UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Balancing innovation with women’s digital safety

Q1. Which one of the following is the nodal ministry that released the India AI Governance Guidelines (2025) and notified the IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Amendment Rules, 2026 governing synthetically generated content?

  • A. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
  • B. Ministry of Home Affairs
  • C. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
  • D. Ministry of Women and Child Development

Q2. With reference to recent Indian instruments relevant to women's digital safety, consider the following statements: 1. The DPDP Rules, 2025 were notified on 14 November 2025, operationalising the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. 2. The IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Amendment Rules, 2026 came into force on 20 February 2026 and require intermediaries to remove unlawful content within three hours of a court order or reasoned government intimation. 3. Unlike the DPDP Rules, 2025, the IT Rules Amendment, 2026 establishes the Data Protection Board of India. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The DPDP Rules, 2025 were notified on 14 November 2025, operationalising the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
  2. The IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Amendment Rules, 2026 came into force on 20 February 2026 and require intermediaries to remove unlawful content within three hours of a court order or reasoned government intimation.
  3. Unlike the DPDP Rules, 2025, the IT Rules Amendment, 2026 establishes the Data Protection Board of India.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. The DPDP Rules, 2025 — relevant to non-consensual use of women's personal data by deepfake tools — were framed exclusively to operationalise which one of the following enactments?

  • A. Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
  • B. Information Technology Act, 2000
  • C. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
  • D. Telecommunications Act, 2023

Q4. The India AI Governance Guidelines (2025) recommend the creation of new national institutions. Consider the following: 1. AI Governance Group 2. Technology & Policy Expert Committee 3. AI Safety Institute 4. Data Protection Board of India Which of the above is/are correctly identified as institutions recommended by the India AI Governance Guidelines?

  1. AI Governance Group
  2. Technology & Policy Expert Committee
  3. AI Safety Institute
  4. Data Protection Board of India
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q5. The India AI Governance Guidelines (2025) are anchored in exactly how many guiding 'sutras' (foundational principles)?

  • A. Seven
  • B. Five
  • C. Six
  • D. Nine

Q6. The India AI Governance Guidelines 2026, released by MeitY under the IndiaAI Mission at the India AI Impact Summit, are organised around 'Seven Sutras.' Which of the following is identified as the FIRST and foundational sutra on which the entire framework rests?

  • A. People First
  • B. Trust is the Foundation
  • C. Innovation over Restraint
  • D. Safety, Resilience and Sustainability

Q7. The India AI Governance Guidelines 2026 were drafted by a committee constituted in July 2025 and released under which mission by which nodal ministry?

  • A. National Data Governance Framework, under NITI Aayog
  • B. IndiaAI Mission, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
  • C. National AI Strategy, under the Department of Science and Technology
  • D. National Cyber Security Policy, under the Ministry of Home Affairs

Q8. Under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026, what is the maximum time permitted for a social media intermediary to take down non-consensual intimate deepfake imagery after a complaint is received?

  • A. 1 hour
  • B. 2 hours
  • C. 3 hours
  • D. 6 hours

Q9. The IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Amendment Rules, 2026 introduced the category 'Synthetically Generated Information (SGI).' Which of the following most precisely captures the definition of SGI as used in those Rules?

  • A. Any content produced by large language models that modifies factual information so as to constitute misinformation
  • B. Audio, visual, or audio-visual content created or altered algorithmically to appear real or indistinguishable from a natural person or a real-world event
  • C. Digitally manipulated content that lacks copyright protection because it was generated without direct human authorship
  • D. Machine-learning-generated content that violates the community standards published by a Significant Social Media Intermediary

Q10. Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which of the following violations by a Data Fiduciary attracts the HIGHEST monetary penalty?

  • A. Failure to notify the Data Protection Board and affected individuals of a personal data breach
  • B. Violation of obligations related to processing of children's personal data
  • C. Failure to implement adequate security safeguards to prevent personal data breaches
  • D. Non-compliance with a Data Principal's lawful request for erasure of personal data

Q11. As enumerated in a Rajya Sabha statement in August 2025, how many distinct sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000 are invoked to address deepfake-related offences in India?

  • A. Three
  • B. Four
  • C. Five
  • D. Seven

Q12. In policy discourse on online violence against women, the term 'Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII)' specifically refers to:

  • A. Any digital content that objectifies or stereotypes women without their participation in its creation, including targeted advertising
  • B. The distribution or creation of intimate visual content — real, manipulated, or AI-generated — depicting a person without their consent
  • C. AI-generated deepfake images used exclusively for financial fraud or identity theft targeting women
  • D. Synthetic media that mimics a real person's voice or likeness for use in misleading public communications or electoral disinformation

Q13. Which Supreme Court judgment is considered the PRIMARY constitutional basis for the right to privacy in India, subsequently relied upon to ground legal protections against non-consensual digital surveillance, deepfakes, and data misuse?

  • A. Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978)
  • B. Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997)
  • C. Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015)
  • D. K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (2017)

Q14. The Data Protection Board of India, established as a fully digital adjudicatory body under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, comprises how many members in total, with the stipulation that at least one member must be a legal expert?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Six

Q15. How many countries were the FIRST to officially block Grok AI in January 2026, citing the platform's generation of deepfake sexually explicit imagery of women and children?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Four
  • D. Seven
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