Answer: (a) 23 October

1. The International Day of the Snow Leopard is observed on 23 October. It draws attention to the protection of snow leopards and their mountain habitats.
2. The species is scientifically known as Panthera uncia and is often called the Ghost of the Mountains. Its natural range covers high-altitude landscapes across Central and South Asia.
3. The reported conservation category is Vulnerable under the IUCN Red List. Major pressures include habitat loss, poaching, declining prey and conflict with people.
4. The Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme (GSLEP) supports international cooperation. Remember the date, species name and conservation objective together.

Answer: (d) Karnal

1. Khet Bachao Abhiyan-Rabi 2026 was launched in Karnal, Haryana, on 22 October 2026 by Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, according to the daily roundup.
2. The campaign is scheduled to run until 30 November 2026. It promotes soil health, balanced fertiliser application and sustainable farming practices.
3. Activities include soil testing, crop diversification, productive use of fallow land, management of crop residues and natural farming. These activities address farm productivity as well as environmental pressures.
4. Implementation involves state agriculture departments, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, ICAR institutions and agricultural universities. KVKs provide location-specific advice and demonstrations to farmers.

Answer: (b) 2019

1. Jaipur's historic walled city received UNESCO World Heritage status in 2019. This is separate from Jaipur's inclusion in the travel list discussed in the October 2026 roundup.
2. Sawai Jai Singh II founded Jaipur in 1727. Vidyadhar Bhattacharya is associated with planning the city.
3. Important landmarks include City Palace, Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar. Jaipur is also known for crafts such as blue pottery, block printing and meenakari.
4. The source's state-affairs item repeats heritage and snow-leopard facts covered elsewhere. This question focuses specifically on the UNESCO inscription year, avoiding repetition of the travel-list question.

Answer: (c) Karmayogi Bharat

1. Karmayogi Bharat and OpenAI signed an MoU to support artificial-intelligence education and capacity building among Indian government personnel.
2. The arrangement provides access to learning resources from OpenAI Academy through iGOT Karmayogi. The objective is practical AI literacy and responsible adoption in public administration.
3. Karmayogi Bharat is a government-owned, not-for-profit SPV established under the Department of Personnel and Training. SPV means Special Purpose Vehicle.
4. The supplied report cites more than 1.7 crore government employees registered across the Centre, states and Union Territories. Platform registrations indicate potential reach, rather than the number who have completed AI training.

Answer: (a) Trade monitoring and evidence-based policymaking

1. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal launched the National Strategic Trade Command Centre (NSTCC) in New Delhi to strengthen trade monitoring and policy decisions.
2. The initiative uses integrated data analytics to improve oversight of international-trade processes. Evidence-based policymaking means using relevant data to guide administrative decisions.
3. The related organisation is DGFT, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. Areas mentioned include IEC, Advance Authorisation, EPCG and Certificates of Origin.
4. The coverage also includes SCOMET: Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies. This concerns specified controlled items and should not be confused with a general ban on exports.

Answer: (d) Wildlife Institute of India

1. The Wildlife Institute of India coordinated the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI), whose results were released in 2024.
2. The assessment estimated 718 snow leopards in India. Ladakh recorded the largest estimate at 477, followed by Uttarakhand at 124.
3. The other reported estimates were Himachal Pradesh 51, Arunachal Pradesh 36, Sikkim 21, and Jammu and Kashmir 9. Together these figures total 718.
4. This is an earlier assessment revisited in the October 2026 roundup, not a newly completed 2026 census. Distinguish the publication date of a daily news item from the date of the underlying assessment.

Answer: (b) 2030

1. India and Poland set a target to double bilateral trade by 2030 during discussions involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Donald Tusk.
2. The official visit covered 21-23 October 2026. The two countries had established a Strategic Partnership in 2024.
3. A proposed Defence Industry Dialogue seeks industrial collaboration, co-development and co-production. Other cooperation areas include semiconductors, cybersecurity, space, critical minerals and battery recycling.
4. India also invited Poland to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. A trade target is a future goal; it should not be described as a trade increase already achieved.

