Wednesday Science and Technology Quiz: Test Yourself With This Week’s 12 MCQs
Quick Answer: This Wednesday quiz packs 12 verified Science and Technology MCQs drawn entirely from this week’s posts on the site. The set spans four high-yield zones — space and ISRO, defence technology, health and biotechnology, and IT/AI initiatives — framed in the statement style UPSC prefers and the fact-based style SSC CGL and Banking favour. Difficulty is moderate: ideal revision for Prelims, CGL Tier-I and Mains-aware aspirants alike.
- Why Weekly Science and Technology Quizzes Matter for UPSC and SSC
- How to Attempt This Quiz for Best Retention
- MCQs 1–3: Space and ISRO Developments
- MCQs 4–6: Defence Technology and Missiles
- MCQs 7–9: Health, Biotechnology and Medicine
- MCQs 10–12: IT, AI and Emerging Technologies
- Answer Key with Detailed Explanations
- Score Analysis: What Your Result Means for Exam Prep
- Links to This Week’s Source Posts for Revision
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Are these Science and Technology MCQs useful for UPSC Prelims?
- Q: How often is this weekly quiz published?
- Q: Where are the answers and explanations?
- Q: Is this quiz enough for current affairs preparation?
- Q: Can SSC and Banking aspirants attempt this quiz?
- Related reading
Why Weekly Science and Technology Quizzes Matter for UPSC and SSC
Science and Technology is no longer a “maybe” segment in government exams — it is a guaranteed scorer. In UPSC Prelims, S&T questions regularly draw straight from current affairs: missions, missile tests, vaccine approvals and digital initiatives reported in the preceding twelve months all show up as statement-based or pair-matching questions. SSC CGL and Banking exams lean toward one-liner facts — launch names, dates, organisations and headquarters. CLAT, increasingly current-affairs heavy, tests awareness of major tech policy developments.
The reason a science and technology weekly quiz for exams works better than passive re-reading is active recall. Cognitive research consistently shows that retrieving information from memory — as you must when answering an MCQ without notes — strengthens long-term retention far more than highlighting or re-reading. A weekly rhythm also mirrors how exams are actually set: examiners compress a month of news into a handful of questions, exactly what this format trains you for. For official syllabus and past-question context, see the UPSC official website and SSC’s official portal.
How to Attempt This Quiz for Best Retention
- Attempt all 12 questions in one sitting — roughly 12 minutes — without looking at notes or the answer key.
- Write your answers on paper before scrolling to the key; the act of committing matters.
- Score yourself honestly using the answer key, then read every explanation — even for questions you got right.
- Mark the topics you missed and revisit the linked source post the same day.
- Re-attempt the quiz after seven days; anything still wrong goes onto your monthly revision sheet.
MCQs 1–3: Space and ISRO Developments
Q1. Consider the following statements about ISRO’s SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) mission:
(1) It demonstrated docking of two spacecraft in orbit. (2) It made India the fourth country to achieve such docking capability. Which of the statements is/are correct?
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q2. Which of the following correctly matches the ISRO launch vehicle with its primary class?
(a) PSLV — heavy-lift launcher (b) LVM3 — heavy-lift launcher (c) SSLV — geostationary launches (d) GSLV — small satellite launcher
Q3. The NISAR Earth-observation satellite is a joint mission of ISRO and which space agency?
(a) ESA (b) NASA (c) JAXA (d) Roscosmos
MCQs 4–6: Defence Technology and Missiles
Q4. Consider the statements about DRDO’s missile programme: (1) The Agni-V is an intercontinental-range ballistic missile. (2) India successfully flight-tested missiles from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha. Choose the correct option:
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q5. The ‘Pralay’ missile recently in the news is a:
(a) Surface-to-air missile (b) Quasi-ballistic surface-to-surface missile (c) Submarine-launched cruise missile (d) Anti-tank guided missile
Q6. Which organisation develops and coordinates India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile programme jointly with Russia?
(a) HAL (b) BDL (c) BrahMos Aerospace (d) DRDO headquarters, New Delhi
MCQs 7–9: Health, Biotechnology and Medicine
Q7. India’s first indigenous HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccine, Cervavac, is intended primarily to prevent:
(a) Malaria (b) Cervical cancer (c) Tuberculosis (d) Dengue
Q8. Consider the statements about the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM): (1) It issues a unique Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) number. (2) It aims to create a national digital health ecosystem linking healthcare providers. Which is/are correct?
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q9. The ‘Nipah’ virus, periodically reported from Kerala, belongs to which pathogen family?
(a) Coronaviridae (b) Paramyxoviridae (c) Flaviviridae (d) Filoviridae
MCQs 10–12: IT, AI and Emerging Technologies
Q10. The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), which approved several fab and assembly plants, operates under which ministry?
(a) Ministry of Science and Technology (b) Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (c) Ministry of Commerce (d) NITI Aayog
Q11. Consider the statements about the IndiaAI Mission: (1) It includes provisions for GPU compute capacity for Indian startups and researchers. (2) It is implemented under the Ministry of Electronics and IT. Which is/are correct?
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q12. Which of the following best describes UPI (Unified Payments Interface)?
(a) A blockchain-based currency (b) A real-time payment system developed by NPCI (c) A RBI-run cryptocurrency (d) A card network operated by Visa
Answer Key with Detailed Explanations
1 — (c) Both 1 and 2. SpaDeX, launched aboard PSLV-C60, demonstrated autonomous docking between two 220-kg spacecraft, making India the fourth nation after the US, Russia and China to master this technology — a milestone covered in this week’s ISRO post and central to future lunar sample-return and Bharatiya Antariksh Station plans.
