Current Affairs — 13 September 2026

1. BRICS Summit Concludes: The Modi-Xi Reset and the Road to a 2027 Chairship

Basic Concept

India and China formalised a mechanism for resolving their boundary dispute in 2003 through Special Representative (SR) talks, conducted at the level of India's National Security Advisor and China's Foreign Minister; over 20 rounds have been held to date without a final settlement. Since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, high-level political engagement between the two countries had remained largely frozen, conducted mainly through military and diplomatic channels such as the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC). BRICS itself operates on an annually rotating chairship, with the chair country hosting the leaders' summit and setting the year's thematic priorities. This is core GS2 (India's bilateral relations and regional/global groupings) content.

Core Context

On the sidelines of the concluding session of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, his first visit to India in nearly seven years, marking the most significant step yet in a cautious thaw in India-China relations. As the summit closed, China confirmed it would take over the BRICS chairship for 2027, continuing the grouping's rotation among its now 11 members.

Latest Developments

• Modi and Xi agreed to continue working through the Special Representative mechanism toward a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question, while managing differences so they do not become disputes.
• The two leaders discussed resuming stalled people-to-people and connectivity confidence-building measures, and reviewed the broader trajectory of bilateral trade and border-area stability since the 2020 stand-off.
• The New Delhi Declaration, adopted on the summit's first day, also flagged the "growing risks of nuclear danger and conflict" globally, alongside its positions on Gulf security and reform of multilateral institutions.
• China's confirmed 2027 BRICS chairship means it will host the 19th BRICS Summit, continuing the grouping's practice of annual rotation among member states.
• The summit closed with India formally handing over the BRICS chairship baton, capping a year in which New Delhi used its chairship to push STI cooperation (the Chennai Declaration), a Photovoltaic Industry Action Plan, and sherpa-level consensus-building on the Delhi Declaration's most contested paragraph.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The India-China Special Representatives (SR) mechanism for the boundary question was established in 2003; India's NSA and China's Foreign Minister/State Councillor are the designated Special Representatives.
• The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) is a separate, more operational channel dealing with border-area management.
• BRICS operates on an annually rotating chairship; India chaired in 2026, and China is set to chair in 2027.
• The Galwan Valley clash (June 2020) marked the most serious India-China military confrontation in decades and froze high-level bilateral political engagement for several years.

2. Badri Cattle Conservation: A Breakthrough with OPU-IVF Technology

Basic Concept

Assisted reproductive technologies in livestock include Artificial Insemination (AI), Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer (MOET), and In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Ovum Pick-Up (OPU) is a technique where eggs (oocytes) are retrieved directly from a live donor animal's ovaries using ultrasound-guided aspiration, without surgery; these oocytes are then matured and fertilised in a laboratory (in-vitro) before the resulting embryo is transferred to a recipient (surrogate) animal — together called OPU-IVF. India runs the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (since 2014) under the National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development to conserve and improve indigenous cattle breeds. This is core GS3 (Science & Technology applied to Agriculture/Animal Husbandry) content.

Core Context

A healthy female Badri calf — Uttarakhand's state animal — was born through OPU-IVF technology at an Academic Dairy Farm, a milestone described as a major step forward in the conservation of this indigenous hill cattle breed, which is otherwise difficult to multiply quickly through natural breeding alone.

Latest Developments

• Badri cattle are a small-bodied, hardy indigenous breed native to the hill and sub-Himalayan tracts of Uttarakhand, valued for disease resistance, ability to thrive on sparse fodder, and adaptability to high-altitude terrain, though they are low milk yielders compared to crossbred cattle.
• OPU-IVF allows repeated collection of multiple oocytes from a single genetically superior donor cow at intervals of just a few days, unlike conventional embryo transfer, which requires hormonal super-ovulation of the donor and yields fewer usable embryos per cycle.
• The technology enables faster multiplication of elite germplasm of endangered or low-population indigenous breeds without the stress and cost of repeated surgical intervention on donor animals.
• The birth is being positioned as a template for scaling up conservation breeding of other vulnerable indigenous cattle breeds facing declining population due to preference for high-yield crossbred and exotic cattle.
• The achievement aligns with Rashtriya Gokul Mission objectives of indigenous breed conservation, development and genetic upgradation through modern reproductive biotechnology.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• Badri cattle is the official state animal of Uttarakhand.
• OPU-IVF differs from conventional embryo transfer (MOET) in that oocytes are retrieved directly from the ovary and fertilised outside the body, rather than fertilising the egg inside the donor animal.
• The Rashtriya Gokul Mission, launched in 2014, works under the umbrella National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development.
• India has 53 registered indigenous cattle breeds recognised by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR), Karnal.