Answer: (c) France

1. The roundup reports that France announced a human case of Shamonda virus on 22 October 2026. The question concerns the country named in that report.
2. The virus belongs to the Orthobunyavirus genus and the Peribunyaviridae family. It had previously been associated primarily with livestock infections.
3. Its earlier geographical history includes identification in Nigeria in the mid-1960s and detection in animals in parts of Africa and Japan.
4. The report states that the precise route of infection in the human case had not been established. Do not infer a confirmed route of human transmission from the virus's known association with animal hosts and biting midges.

Answer: (a) Sunil Kumar

1. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved Sunil Kumar as the next ONGC Chairman, according to the daily roundup.
2. He was serving as an Executive Director at the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. ONGC operates under the administrative Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
3. He was expected to assume charge on or after 7 December 2026, succeeding Arun Kumar Singh. Approval and assumption of office are separate stages.
4. The reported regular tenure extends to superannuation on 31 December 2028, with subsequent contractual engagement subject to the appointment order. Avoid describing him as already holding the new office on the date of the announcement.

Answer: (d) Jaipur

1. Jaipur, Rajasthan, was included in National Geographic's Best of the World 2027 list, announced on 20 October 2026, according to the supplied report.
2. The list features 25 destinations across six continents. It is a travel recommendation list, rather than a formal UNESCO designation.
3. Jaipur's attractions include the historic walled city, City Palace, Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar. Its cultural identity also includes blue pottery, block printing and meenakari.
4. The roundup mentions the Jaipur Literature Festival scheduled for 14-18 January 2027. Keep the list's 2027 edition distinct from its October 2026 announcement date.

Answer: (b) Powering the Global South

1. The announced theme was Powering the Global South. The 7th Agrivoltaics World Conference took place at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 21-23 October 2026.
2. The host ministry was MNRE, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the event, according to the roundup.
3. Agrivoltaics, or AgriPV, combines agricultural production and solar photovoltaic generation on the same land. The approach explores productive use of land for both food and electricity.
4. Resources included an AgriPV Policy Handbook, a decision tool and a Book of Abstracts. PM-KUSUM is a related scheme promoting the use of solar energy in agriculture.

Answer: (c) Harry Brook

1. The roundup credits Harry Brook with reaching a men's ODI double century in 114 balls against Sri Lanka at Rawalpindi on 22 October 2026.
2. His completed innings was reported as 202 from 116 balls, including 21 fours and 10 sixes. The balls taken to reach 200 differ from the balls faced in the entire innings.
3. The report compares his 114-ball milestone with Shubman Gill's stated previous 117-ball mark and describes Brook as England's first men's ODI double-centurion.
4. England's reported total was 429/4, while Sri Lanka reached 433/8 to win by two wickets. An individual batting record and the match result are separate facts.

Answer: (a) Swati Chaudhary

1. Swati Chaudhary won silver in the women's individual W1 archery event at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
2. She lost the final to China's Mengkan Cen by 4-6. The roundup describes this as India's first Asian Para Games medal in the W1 archery category.
3. The same news item reports compound mixed-team gold for Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar, who defeated Indonesia 151-148. Their qualification score was reported as 1,402.
4. Suvarna Raj's women's discus F54 gold belongs to para-athletics, not archery. Distinguish the athlete, event classification and sport when revising this combined medal update.

Answer: (d) Yashaswini Ghorpade and Harmeet Desai

1. Yashaswini Ghorpade and Harmeet Desai assured a medal in mixed doubles at the 29th ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships, as reported on 23 October 2026.
2. The host city was Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Match the championship with table tennis rather than tennis or badminton.
3. ATTU stands for Asian Table Tennis Union, while ITTF means International Table Tennis Federation, the international governing body for the sport.
4. A mixed-doubles pair consists of one male and one female player from the same national association. Assuring a medal does not establish that the eventual medal is gold.

Answer: (b) Harsaran Bir Kaur Pandey

1. Harsaran Bir Kaur Pandey authored The Evolution of TV News in India: From Doordarshan to Digital Disruption – An Insider's Account.
2. The book was launched by former Prasar Bharati Chairman Surya Prakash at the India International Centre, New Delhi. The publisher is Om Books International.
3. It examines the development of television journalism from Doordarshan to satellite broadcasting, round-the-clock news channels and digital media.
4. The author began her broadcasting career at Doordarshan's Mandi House headquarters in the early 1970s and later worked in international communications, including UNICEF and WHO. Remember the author-title pair and the book's subject.