Daily Current Affairs โ 23 July 2026
Daily Current Affairs ยท 23 July 2026
10 fully-analysed topics ยท 30 bilingual MCQs ยท 3 embedded videos ยท built for UPSC Prelims & Mains
๐ฏ 30 MCQs
๐ฌ 3 Videos
๐ฎ๐ณ Hindi + English
UPSC Current Affairs MCQ โ 23 July 2026
10 UPSC-standard bilingual MCQs covering today's top stories ยท 10-sec timer per question
Score yourself as you go. Get a feel for how UPSC-level questions are framed around the day's news.
Environment
White-bellied Heron
The proposed 1,200 MW hydropower project on the Lohit River in Arunachal Pradesh has raised concerns over the survival of the White-bellied Heron, one of the world's rarest and most threatened birds.
- About: The White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis)
- Habitat: Strictly dependent on free-flowing, fast-flowing eastern Himalayan riverine habitats with low human disturbance, especially rivers linedโฆ
- Compact body with shorter legs for stability in fast currents. Extended toes to grip slippery rocksโan adaptation to turbulent river habitats.
- Its huge body size (up to around four feet tall) enables a unique foraging strategy: it waits motionless for fish to come close and then strikesโฆ
Show 5 more facts
- Critically Endangered species as per the IUCN Red List.
- Schedule-I species (highest legal protection in India) under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
- Bhutan hosts ~45% of the global population, with 3โ5 active breeding pairs, making it the species' last stronghold.
- It is considered extinct in Nepal and possibly Bangladesh.
- India has only 6โ9 individuals distributed across three rivers: Noa-Dehing River, Lahm River, and Lohit River
Which statement correctly describes White-bellied Heron?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Environment
White-bellied Heron and Kalai-II Project
The environmental clearance (EC) for the 1,200-MW Kalai-II hydropower project on the Lohit River in Arunachal Pradesh (AR) has triggered concernsโฆ
- About: The White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis)
- Habitat: Strictly dependent on free-flowing, fast-flowing eastern Himalayan riverine habitats with low human disturbance
- Morphological Features: Longer, flexible neck with razor-sharp serrated bill for catching fish in deep waters
- Schedule-I species (highest legal protection in India) under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Show 6 more facts
- Bhutan hosts ~45% of the global population, with 3โ5 active breeding pairs, making it the species' last stronghold.
- It is considered extinct in Nepal and possibly Bangladesh.
- About: It is a proposed 1,200 MW run-of-river hydroelectric project with pondage (small storage capacity) on the Lohit River
- It is among 13 stalled hydropower projects reassigned to central PSUs for faster execution.
- About: The Lohit River is a right-bank tributary of the Brahmaputra River
- Course: It enters India near Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh (India's easternmost inhabited point)
The environmental clearance (EC) for the 1,200-MW Kalai-II hydropower project on the Lohit River in Arunachal Pradesh (AR) has triggered concernsโฆ
Which statement correctly describes White-bellied Heron and Kalai-II Project?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Environment
IUCN Red List Update 2023
Recently, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List underwent an update, featuring thousands of new species assessments and reassessments.
- This information was presented at the 28th Conference of Parties
- The IUCN Red List now includes 157,190 species, of which 44,016 are threatened with extinction.
- Climate Change Threatens Diverse Species: Species ranging from Atlantic salmon to green turtles face growing threats due to climate change.
- IUCN Director General, emphasises the urgency of ambitious climate action to combat species decline.
Show 6 more facts
- The IUCN Red List update underscores the interlinked nature of climate and biodiversity crises, urging joint efforts for sustainable solutions.
- The first comprehensive assessment of global freshwater fish species is revealed. 25% of assessed freshwater fish species are at risk of extinction.
- Climate change, pollution, overfishing, and invasive species contribute to the decline.
- Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are ray-finned fish that can grow up to a meter long, found in the North Atlantic Ocean basin
- Central South Pacific and East Pacific green turtle populations are respectively Endangered and Vulnerable
- The big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), a sought-after timber tree, shifts from Vulnerable to Endangered
Which statement correctly describes IUCN Red List Update 2023?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Environment
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 has completed 51 years since its inception, and over the years, it has been successful in protecting several endangered species.
- About: The Wild Life (Protection) Act, of 1972 provides a legal framework for the protection of various species of wild animals and plantsโฆ
- The act also lists schedules of plants and animals that are afforded varying degrees of protection and monitoring by the government.
- India's entry to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) was made easier by the Wildlife Act.
- Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir was not covered by the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972
Show 6 more facts
- The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, Forests and Protection of Wild Animals and Birds was transferred from State to Concurrent List.
- Article 51 A (g) of the Constitution states that it shall be the fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environmentโฆ
- Article 48 A in the Directive Principles of State policy
- Schedule I: It covers endangered species that need rigorous protection.
- A person is liable to the harshest penalties for violation of the law under this Schedule.
- Species under this Schedule are prohibited to be hunted throughout India
Which statement correctly describes Wildlife Protection Act, 1972?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Environment
Namdapha Tiger Reserve
NamdaphaTiger Reserve (NTR) in Arunachal Pradesh has recorded the first sighting of an adult male elephant in 12 years.