3. BHASHINI: India's National Language AI Mission Reaches Population Scale

Basic Concept

The National Language Translation Mission, branded BHASHINI, was approved by the Union Cabinet to build an open-source AI-led language-translation ecosystem enabling every Indian to access digital services in their own language. It is implemented by the Digital India Bhashini Division (DIBD) under the Digital India Corporation, an MeitY entity, and is designated as one of the mission pillars under the IndiaAI Mission. Its two flagship community-driven components are BhashaDaan, a crowdsourcing platform for language datasets, and Anuvaad/Shrutlekh tools for translation and transcription. This is core GS3 (Science & Technology — AI, Digital Public Infrastructure) content.

Core Context

A government review of BHASHINI's progress highlighted its evolution into a population-scale, end-to-end AI language layer, with the platform now embedded across hundreds of government digital services and crossing several billion cumulative language-AI inferences, alongside the launch of VoicERA, an open-source voice-AI stack, at the India AI Impact Summit.

Latest Developments

• BHASHINI currently supports translation and transcription across 36 Indian text languages, 23 Indian voice languages and 35 international languages.
• The platform is integrated with over 800 government websites and portals, and has processed more than 9 billion cumulative AI inferences, with over 24 million inferences daily.
• VoicERA, an open-source voice-AI stack for building multilingual voice applications, was launched to widen developer access to BHASHINI's underlying speech technologies.
• The Digital India BHASHINI Division has signed MoUs with agencies such as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to embed multilingual access across India's investment-facilitation ecosystem.
• BHASHINI is positioned as core Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), similar in spirit to Aadhaar and UPI, but for language, aiming to remove the language barrier as a form of digital exclusion.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• BHASHINI stands for Bhasha Interface for India, implemented by the Digital India Bhashini Division under the Digital India Corporation (MeitY).
• BhashaDaan is BHASHINI's crowdsourcing initiative for building open language datasets contributed voluntarily by citizens.
• BHASHINI is one of the designated pillars of the IndiaAI Mission, approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2024.
• Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) refers to foundational, interoperable digital systems (like Aadhaar, UPI, BHASHINI) built as public goods to enable service delivery at population scale.

4. PM-ABHIM: Strengthening Critical Care and Public Health Infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh

Basic Concept

The PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), launched in 2021 in the aftermath of COVID-19 gaps, is a mixed Centrally Sponsored and Central Sector scheme aimed at filling critical gaps in health infrastructure across primary, secondary and tertiary care, with a strong focus on disease surveillance and pandemic preparedness. It complements the Ayushman Bharat umbrella, which also includes Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (formerly Health & Wellness Centres) for primary care and PM-JAY for health insurance. This is core GS2 (Health Governance and Welfare Schemes) content.

Core Context

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, inaugurated 10 Critical Care Blocks (CCBs) and 12 Integrated Public Health Laboratories (IPHLs) across the state under PM-ABHIM, backed by a combined investment of about ₹1,271.80 crore for critical care, public health labs and Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in the state.

