosa scheme, hiking the monthly pension for the elderly and disabled to ₹4,000.

Explanation: The Assam Assembly passed the Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill to eradicate fraudulent non-scientific healing practices.

Explanation: Madhya Pradesh, known as the ‘Tiger State’, established the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, expanding its wildlife conservation footprint.

Explanation: During the Global Fisheries Conference, Gujarat officially declared the high-value Ghol fish as its state fish.

Explanation: Kerala experienced localized outbreaks of the zoonotic Nipah virus, prompting swift containment and testing protocols by health authorities.

Explanation: Odisha was awarded the Best State at the National Water Awards by President Droupadi Murmu for its excellent water conservation management.

Explanation: Kerala was declared the first state in the country to go fully digital in its banking services, supported by its K-FON internet project.

Explanation: The Congress-led government in Karnataka implemented the Gruha Jyothi scheme as one of its major pre-poll guarantees.

Explanation: The 100 MW floating solar project at Ramagundam, Telangana, is the largest of its kind in India, fully operationalized by NTPC.

Explanation: The Odisha government launched the Swayam scheme to encourage youth entrepreneurship by providing them with collateral and interest-free startup loans.