Environment MCQs for UPSC Prelims — June 2026

Q1. Among the following categories of protected areas under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, which one carries the highest degree of legal protection against human activity?

  • A. Wildlife Sanctuary
  • B. Conservation Reserve
  • C. National Park
  • D. Community Reserve

Q2. Under which centrally sponsored scheme is the Hangul conserved through the 'Recovery Programme for Critically Endangered Species and Habitats'?

  • A. Project Elephant
  • B. National Mission for a Green India
  • C. Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats
  • D. Project Tiger

Q3. Which institution serves as the scientific/technical lead for the Hangul recovery project carried out under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme?

  • A. Zoological Survey of India
  • B. Wildlife Institute of India
  • C. Botanical Survey of India
  • D. National Biodiversity Authority

Q4. India is a member of which inter-governmental body, headquartered in New Delhi, dedicated to tiger conservation across tiger-range countries?

  • A. Global Tiger Forum
  • B. Global Tiger Initiative
  • C. International Union for Conservation of Nature
  • D. World Wide Fund for Nature

Q5. At the National Workshop on Tiger Re-introduction at Alwar, which publication was released as the principal document on the active management of tigers in India?

  • A. Road Map on Active Management of Tigers in India
  • B. Booklet on Reintroduction and Recovery of Tigers in India
  • C. Annual Report of Project Cheetah
  • D. Status of Tigers, Co-predators and Prey in India report

Q6. A State Government notifies the core/Critical Tiger Habitat of a tiger reserve on the recommendation of which body?

  • A. National Tiger Conservation Authority
  • B. National Board for Wildlife
  • C. Central Zoo Authority
  • D. Wildlife Institute of India

Q7. Under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, the tiger is listed in which Schedule, signifying the highest degree of legal protection?

  • A. Schedule I
  • B. Schedule II
  • C. Schedule III
  • D. Schedule IV

Q8. How many cheetahs were brought from Namibia and released at Kuno National Park in the first batch on 17 September 2022?

  • A. 8
  • B. 12
  • C. 20
  • D. 5

Q9. Which protected area was the first and primary release site under Project Cheetah?

  • A. Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh
  • B. Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh
  • C. Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh
  • D. Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan

Q10. According to the 2022 All India Tiger Estimation, the following States were highlighted as having witnessed a notable increase in tiger population. Which one of the following is NOT correctly identified?

  1. Madhya Pradesh
  2. Maharashtra
  3. Uttarakhand
  4. Mizoram
  • A. 4 only
  • B. 1 and 2
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 2 and 4

Q11. As per the 5th All India Tiger Estimation (2022), what was the estimated average number of tigers in India?

  • A. 3,682
  • B. 3,925
  • C. 2,967
  • D. 2,226

Q12. In the context of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, what is a 'Critical Tiger Habitat'?

  • A. The core area of a tiger reserve, established on scientific evidence as required to be kept inviolate for tiger conservation
  • B. Any forest area that must permanently exclude all human presence including forest officials
  • C. The buffer zone of a tiger reserve where regulated tourism and co-existence are promoted
  • D. A wildlife corridor connecting two tiger reserves notified by the Forest Survey of India

Q13. Sariska Tiger Reserve is globally distinguished as the site of which first?

  • A. The world's first successful reintroduction of wild tigers into a reserve where they had become locally extinct
  • B. India's first notified tiger reserve under Project Tiger
  • C. India's first tiger reserve to receive international CA|TS accreditation
  • D. India's first tiger reserve to be declared a Critical Tiger Habitat

Q14. The 2008 reintroduction of tigers at Sariska Tiger Reserve was carried out jointly by the NTCA, the Rajasthan Forest Department and which institution that provided the scientific recovery plan?

  • A. Wildlife Institute of India
  • B. Zoological Survey of India
  • C. Wildlife Crime Control Bureau
  • D. Botanical Survey of India

Q15. The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), the subject of the 2026 navigation study, is accorded the highest domestic protection under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Which one of the following is the Union nodal ministry that administers this Act?

  • A. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • B. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • C. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
  • D. Ministry of Science and Technology

Q16. Which wing of the Government of NCT of Delhi has issued the draft EV Policy 2.0 (2026) and is its nodal implementing authority?

  • A. The Transport Department
  • B. The Department of Environment
  • C. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee
  • D. The Department of Power

Q17. Consider the following statements about segments addressed by Delhi's draft EV Policy 2.0. Which of the above is/are NOT correctly identified?