Latest Developments

• The newly inaugurated Critical Care Blocks are located in government medical colleges and district hospitals across ten districts, including Kadapa, Nellore, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Ongole, Anakapalli, Rajamahendravaram, Kurnool, Hindupur and Vijayawada.
• Critical Care Blocks add dedicated ICU-level beds for managing severe illness and disease outbreaks, while Integrated Public Health Laboratories strengthen diagnostic and disease-surveillance capacity at the district level.
• The facilities aim to reduce referral of critically ill patients to distant tertiary centres and build a district-level buffer capacity for future public health emergencies.
• PM-ABHIM funding for such infrastructure typically follows a Centre-State cost-sharing ratio for the Centrally Sponsored component, alongside fully Centre-funded Central Sector components for national-level institutions.
• The inauguration is part of a broader nationwide rollout of PM-ABHIM-funded Critical Care Blocks and public health labs across multiple states since the scheme's approval.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• PM-ABHIM was launched in 2021 as a response to healthcare infrastructure gaps exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (earlier called Health and Wellness Centres) deliver Comprehensive Primary Health Care under Ayushman Bharat.
• PM-ABHIM has both a Centrally Sponsored Scheme component and a Central Sector Scheme component, unlike PM-JAY, which is purely a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• Integrated Public Health Laboratories are meant to strengthen disease surveillance under the broader Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) framework.

5. Digitising Welfare for Construction Workers: The National BOCW Conference

Basic Concept

The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, along with the BOCW Welfare Cess Act, 1996, mandates a cess (up to 2%, commonly levied at 1%) on construction costs incurred by employers, credited to State-level BOCW Welfare Boards to fund social security, healthcare, education and skill-development benefits for registered construction workers. Both laws have since been subsumed into the Code on Social Security, 2020, one of India's four consolidated labour codes, though the codes are not yet fully in force in all states. This is core GS2 (Social Justice — labour welfare) content.

Core Context

A two-day National Conference on Building and Other Construction Workers, organised by the Ministry of Labour & Employment with the Government of Maharashtra, concluded in Mumbai, reviewing progress on worker-centric digital initiatives first announced at the November 2025 National Labour Conference, with nine states launching Digital Labour Chowks.

Latest Developments

• The conference reviewed three flagship initiatives: the State BOCW Digital Labour Chowk, Labour Chowk-cum-Facilitation Centres, and the Online BOCW Cess Collection Portal, aimed at improving transparency in cess collection and worker registration.
• Nine states and Union Territories — Maharashtra, Telangana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha — launched Digital Labour Chowks at the conference, digitising informal worker hiring points ('labour chowks' or naka points).
• The digital push aims to formalise the hiring and welfare-registration process for construction workers, who are typically informal, migratory and difficult to track for benefit delivery.
• The Online BOCW Cess Collection Portal is intended to plug leakages and delays in cess collection from builders and contractors, which directly funds welfare-board schemes.
• These reforms complement the eShram portal, India's national database for unorganised workers, though eShram registration and BOCW welfare-board registration remain distinct processes.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The BOCW Act and BOCW Welfare Cess Act, both enacted in 1996, have been subsumed into the Code on Social Security, 2020.
• BOCW cess is levied on construction cost, at a rate not exceeding 2% (commonly 1%), and funds State BOCW Welfare Boards.
• eShram is the national database for unorganised workers, distinct from sector-specific welfare boards such as those under the BOCW Act.
• India has four labour codes: the Code on Wages (2019), the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (all 2020).

6. A Guinness Record in Circular Economy: The World's Longest Steel Slag Road

Basic Concept

Steel slag is a by-product of steel manufacturing (particularly from Electric Arc Furnaces, EAF), historically treated as industrial waste requiring disposal or landfilling. A circular economy approach seeks to convert such industrial by-products into usable resources rather than waste, reducing both disposal burden and the need for virgin raw materials like natural stone aggregates in construction. CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI), headquartered in New Delhi, is India's premier road and transportation research laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). This is core GS3 (Science & Technology — infrastructure innovation, circular economy) content.

Core Context

Jindal Steel, in collaboration with CSIR-CRRI, entered the Guinness World Records for building the world's longest road constructed entirely with processed steel slag aggregates — a 1.85-km, four-lane divided stretch at Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, designed to carry heavy commercial traffic.

