Answer: A

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: INS Samarthak is the lead ship of the Samarthak-class Multi-Purpose Vessels and was designed and constructed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) at its shipyard in Kattupalli, marking a major milestone for private sector participation in Indian warship building.

Statement 2 is correct: The vessel incorporates over 75% indigenous content, reinforcing India's push toward defence self-reliance under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives.

Statement 3 is incorrect: INS Samarthak is not a single-role combatant. It is a versatile auxiliary platform conceived primarily as a testbed to evaluate indigenously developed sensors, radars, and weapons, as well as to act as a mothership for unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles (UAVs/USVs/AUVs) and support Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) missions.

Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 (issued under Article 341) explicitly restricts Scheduled Caste status to individuals professing Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism.

Statement 2 is incorrect: In its October 2026 judgment (dismissing the Tamil Nadu government's appeal and upholding the Madras High Court ruling), the Supreme Court held that conversion to Islam does not automatically confer eligibility for reservation under a notified Backward Class Muslim community. Social and educational backwardness from an antecedent Hindu caste cannot be mechanically carried forward or transferred to a non-Hindu social order.

Statement 3 is correct: Article 16(4) empowers the State to provide reservations in public services for any backward class of citizens that is not adequately represented in the services under the State. However, such classification must satisfy legal and constitutional criteria rather than a mere presumption based on prior religious identity.

Answer: D

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: In the October 2026 edition of the Henley Passport Index, India is ranked 84th and shares this position with Algeria and Mauritania.

Statement 2 is correct: The index relies on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which tracks entry requirements for 227 travel destinations across 199 passports.

Statement 3 is correct: India's rank improved from 85th (October 2025) to 84th (October 2026), yet the number of destinations accessible without a prior visa actually dropped from 57 to 55. This happens because the ranking is relative; a country can move up if other nations lose access or see their scores decline.

Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 — Correct. The qualifying date determines whether an applicant satisfies the minimum age requirement of 18 years and other applicable conditions for registration. A person who turns 18 on January 1, 2027, may qualify on that date, subject to the applicable electoral-registration rules.

Statement 2 — Incorrect. SSR is generally an exercise to update existing electoral rolls through claims, objections and verification. It does not automatically require every existing elector to submit fresh documentary proof of citizenship and residence. Do not confuse this with the more intensive enumeration process associated with SIR.

Statement 3 — Correct. The relevant forms are:

• Form 6: Inclusion of a new elector.


• Form 8: Correction of entries, shifting of residence and other prescribed updates.

Form 7 is used for seeking deletion of an entry or objecting to the inclusion of an entry, subject to the applicable procedure.

Statement 4 — Correct. Article 324 of the Constitution provides for the ECI's superintendence, direction and control of elections. The preparation and revision of electoral rolls are also governed by statutory provisions, notably the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.