UPSC Daily Current Affairs Quiz: Ethiopian volcanic ash, Volcanic eruption, Frida Kahlo

Give your prep a friendly reality check—start the quiz. Scroll for answers at the end of the page

Daily Quiz

1. A 1940 self-portrait that sold for $54.66 million in New York last week— setting a new record for the most expensive painting by a woman—was created by which celebrated artist?

A. Georgia O’Keeffe

B. Tamara de Lempicka

C. Leonora Carrington

D. Frida Kahlo

2. From December 10, which will become the world’s first country to bar people under 16 years of age from using social media?

A. Canada

B. Australia

C. Denmark

D. The Netherlands

3. A jar of … … for sale at the European Parliament in Brussels has stirred Italian outrage after it was found to contain the wrong ingredients, prompting Italy’s agriculture minister to demand an investigation, while the Belgian supermarket chain that supplied it said it was “surprised” by the backlash. Fill in the blanks.

A. Neapolitan arrabbiata mix

B. Tuscan ragù

C. Sicilian pesto

D. Carbonara sauce

4. The US-licensed … satellite, among the world’s heaviest commercial communications satellites designed for Low Earth Orbit (LEO), is scheduled to launch on LVM‑3 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on December 15. Fill in the blank.

A. StellarConnect X

B. OrbitLink Sky1

C. BlueBird-6

D. GalaxyNet Alpha

5. The US Department of Justice says two men from Texas allegedly planned a violent takeover of which country’s largest island, Gonâve Island, to “carry out their rape fantasies”, according to media reports?

A. Haiti

B. Jamaica

C. The Bahamas

D. Dominican Republic

6. Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi — known for her staunch conservative politics and support for traditional gender and family norms — may soon be confronted with a long-standing cultural barrier at the New Year’s sumo tournament in Tokyo. What taboo could she be forced to decide whether to break?

A. Allowing women judges in wrestling

B. The taboo barring women from entering the sumo ring, in order to present the award

C. Permitting Chinese wrestlers to participate, given the fractured

relationship with the country

D. Allowing political speeches to be made from inside the ring

7. In a 2020 project code-named “Project Mercury,” scientists worked with survey firm Nielsen to gauge the effect of “deactivating” which social media platform, finding that people who stopped using it for a week reported reduced feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness and social comparison?

A. Snapchat

B. Facebook

C. TikTok

D. LinkedIn

8. An initiative launched by US President Donald Trump to showcase his pledge to shrink the federal bureaucracy has been disbanded eight months before its mandate expired, despite critics saying it delivered few measurable savings. What was the initiative called?

A. Department of Operational Value Enhancement or DOVE

B. Division of Governmental Efficiency and Reform or DGER

C. Directorate of Administrative Cost Evaluation or DACE

D. Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE

9. Which descendant of 18th-century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan has become the only Indian-origin woman to be honoured with a commemorative postage stamp by France for her role in the French Resistance as an undercover British agent during World War II?

A. Zeenat-un-Nissa Khan

B. Fatima Fakhr-un-Nissa

C. Noor Inayat Khan

D. Shireen Sultan Khan

10. Israel carried out an airstrike in Beirut on Sunday that killed the top military official of which militant group, despite a year-old US-brokered truce?

A. Hamas

B. Palestinian Islamic Jihad

C. Hezbollah

D. Al-Qaeda

Answers

1. Frida Kahlo
2. Australia
3. Carbonara sauce
4. BlueBird-6
5. Haiti
6. The taboo barring women from entering the sumo ring, in order to present the award
7. Facebook
8. Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE
9. Noor Inayat Khan
10. Hezbollah