Latest Developments

• The road uses roughly 2 lakh (200,000) tonnes of processed Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel slag, converted into engineered aggregates through controlled ageing, metal recovery, crushing, screening and grading.
• The processed slag replaces natural aggregates across the road's full pavement depth — formation, granular and bituminous layers — and is designed to bear 65 million standard axle repetitions of heavy traffic loading.
• Compared to conventional roads, steel-slag-based construction is claimed to cut construction costs by around 40% while delivering roughly four times higher strength.
• Jindal Steel launched SteelGrit, its branded line of processed steel slag aggregates, positioning it as a mainstream engineered construction material rather than a waste product.
• The project demonstrates a practical circular-economy pathway for India's steel sector, which generates large volumes of slag annually as steel production capacity expands under the National Steel Policy, 2017.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• CSIR-CRRI (Central Road Research Institute) functions under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), itself under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
• Steel slag is distinct from fly ash, which is a by-product of coal-based thermal power generation, though both are industrial by-products increasingly reused in construction.
• The National Steel Policy, 2017, targets raising India's crude steel production capacity and promotes resource efficiency, including by-product utilisation.
• A circular economy aims to minimise waste by keeping resources in use for as long as possible through reuse, recycling and by-product valorisation.

7. The 3rd National Lok Adalat of 2026: Scaling Alternate Dispute Resolution

Basic Concept

Lok Adalats derive their statutory character from the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, enacted to give effect to Article 39A of the Constitution (a Directive Principle mandating free legal aid and equal justice). The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), established in 1995 under this Act, organises periodic "National Lok Adalats" simultaneously across the country. Under Section 21 of the Act, an award passed by a Lok Adalat is deemed a decree of a civil court, is final, binding on all parties, and cannot be appealed against in any court. This is core GS2 (Indian Polity — judiciary, access to justice) content.

Core Context

NALSA's 3rd National Lok Adalat of 2026 was held across 26 states and 7 Union Territories, settling over 2.10 crore cases in a single day and resolving disputes worth an estimated ₹13,589 crore, reaffirming Lok Adalats as India's largest-scale alternate dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism.

Latest Developments

• Tentative figures put the total at 2,10,39,112 cases settled, comprising 1,90,75,743 pre-litigation matters and 19,63,369 cases that were already pending in courts.
• Cases taken up spanned cheque-bounce disputes, motor accident compensation claims, matrimonial disputes, labour matters, consumer complaints, land acquisition cases, succession disputes, small-business arbitration claims, compoundable criminal offences and traffic challans.
• Karnataka, Rajasthan and Delhi were excluded from this round's tentative data, as their National Lok Adalats are scheduled for later dates (19 September, 10 October and 25 October 2026 respectively).
• Lok Adalats resolve disputes through mutual consent and compromise rather than adversarial adjudication, easing the burden of pendency on regular courts.
• Permanent Lok Adalats, a related but distinct mechanism under Section 22B of the Act, deal specifically and continuously with disputes relating to public utility services.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• NALSA was constituted in 1995 under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to give effect to Article 39A of the Constitution.
• Under Section 21 of the Act, a Lok Adalat award is deemed a civil court decree and is not appealable in any court.
• Permanent Lok Adalats (Section 22B) handle public utility service disputes on an ongoing basis, unlike periodic National Lok Adalats.
• Article 39A is a Directive Principle of State Policy directing the State to ensure equal justice and free legal aid.

8. Bamboo Economy: Building Green Rural Livelihoods

Basic Concept

Bamboo, though botanically a grass, was historically classified as a "tree" under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, which restricted its cultivation, felling and transport outside forest areas without permits. A 2017 amendment to the Act removed bamboo grown on non-forest land from the definition of "tree", freeing farmers to cultivate, harvest and sell it commercially without a felling permit. The National Bamboo Mission (NBM), restructured in 2018 as a sub-scheme under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare), supports the full bamboo value chain, from cultivation to processing and marketing. This is core GS3 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Environment) content.

