Science & Technology MCQs for UPSC Prelims — May 2026

Q1. Within the WADA Prohibited List, which is the first category listed under 'Substances Prohibited At All Times' (both in- and out-of-competition)?

  • A. S0 – Non-Approved Substances
  • B. S1 – Anabolic Agents
  • C. S2 – Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances and Mimetics
  • D. S4 – Hormone and Metabolic Modulators

Q2. With reference to the 'National Biopharma Mission' and the 'BioE3 Policy', consider the following statements: 1. The National Biopharma Mission, titled 'Innovate in India (i3)', is co-funded by the World Bank. 2. The BioE3 Policy, approved by the Union Cabinet in 2024, aims at fostering high-performance biomanufacturing across sectors such as health, agriculture and industry. 3. Unlike the National Biopharma Mission, the BioE3 Policy is administered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and not by the Department of Biotechnology. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The National Biopharma Mission, titled 'Innovate in India (i3)', is co-funded by the World Bank.
  2. The BioE3 Policy, approved by the Union Cabinet in 2024, aims at fostering high-performance biomanufacturing across sectors such as health, agriculture and industry.
  3. Unlike the National Biopharma Mission, the BioE3 Policy is administered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and not by the Department of Biotechnology.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. With reference to 'Mission COVID Suraksha', which supported the indigenous development of vaccines such as ZyCoV-D, CORBEVAX and iNCOVACC, which one of the following is the nodal department under which this Mission was launched?

  • A. Indian Council of Medical Research, Department of Health Research
  • B. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
  • C. Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology
  • D. Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Q4. In the context of precision medicine, the term 'pharmacogenomics' most precisely refers to which one of the following?

  • A. The mass production of generic drugs using recombinant DNA technology in bioreactors
  • B. The study of how inherited and acquired genetic variation in an individual influences response to drugs
  • C. The use of gene-editing tools such as CRISPR-Cas9 to permanently correct disease-causing mutations
  • D. The application of artificial intelligence to design novel small-molecule drugs from chemical libraries

Q5. With reference to the UMMID (Unique Methods of Management and treatment of Inherited Disorders) Programme, which one of the following is the nodal implementing agency?

  • A. Indian Council of Medical Research under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • B. Department of Health Research under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • C. Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology
  • D. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research under the Ministry of Science and Technology

Q6. Which one of the following best describes the mode of inheritance of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)?

  • A. Autosomal dominant
  • B. Autosomal recessive
  • C. X-linked recessive
  • D. Mitochondrial (maternal) inheritance

Q7. The GenomeIndia Project sanctioned by the Department of Biotechnology aims to undertake whole genome sequencing of 10,000 healthy individuals drawn from approximately how many distinct communities across India?

  • A. 49 communities
  • B. 75 communities
  • C. 99 communities
  • D. 125 communities

Q8. With reference to the GenomeIndia Project, consider the following institutions:

  1. 1. Centre for Brain Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
  2. 2. BRIC-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani
  3. 3. National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru
  4. 4. CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q9. With reference to the UMMID Programme as launched in 2019 and as dedicated to the Nation in 2026, consider the following statements:

  1. UMMID was launched in 2019 with five NIDAN Kendras in the first phase, and by its 2026 dedication to the Nation the network had expanded to nearly thirty NIDAN Kendras.
  2. While the 2019 launch placed UMMID under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the 2026 dedication brought it under the Department of Biotechnology.
  3. At the 2026 dedication, the Union Minister projected UMMID's experience as a foundation for precision medicine in conditions such as diabetes, cardiac ailments and cancers, beyond rare inherited disorders.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. With reference to the UMMID Programme that was dedicated to the Nation in 2026, consider the following statements:

  1. It is implemented by the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science & Technology.
  2. Under the programme, NIDAN Kendras are set up exclusively in private super-specialty hospitals to ensure quality of genetic diagnostics.
  3. The programme covers prenatal testing, newborn screening for inherited disorders, and genetic counselling.
  4. At the time of its dedication to the Nation, the programme had benefited nearly three lakh individuals through screening and diagnostic services.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q11. The UMMID initiative, under which NIDAN Kendras have been established in government hospitals to provide genetic diagnostics, prenatal testing and counselling for inherited disorders, is implemented by which one of the following?

  • A. Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • B. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
  • C. Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology
  • D. National Health Authority under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Q12. With reference to the services offered at NIDAN (National Inherited Diseases Administration) Kendras under the UMMID initiative, which of the following is/are NOT among the activities undertaken at these Kendras?

  1. Prenatal testing and diagnosis for genetic disorders
  2. Newborn screening for treatable inherited metabolic disorders
  3. Manufacturing and free distribution of orphan drugs for rare diseases
  4. Training of clinicians in human and medical genetics
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 4 only

Q13. With reference to the UMMID initiative and the National Policy for Rare Diseases, 2021, consider the following statements: 1. UMMID is implemented by the Department of Biotechnology, whereas the National Policy for Rare Diseases is administered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 2. UMMID was launched earlier than the notification of the National Policy for Rare Diseases. 3. Services under UMMID are delivered exclusively through private super-specialty hospitals empanelled as NIDAN Kendras. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. UMMID is implemented by the Department of Biotechnology, whereas the National Policy for Rare Diseases is administered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  2. UMMID was launched earlier than the notification of the National Policy for Rare Diseases.
  3. Services under UMMID are delivered exclusively through private super-specialty hospitals empanelled as NIDAN Kendras.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q14. Which one of the following is the nodal implementing department for the UMMID (Unique Methods of Management and treatment of Inherited Disorders) initiative?

