Current Affairs Quiz — 16 August 2026

5 UPSC-style MCQs from daily current affairs, with answers and exam-focused explanations.

Take this quiz (scored)Read 16 August 2026 briefing

Q1.In Supreme Court proceedings concerning reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), what position has the Union government reiterated regarding “creamy layer” exclusion?

  • ACreamy-layer exclusion is not applicable to SC and ST classifications.
  • BCreamy-layer exclusion is applicable to SC and ST classifications, similar to the OBC framework.
  • CCreamy-layer exclusion is applicable only to ST and not to SC reservations.
  • DCreamy-layer exclusion is applicable only for appointments in the judiciary, not for admissions.

Q2.The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) audited which scope for the Green India Mission (GIM)?

  • APlanning, implementation and monitoring across 16 States and Union Territories for 2015-16 to 2024-25
  • BPlanning, implementation and monitoring across all States for 2015-16 to 2019-20
  • CPlanning, implementation and monitoring across 14 States and Union Territories for 2010-11 to 2019-20
  • DPlanning, implementation and monitoring across 8 States and Union Territories for 2020-21 to 2024-25

Q3.A death sentence for Bashar al-Assad in Syria was pronounced by which court and on what date?

  • AFourth Criminal Court in Damascus, 11 August
  • BSupreme Constitutional Court, 10 August
  • CCriminal Court of Aleppo, 11 September
  • DFourth Criminal Court in Homs, 11 August

Q4.In evaluating whether switching from a functioning fossil-fuel vehicle to an electric vehicle (EV) is beneficial for emissions, which emissions-comparison approach is described as being used?

  • ATailpipe-only accounting that counts only fuel-combustion emissions
  • BLifecycle emissions analysis that includes both manufacturing and driving emissions
  • CVehicle scrappage accounting that counts only disposal emissions
  • DCarbon-credits/offset accounting that depends only on verified offsets

Q5.In the reported human study on the tuberculosis vaccine BCG and Alzheimer’s-related biomarker research, participants were followed for how long after receiving two BCG doses given one month apart?

  • ASix months
  • BOne year
  • CTwo years
  • DThree years