- Elephants traditionally migrated between Namsai (Arunachal Pradesh) and Myanmar via NTR
- India hosts about 60% of the world's Asian elephant population, with an estimated 27,312 elephants (2017 census) and 138 elephant corridors.
- Asian elephants have a 22-month gestation period and are classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
- Recognition: Declared as Wildlife Sanctuary in 1972, National Park and Tiger Reserve in 1983.
Which statement correctly describes Namdapha Tiger Reserve?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
๐บ๏ธ Indian Geography MCQ Quiz ยท เคญเคพเคฐเคคเฅเคฏ เคญเฅเคเฅเคฒ
10 bilingual MCQs ยท Indian Geography ยท Members Only on YouTube
Today's rotation: Indian Geography. Take this break between news topics to sharpen the core concept.
Environment
Mussels as Bioindicators
Mussels are being used as bioindicators to monitor microplastic and chemical pollution in the Saronic Gulf of Greece.
- About: Mussels are bivalve mollusks (shell-bearing invertebrates with two hinged shells)
- Their wide distribution and ability to reflect the presence of pollutants make them valuable for monitoring both freshwater and marine environmentsโฆ
Which statement correctly describes Mussels as Bioindicators?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Economy
New Exoplanet Discovered Around Beta Pictoris
Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovered a hidden giant exoplanet, Beta Pictoris d, in the well-studied Beta Pictoris star system, located 63 light-years from Earth in the Milky Way.
- About Beta Pictoris System: Beta Pictoris is a young planetary system
- With Beta Pictoris d, it became the second known planetary system with at least three directly imaged planets.
- It orbits its star at around 30 astronomical units (AU)
- It remained hidden for years as it lies within one of the brightest known debris disks, making conventional imaging difficult.
Show 1 more facts
- Carbon monoxide absorption lines and radial velocity analysis confirmed it as a planet
Which statement correctly describes New Exoplanet Discovered Around Beta Pictoris?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Economy
James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is scheduled to be rocketed into orbit later this year (2021).
- About: It is the most powerful infrared telescope of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
- It is also considered a successor of the Hubble Telescope and will extend and complement its discoveries
- Hubble has captured galaxies merging, probed supermassive black holes and has helped us understand the history of our universe.
- It will be launched on an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from French Guiana in South America
Show 6 more facts
- To search for the first galaxies that formed after the Big Bang.
- To determine how galaxies evolved from their earlier formation until now.
- To observe the formation of stars from the first stages to the formation of planetary systems.
- To measure the physical and chemical properties of planetary systems and investigate the potential for life in such systems.
- Wavelength: The JWST will observe primarily in the infrared range and provide coverage from 0.6 to 28 microns.
- The instruments on Hubble see mainly in the ultraviolet and visible part of the spectrum
Which statement correctly describes James Webb Space Telescope?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
History
Milky Way's Violent Birth Decoded – reporting
Based on the Gaia space observatory data, Scientist has observed that the Milky Way, home to our sun and billions of other stars, merged with another smaller galaxy in a cosmic collision roughly 10 billion years ago.
- Gaia is a mission to chart a three-dimensional map of our Galaxy
- Gaia will provide unprecedented positional and radial velocity measurements with the accuracy needed to produce a census of about one billion starsโฆ
- According to scientists, the union of the Milky Way and the so-called dwarf galaxy Gaia-Enceladus increased our galaxy's mass by about a quarter andโฆ
- Galaxies of all types, including the Milky Way, began to form relatively soon after the Big Bang explosion that marked the beginning of the universeโฆ
Show 1 more facts
- Certain stars with higher content of elements other than hydrogen or helium arose in the Milky Way and others with lower such content originated inโฆ
Which statement correctly describes Milky Way's Violent Birth Decoded – Drishti IAS?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Economy
Exoplanet
Prelims: Exoplanet, NASA, James Webb Space Telescope, LHS 475 b, Exoplanets, Red Dwarf Star.
- Owing to the Webb telescope's advanced capabilities, researchers may detect more Earth-sized planets in future.
- Findings: It is roughly the same size as Earth, its diameter is 99% the same as Earth.
- It is a terrestrial, rocky planet about 41 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Octans.
- It differs from Earth in that it completes an orbit in just two days and is hundreds of degrees hotter than Earth.
Show 6 more facts
- It is also closer to its star than any planet in our solar system is to the sun, although its star is less than half the temperature of the sun
- So far, most of the discovered exoplanets are similar to Jupiter as Earth-sized planets are much smaller in size and harder to discover with olderโฆ
- These first observational results from an Earth-size rocky planet open the door to many future possibilities for studying rocky planet atmospheres.
- Its red dwarf star is less than half the temperature of the Sun, so the researchers are expecting that it still could have an atmosphere.
- About: Exoplanets are planets that orbit other stars and are beyond our solar system
- Scientists believe that there are more planets than stars as each star have at least one planet orbiting it.
Mains: Exoplanet, its discovery and significance of its study.
Which statement correctly describes Exoplanet?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Simple Current Affairs MCQ โ 23 July 2026
10 accessible MCQs covering the same topics ยท great for quick revision
End your study session with these simpler MCQs to lock in recall of today's current affairs.