Core Context

A feature on India's bamboo economy highlighted its growing contribution to rural livelihoods, spotlighting a partnership under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) with USAID's Industree Foundation to empower rural women through bamboo-based enterprise, alongside a major new bamboo development initiative planned for Maharashtra.

Latest Developments

• Bamboo-related activities are estimated to generate direct and indirect employment for around 20 million people across India, with roughly 350 person-days of employment created per tonne of bamboo harvested.
• The National Bamboo Mission is active across 24 States/UTs, covering nurseries, plantation, processing infrastructure, market linkages and skill development for the bamboo value chain.
• The DAY-NRLM and Industree Foundation partnership aims to empower about one million rural women through bamboo farming, craft and entrepreneurship, building on Self-Help Group (SHG) networks.
• Maharashtra is preparing to sign MoUs with farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) as part of a large state-level bamboo development conference scheduled for later in September 2026.
• India ranks among the world's largest bamboo-growing countries by area, with the crop valued for its fast growth, carbon sequestration potential, and use in construction, handicrafts, paper and emerging bio-based materials.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The 2017 amendment to the Indian Forest Act, 1927, removed bamboo grown on non-forest land from the legal definition of "tree".
• The National Bamboo Mission functions under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, as a sub-scheme of the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.
• DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission) is implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development to promote rural self-employment through Self-Help Groups.
• Bamboo is often called "green gold" for its economic value combined with fast growth and environmental benefits, including soil and water conservation.

9. Science News: India-France Deepen Private-Sector Space Cooperation

Basic Concept

India's space sector reform journey includes the creation of IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) in 2020 as a single-window autonomous regulator to authorise and promote private-sector space activities, and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO's commercial arm, which markets space products and services. The Space Policy, 2023, formally opened up the sector for greater private participation across the value chain, from satellite building to launch services. India and France have a space partnership going back over five decades, anchored in cooperation between ISRO and the French space agency CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales). This is core GS3 (Science & Technology — space policy) content.

Core Context

France's Safran Space signed contracts worth over 5 million euros with India's Dhruva Space to supply communication systems, inertial navigation units, optical payloads and ground stations for India's planned SBS-III space-surveillance satellite constellation, marking a shift toward greater private-sector participation in the traditionally ISRO-CNES-anchored India-France space relationship.

Latest Developments

• India's Space Based Surveillance (SBS) programme has evolved through SBS-1, SBS-2 and now SBS-3, progressively expanding India's independent satellite-based surveillance and reconnaissance capability.
• SBS-III is envisaged as a 52-satellite constellation to be deployed between 2027 and 2030, substantially expanding India's space-based surveillance coverage.
• The Safran-Dhruva Space agreement covers communication systems, inertial navigation units, optical payloads and ground stations — key sub-systems for satellite surveillance missions.
• The deal reflects a broader trend of Indian private space companies (such as Dhruva Space and Skyroot) increasingly partnering directly with foreign firms, rather than all cooperation flowing solely through ISRO.
• The partnership builds on over 50 years of ISRO-CNES cooperation, extending the relationship into commercial, private-sector-led space collaboration.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• IN-SPACe (2020) is India's single-window autonomous agency for authorising and promoting private-sector space activities.
• NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) is ISRO's commercial arm, distinct from IN-SPACe's regulatory role.
• CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales) is France's national space agency, ISRO's long-standing space cooperation partner.
• The Space Based Surveillance (SBS) programme is India's dedicated series of satellites for space-based surveillance and reconnaissance, now in its third phase (SBS-III).

10. Science News: Quantum Computers Give Electron Microscopes a Sharper Eye

Basic Concept

Electron microscopes use beams of electrons instead of light to image objects, achieving far higher resolution than optical microscopes because electrons have much shorter wavelengths, allowing visualisation of structures down to the atomic scale. A key limitation is radiation damage: imaging delicate samples, especially biological ones like individual proteins, at high resolution requires bombarding them with large numbers of electrons, which can destroy the very structure being studied. Quantum computers process information using qubits, which (unlike classical bits) can exist in superposition and become entangled, enabling certain computations and measurements impossible for classical systems. This is core GS3 (Science & Technology — emerging technologies) content.