  1. New ICE three-wheelers — proposed to be barred from fresh registration with effect from January 1, 2027.
  2. New ICE two-wheelers — proposed to be barred from fresh registration with effect from April 1, 2028.
  3. School bus fleets — made subject to electrification targets, with compliance linked to schools' recognition and affiliation.
  4. New private petrol four-wheeler cars — proposed to be barred from fresh registration with effect from January 1, 2027.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 3 only

Q18. Delhi's draft EV Policy 2.0 (2026) is positioned as the revised successor to which one of the following?

  • A. The Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy, 2020
  • B. FAME-II (2019)
  • C. The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, 2020
  • D. The Delhi Odd-Even scheme (2016)

Q19. In the context of Delhi's draft EV Policy 2.0, what does the proposed 'ban on internal combustion engine three-wheelers from January 1, 2027' precisely mean?

  • A. A prohibition on fresh registration of new ICE three-wheelers from that date
  • B. An immediate prohibition on the plying of all existing ICE three-wheelers from that date
  • C. A ban on the manufacture of ICE three-wheelers anywhere in India from that date
  • D. A withdrawal of fuel supply to all CNG and petrol three-wheelers in Delhi from that date

Q20. Under Delhi's draft EV Policy 2.0, which vehicle segment faces the EARLIEST proposed cut-off date beyond which only electric variants may be newly registered?

  • A. Three-wheelers
  • B. Two-wheelers
  • C. School buses
  • D. Private four-wheeler cars

Q21. The institutional architecture for biodiversity governance established under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 — spanning the Central Government, State Governments and local bodies — operates at how many tiers?

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

Q22. The National Biodiversity Authority's Guidelines on Access to Biological Resources and Associated Knowledge and Benefits Sharing, 2014, were framed as regulations under which provision of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002?

  • A. Section 21
  • B. Section 38
  • C. Section 8
  • D. Section 41

Q23. The Nagoya Protocol, a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity, deals primarily with which one of the following?

  • A. Access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization
  • B. Safe transboundary movement of living modified organisms
  • C. Liability and redress for damage to biological diversity
  • D. Regulation of international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora

Q24. The IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria currently in standard use for classifying species' extinction risk correspond to which version?

  • A. Version 3.1
  • B. Version 2.3
  • C. Version 1.0
  • D. Version 4.0

Q25. The Red List of Threatened Species, widely used as a scientific reference for assessing extinction risk, is compiled and maintained by which one of the following organisations?

  • A. International Union for Conservation of Nature
  • B. United Nations Environment Programme
  • C. World Wide Fund for Nature
  • D. Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

Q26. As per the 2026 NBA SOP, consider whether the following bodies are envisaged as participants in identifying and validating threatened species: 1. Botanical Survey of India 2. Zoological Survey of India 3. Biodiversity Management Committees 4. Forest Survey of India Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Botanical Survey of India
  2. Zoological Survey of India
  3. Biodiversity Management Committees
  4. Forest Survey of India
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q27. The 2026 Standard Operating Procedure for the scientific identification and notification of threatened species by States and Union Territories was released by which one of the following?

  • A. National Biodiversity Authority
  • B. Zoological Survey of India
  • C. Botanical Survey of India
  • D. National Board for Wildlife

Q28. With reference to Section 38 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, consider the following statements: 1. The power to notify a threatened species vests in the Central Government. 2. The notification is issued in consultation with the concerned State Government. 3. The provision allows the prohibition or regulation of the collection of a notified species. 4. A species may be notified only after the IUCN has assessed it as Critically Endangered. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The power to notify a threatened species vests in the Central Government.
  2. The notification is issued in consultation with the concerned State Government.
  3. The provision allows the prohibition or regulation of the collection of a notified species.
  4. A species may be notified only after the IUCN has assessed it as Critically Endangered.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 1 and 2
  • D. 3 and 4

Q29. As reported at the release of the 2026 NBA Standard Operating Procedure, threatened species have so far been notified under Section 38 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 across how many States and Union Territories?

  • A. 16 States and 2 Union Territories
  • B. 17 States and 3 Union Territories
  • C. 18 States and 5 Union Territories
  • D. 20 States and 3 Union Territories

Q30. With reference to the institutional architecture of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, consider the following: 1. The National Biodiversity Authority is established under Section 8. 2. State Biodiversity Boards are constituted under Section 22. 3. Biodiversity Management Committees are constituted under Section 41. 4. People's Biodiversity Registers are prepared by the National Biodiversity Authority. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The National Biodiversity Authority is established under Section 8.
  2. State Biodiversity Boards are constituted under Section 22.
  3. Biodiversity Management Committees are constituted under Section 41.
  4. People's Biodiversity Registers are prepared by the National Biodiversity Authority.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
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