2 — (b) LVM3 — heavy-lift launcher. The LVM3 (formerly GSLV Mk-III) is India’s heaviest launcher, used for Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3; PSLV is the workhorse medium launcher, and SSLV is the small-satellite vehicle. This pairing appeared in our launch-vehicle revision post.
3 — (b) NASA. NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is the most advanced Earth-imaging radar satellite ever built jointly by the two agencies, mapping global surface changes. Details were in this week’s space digest.
4 — (c) Both 1 and 2. Agni-V is a nuclear-capable, canisterised long-range ballistic missile, and DRDO routinely conducts its flight tests from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, on the Odisha coast — both facts from this week’s defence coverage.
5 — (b) Quasi-ballistic surface-to-surface missile. Pralay, developed by DRDO, has a range of roughly 150–500 km and manoeuvrable trajectories, and has been approved for deployment — as noted in our missiles one-pager.
6 — (c) BrahMos Aerospace. BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between DRDO of India and NPO Mashinostroyeniya of Russia, produces the world’s fastest deployed supersonic cruise missile, deployable from land, sea, air and submarine platforms.
7 — (b) Cervical cancer. Cervavac, developed by the Serum Institute of India with DBT support, is India’s first indigenous HPV vaccine, targeting the virus responsible for most cervical cancer cases — highlighted in our biotech approvals post.
8 — (c) Both 1 and 2. ABDM, run by the National Health Authority, issues the 14-digit ABHA ID and links hospitals, diagnostic labs and pharmacies into one digital health record ecosystem — a recurring UPSC favourite covered this week.
9 — (b) Paramyxoviridae. Nipah is a zoonotic henipavirus in the Paramyxoviridae family, transmitted by fruit bats (Pteropus), with periodic outbreaks in Kerala. WHO lists it as a priority pathogen; see WHO’s Nipah fact sheet.
10 — (b) Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The India Semiconductor Mission, with a ₹76,000-crore programme outlay, is steered by MeitY through the ISM division, approving fabs and ATMP/OSAT packaging units — from our semiconductors post.
11 — (c) Both 1 and 2. The IndiaAI Mission, implemented under MeitY, provisions GPU compute capacity, datasets platforms, foundation-model development and skilling — covered in this week’s AI policy note.
12 — (b) A real-time payment system developed by NPCI. UPI, built by the National Payments Corporation of India, has crossed record monthly transaction volumes and is now live in several partner countries — a staple Banking/SSC fact from our digital payments ticker.
Score Analysis: What Your Result Means for Exam Prep
- 10–12 correct: Exam-ready on this week’s S&T current affairs. Shift to weekly revision only, and start attempting full-length mocks.
- 7–9 correct: Solid base. Re-read the source posts for the missed sections and re-attempt after a week.
- 4–6 correct: You are reading but not retaining. Switch to the active-recall method: notes first, quiz same day.
- Below 4: Rebuild from the weekly posts themselves — read one section per day, then re-attempt this quiz. UPSC-level depth needs the linked posts; SSC-level clarity needs the one-liner facts in the keys.
Links to This Week’s Source Posts for Revision
Each question above was drawn from the site’s posts published in the last seven days. Browse the Hmmnm.in current affairs section for the full week’s coverage: the ISRO and launch-vehicle posts (Q1–Q3), the defence and missiles one-pager (Q4–Q6), the health and biotech approvals note (Q7–Q9), and the semiconductors, IndiaAI and digital payments posts (Q10–Q12). Bookmark this quiz and re-attempt it next Wednesday alongside the fresh set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are these Science and Technology MCQs useful for UPSC Prelims?
Yes. The questions are framed in UPSC’s statement and pair-matching style using only verified facts from the week’s posts, so difficulty and format both match Prelims expectations.
Q: How often is this weekly quiz published?
Every Wednesday, covering only topics published on the site in the preceding week — so nothing stale, nothing unverified.
Q: Where are the answers and explanations?
The full answer key with plain-English explanations and links to source posts appears directly after the 12 questions in this article.
Q: Is this quiz enough for current affairs preparation?
It supports active recall, but pair it with daily current affairs reading and monthly compilations for complete coverage.
Q: Can SSC and Banking aspirants attempt this quiz?
Absolutely. The questions use simple, fact-based language suitable for SSC CGL, Banking and CLAT preparation.
Related reading
- Nuclear Power in India: Reactors, Thorium Ambitions and the Three-Stage Programme for UPSC
- Semiconductor Mission Explained: India Chip Scheme, Fab Incentives and Key Facts for UPSC, SSC & Banking Exams
Quick revision
- Attempt all 12 questions in one sitting — roughly 12 minutes — without looking at notes or the answer key.
- Write your answers on paper before scrolling to the key; the act of committing matters.
- Score yourself honestly using the answer key, then read every explanation — even for questions you got right.
- Mark the topics you missed and revisit the linked source post the same day.
- Re-attempt the quiz after seven days; anything still wrong goes onto your monthly revision sheet.
- 10–12 correct: Exam-ready on this week’s S&T current affairs. Shift to weekly revision only, and start attempting full-length mocks.
Have a doubt on this topic?
Related explainers
Nuclear Power in India: Reactors, Thorium Ambitions and the Three-Stage Programme for UPSC
Semiconductor Mission Explained: India Chip Scheme, Fab Incentives and Key Facts for UPSC, SSC & Banking Exams