Core Context

A European research team unveiled a prototype "quantum computer microscope" that couples an electron microscope's beam to an ion-based quantum computer, allowing significantly more information to be extracted from each electron and potentially reducing the radiation dose needed to image sensitive samples.

Latest Developments

• The technique entangles successive electrons passing through the microscope with a quantum memory, allowing their information to be jointly processed rather than measured independently as in classical electron microscopy.
• This quantum-enhanced processing can push signal extraction per electron beyond limits achievable with classical counting methods, in principle allowing clearer images using fewer electrons.
• The approach is particularly significant for imaging biological macromolecules such as individual proteins, which are otherwise damaged or destroyed by the electron doses needed for high-resolution classical imaging.
• The prototype system is currently being built and tested by the research collaboration, with practical biological and materials-science imaging applications still some years away from routine use.
• The development sits at the intersection of two frontier technology domains — quantum computing and advanced microscopy — both flagged as strategic priority areas under India's National Quantum Mission (2023).

11. Practice MCQs

Practice MCQs

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the India-China Special Representatives (SR) mechanism:
1. It was established in 2003 to work toward resolving the India-China boundary question.
2. India's Special Representative in this mechanism is designated at the level of the National Security Advisor.
3. The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) is another name for the same SR mechanism.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 and 2 only
• (b) 2 and 3 only
• (c) 1 and 3 only
• (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Explanation: The SR mechanism was indeed established in 2003 and India's NSA serves as its Special Representative. However, the WMCC is a separate, more operational channel for border-area management, distinct from the political-level SR talks, making statement 3 incorrect.

Q2. With reference to Ovum Pick-Up and In-Vitro Fertilization (OPU-IVF) technology in livestock breeding, consider the following statements:
1. Oocytes are retrieved directly from a donor animal's ovary using ultrasound-guided aspiration.
2. Fertilization of the retrieved oocytes takes place inside the donor animal's body.
3. The technology allows repeated oocyte collection from the same donor at short intervals.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 and 2 only
• (b) 1 and 3 only
• (c) 2 and 3 only
• (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

Explanation: In OPU-IVF, fertilization happens outside the donor's body, in a laboratory setting (in-vitro), not inside the donor animal, making statement 2 incorrect. Statements 1 and 3 correctly describe the technique.

Q3. The Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Welfare Cess is levied on which of the following?

• (a) The annual turnover of a construction company
• (b) The cost of construction incurred by an employer
• (c) The wages paid to registered construction workers
• (d) The profits earned from a completed construction project

Answer: (b) The cost of construction incurred by an employer

Explanation: Under the BOCW Welfare Cess Act, 1996, the cess (up to 2%, commonly levied at 1%) is charged on the cost of construction incurred by an employer, and the proceeds fund State BOCW Welfare Boards.

Q4. Consider the following statements regarding Lok Adalats in India:
1. Lok Adalats derive their statutory basis from the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
2. An award passed by a Lok Adalat can be appealed before the jurisdictional High Court.
3. Permanent Lok Adalats deal specifically with disputes relating to public utility services.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 and 2 only
• (b) 1 and 3 only
• (c) 2 and 3 only
• (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

Explanation: Lok Adalat awards are final, binding, and deemed civil court decrees under Section 21 of the Act, with no scope for appeal in any court, making statement 2 incorrect. Statements 1 and 3 are accurate.

Q5. With reference to bamboo cultivation in India, consider the following statements:
1. The 2017 amendment to the Indian Forest Act, 1927, removed bamboo grown on non-forest land from the legal definition of "tree".
2. The National Bamboo Mission functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
3. Bamboo is botanically classified as a grass, not a tree.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 and 2 only
• (b) 1 and 3 only
• (c) 2 and 3 only
• (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

Explanation: The 2017 amendment and bamboo's botanical classification as a grass are both correct. However, the National Bamboo Mission functions under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, not the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, making statement 2 incorrect.