Daily Challenge
Monday, 12 October 2026
Daily Challenge — 12 October 2026
Three UPSC Prelims-pattern questions — one each from the GS I, GS II and GS III subject areas. Attempt all three before checking your answers.
Salient Features of Indian Society
Which of the following communities are notified as minorities at the national level under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992?
- Jains
- Parsis
- Buddhists
- Lingayats
Correct answer: C
Six communities are notified at the national level: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis (Zoroastrians) and Jains (added in 2014). Lingayats are not a nationally notified minority, so option D is wrong; A and B leave out notified communities.India and its Neighbourhood
Under the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, how many of the following rivers are allocated to Pakistan as western rivers: Jhelum, Beas, Chenab, Sutlej?
Correct answer: B
The western rivers are the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, allocated to Pakistan (with limited permitted uses for India). Beas and Sutlej are eastern rivers, along with the Ravi, allocated to India. So only two of the listed rivers (Jhelum and Chenab) are western rivers.Ecology and Ecosystems
Which one of the following best describes the ’edge effect’ in ecology?
Correct answer: A
An ecotone is a transition zone between two ecosystems, and the edge effect is its tendency to hold more species, and sometimes higher densities, than either neighbour. Energy loss per level is the ten per cent law, toxin build-up is biomagnification, and community replacement is succession.