National Affairs
1. Where did the Reserve Bank of India hold its 619th Central Board meeting in 2025?
A) Mumbai
B) New Delhi
C) Udaipur
D) Hyderabad
Answer: C) Udaipur
Explanation: The 619th Central Board meeting of the RBI was held in Udaipur , chaired by Governor Sanjay Malhotra .
2. The ‘SBI STAR’ initiative launched by State Bank of India is related to:
A) Digital Banking
B) Customer Rewards
C) Employee Excellence
D) Financial Literacy
Answer: C) Employee Excellence
Explanation: SBI STAR (Staff Talent Acknowledgement & Recognition) is an annual award to honour employee achievements beyond professional performance.
3. Which public sector bank has paused its plan to divest its majority stake in Nainital Bank Limited?
A) Punjab National Bank
B) Bank of Baroda
C) Canara Bank
D) Union Bank of India
Answer: B) Bank of Baroda
Explanation: Bank of Baroda decided to retain and strengthen Nainital Bank instead of selling its stake.
4. In October 2025, UPI transactions reached a record value of:
A) Rs22.5 lakh crore
B) Rs24.1 lakh crore
C) Rs27.28 lakh crore
D) Rs30.5 lakh crore
Answer: C)Rs27.28 lakh crore
Explanation: NPCI reported that UPI hit ?27.28 lakh crore in value and 20.7 billion transactions in volume during October 2025.
5. NPCI International Payments Ltd partnered with which company to enable UPI payments in Malaysia?
A) PayNow
B) GrabPay
C) Razorpay Curlec
D) Alipay
Answer: C) Razorpay Curlec
Explanation: NIPL joined hands with Razorpay Curlec to expand UPI cross-border payments to Malaysia.
6. India decided to resume import approvals from which country after a five-year freeze?
A) Pakistan
B) Russia
C) China
D) Sri Lanka
Answer: C) China
Explanation: India lifted its import ban from China and other nations , which had been in place since 2020 border tensions .
Appointments
7. Who has been appointed as the Director of the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) , Hyderabad?
A) G. Satheesh Reddy
B) Ankathi Raju
C) Samir V Kamat
D) R. Umamaheswaran
Answer: B) Ankathi Raju
Explanation: Ankathi Raju has been appointed as the new Director of DRDL , Hyderabad.
8. Who has been named as the Director of Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) ?
A) K. Sivan
B) Dr. M. Raghavendra Rao
C) P. Venkatakrishnan
D) N. Sathyamurthy
Answer: B) Dr. M. Raghavendra Rao
Explanation: He took charge as Director of ASL , focusing on advanced missile and defence systems.
International Affairs
9. The exercise ‘Poorvi Prachand Prahar’ will be conducted in which Indian state?
A) Sikkim
B) Arunachal Pradesh
C) Assam
D) Nagaland
Answer: B) Arunachal Pradesh
Explanation: The tri-service military exercise will be held in Mechuka, Arunachal Pradesh , involving Army, Navy, and Air Force.
10. Which AI company signed a $38 billion partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS)?
A) Anthropic
B) Google DeepMind
C) OpenAI
D) Stability AI
Answer: C) OpenAI
Explanation: OpenAI partnered with AWS for a 7-year, $38 billion deal to access large-scale cloud computing infrastructure.
11. Russia’s Burevestnik (9M730) missile is notable because it is:
A) A hypersonic missile
B) Nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed
C) Anti-satellite weapon
D) Submarine-launched ballistic missile
Answer: B) Nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed
Explanation: Russia tested the Burevestnik (9M730) — a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile with a 14,000 km range .
12. Which country’s parliament approved removing four zeros from its currency to curb inflation?
A) Turkey
B) Argentina
C) Iran
D) Egypt
Answer: C) Iran
Explanation: Iran ’s parliament passed a bill to revalue the Rial by removing four zeros to tackle inflation.
13. China achieved the world’s first thorium-to-uranium fuel conversion in which type of reactor?
A) Fast Breeder Reactor
B) Molten Salt Reactor
C) Pressurized Water Reactor
D) Pebble Bed Reactor
Answer: B) Molten Salt Reactor
Explanation: China’s Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (TMSR) achieved a world-first thorium-to-uranium conversion , advancing nuclear technology.
Awards & Recognitions
14. PM Narendra Modi launched the ?1 lakh crore RDI Scheme during which event?
A) India Innovation Summit
B) Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2025
C) Tech India 2025
D) Bharat Innovate 2025
Answer: B) Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2025
Explanation: The RDI Scheme was launched at ESTIC 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi .
15. The Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhupen Hazarika National Awards were presented by which Union Minister?
A) Anurag Thakur
B) Smriti Irani
C) Jyotiraditya Scindia
D) Dharmendra Pradhan
Answer: C) Jyotiraditya Scindia
Explanation: As Minister for Communications and DoNER , he presented the awards in Guwahati .
16. Which Indian author was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2025 ?
A)