Science & Tech — Prelims MCQs

India is an important member of the 'International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor'. If this experiment succeeds, what is the immediate advantage for India?

With reference to India’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) programme, consider the following statements:

1. Small Modular Reactors are defined as nuclear reactors with power output generally up to 300 MWe per module.
2. India’s Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is developing a High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGCR) that is intended to be coupled with a thermochemical cycle for hydrogen production.
3. The SHANTI Act, 2025, enables private sector participation in India’s nuclear energy sector for the first time.
4. India currently has the world’s largest fleet of operational Small Modular Reactors.

How many of the above statements are correct?

With reference to CAR-T cell therapy, recently in the news, consider the following statements:

1. It is a form of immunotherapy in which a patient’s own T-cells are genetically modified in a laboratory to recognise and attack cancer cells.
2. India’s first indigenous CAR-T therapy, NexCAR19, was developed collaboratively by IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Centre.
3. Unlike conventional chemotherapy, CAR-T cell therapy uses the patient’s own immune system as the treatment mechanism.
4. CAR-T cell therapy is primarily used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

With reference to the LIGO-India project, recently in the news, consider the following statements:

1. It is a gravitational wave detection observatory being built at Aundha in Maharashtra as a joint India-US collaboration.
2. The observatory uses laser interferometry — where lasers bounce between mirrors along L-shaped vacuum tubes — to detect distortions in space-time caused by violent cosmic events.
3. A key reason for building LIGO-India is to improve the sky-localisation of gravitational wave sources by adding a new baseline to the global detector network.
4. The observatory can only detect gravitational waves from events within our own Milky Way galaxy.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Consider the following statements about India’s private space sector:

1. Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1 is the first privately developed Indian rocket to successfully reach Earth orbit.
2. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) is the regulatory body that authorises private launch activities in India.
3. Vikram-1 is a four-stage rocket that uses only liquid fuel stages throughout.
4. With this launch, India became the third country, after the United States and China, to have a private company achieve orbital launch capability.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

With reference to India’s National Quantum Mission (NQM), consider the following statements:

1. The mission aims to develop intermediate-scale quantum computers with 50–1000 physical qubits over the mission period.
2. One of the mission’s objectives includes developing satellite-based secure quantum communication over distances exceeding 2000 km.
3. The mission is being implemented only through defence research laboratories under DRDO.
4. Quantum Key Distribution, which is one of the mission’s focus areas, is a method of secure communication that relies on the principles of quantum mechanics to detect any attempt at eavesdropping.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Consider the following statements about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC):

1. It is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, operated by CERN.
2. The ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC led to the discovery of the Higgs boson.
3. India is a full Member State of CERN.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to the PRAXIS mission concept, recently seen in news, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is a NASA spacecraft concept aimed at directly collecting and studying particles from planetary ring systems such as those of Saturn.
2. It received funding under NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Consider the following statements:

1. Blue Straggler Stars are found in old star clusters but appear younger and hotter than the other stars of the same cluster.
2. One mechanism for their formation is mass transfer between stars in a binary system.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to India’s Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) norms, consider the following statements:

1. CAFE norms set fuel efficiency targets for a manufacturer’s entire fleet of passenger vehicles, rather than for individual models.
2. These norms are administered by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
3. The norms apply to all categories of motor vehicles, including heavy commercial vehicles.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to viral hepatitis, consider the following statements:

1. World Hepatitis Day is observed on 28 July to mark the birthday of Nobel laureate Dr. Baruch Blumberg, who discovered the Hepatitis B virus.
2. Among the five types of hepatitis viruses, Hepatitis B and C are the leading causes of chronic liver disease and liver cancer.
3. Hepatitis A and E are primarily transmitted through contaminated water and food.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?