  • A. Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • B. Indian Council of Medical Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • C. Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology
  • D. Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers

Q15. With reference to NITI Aayog's National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (#AIForAll, 2018), which of the following is/are NOT identified as a priority/focus sector for AI deployment?

  1. Healthcare
  2. Agriculture
  3. Defence and Internal Security
  4. Smart Mobility and Transportation
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 4 only

Q16. In the context of the WHO's 2024 ethics and governance guidance, the term 'Large Multi-modal Model (LMM)' is best defined as:

  • A. A large-scale statistical model that combines multiple regression techniques on pooled health datasets to produce population-level health forecasts
  • B. A generative AI model that can accept one or more types of data inputs (such as text, images and video) and generate diverse outputs that are not restricted to the type of data that was input
  • C. A federated learning model trained simultaneously across multiple hospital networks without centralising patient data, primarily used for predictive diagnostics
  • D. A large language model fine-tuned exclusively on biomedical text corpora to generate clinical text outputs in response to text-only prompts

Q17. Which one of the following international organisations released, in January 2024, the guidance document titled 'Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health: guidance on large multi-modal models'?

  • A. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
  • B. International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
  • C. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
  • D. World Health Organization (WHO)

Q18. With reference to the BODH (Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI) initiative launched in February 2026, consider the following statements:

  1. It has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in collaboration with the National Health Authority.
  2. It is a privacy-preserving benchmarking platform for evaluating health AI models.
  3. It was launched at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
  4. It mandates that participating AI developers centrally share their underlying training datasets with the platform.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 2, 3 and 4 only

Q19. The BODH (Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI) initiative was launched in February 2026 at the India AI Impact Summit held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Over how many days was this summit conducted?

  • A. 3
  • B. 4
  • C. 5
  • D. 7

Q20. Which of the following is/are NOT among the four pillars on which the Strategy for AI in Healthcare for India (SAHI) rests?

  1. Governance and ethical oversight
  2. Mandatory export controls on indigenous health-AI models
  3. Workforce readiness and digital literacy
  4. State monopoly over commercialisation of health-AI products
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • D. 2, 3 and 4 only

Q21. With reference to the Strategy for AI in Healthcare for India (SAHI), consider the following statements:

  1. SAHI was launched in February 2026 at the India AI Impact Summit held at Bharat Mandapam.
  2. India is the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to launch a comprehensive national strategy for AI in healthcare.
  3. SAHI was launched together with BODH, a benchmarking platform developed by IIT Kanpur in collaboration with the National Health Authority.
  4. SAHI was unveiled by the Prime Minister of India during the 79th World Health Assembly at Geneva.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q22. As of the latest official position, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has a pan-India network of how many national laboratories/institutes?

  • A. 28
  • B. 32
  • C. 37
  • D. 42

Q23. The 'Pralay' missile, which recently underwent a salvo launch trial off the Odisha coast as part of its user evaluation, is best described as:

  • A. A submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles
  • B. An indigenously developed solid-propellant, short-range, quasi-ballistic surface-to-surface missile with terminal manoeuvring capability
  • C. An air-launched hypersonic cruise missile powered by a scramjet engine
  • D. A canisterised vertical-launch surface-to-air missile system meant to replace the Akash system

Q24. With reference to recent indigenous weapon systems tested by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), consider the following pairings of the system with its primary role: 1. Pralay — Solid-propellant short-range quasi-ballistic surface-to-surface missile 2. NASM-SR — Air-launched anti-ship missile fired from a naval helicopter 3. Akash-NG — Submarine-launched ballistic missile 4. VSHORADS — Vertical-launch long-range surface-to-air missile system for naval platforms Which of the above pairings is/are NOT correctly matched?

  1. Pralay — Solid-propellant short-range quasi-ballistic surface-to-surface missile
  2. NASM-SR — Air-launched anti-ship missile fired from a naval helicopter
  3. Akash-NG — Submarine-launched ballistic missile
  4. VSHORADS — Vertical-launch long-range surface-to-air missile system for naval platforms
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q25. With reference to the indigenous UAV platforms Rustom-1, TAPAS-BH-201 and Archer that could host the DRDO-developed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3, consider the following statements: 1. Both Rustom-1 and TAPAS-BH-201 have been developed with the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru as the nodal laboratory of DRDO. 2. TAPAS-BH-201 has been developed primarily as an armed strike platform, whereas Rustom-1 was designed purely as an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) UAV. 3. Rustom-1 has demonstrated a higher operational ceiling (altitude) than TAPAS-BH-201. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Both Rustom-1 and TAPAS-BH-201 have been developed with the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru as the nodal laboratory of DRDO.
  2. TAPAS-BH-201 has been developed primarily as an armed strike platform, whereas Rustom-1 was designed purely as an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) UAV.
  3. Rustom-1 has demonstrated a higher operational ceiling (altitude) than TAPAS-BH-201.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q26. As per DRDO, what is the stated endurance (in hours) of the indigenously developed Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV TAPAS-BH carrying EO and SAR payloads?

  • A. 10 hours
  • B. 18 hours
  • C. 24 hours
  • D. 36 hours

Q27. With reference to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3, which one of the following is the nodal DRDO laboratory responsible for its development?

  • A. Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad
  • B. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad
  • C. Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune
  • D. High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune

Q28. DRDO's recently trialled Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 is most often described as an indigenous counterpart to which one of the following flagship foreign drone-launched precision-guided munitions?

  • A. AGM-114 Hellfire (United States)
  • B. AIM-120 AMRAAM (United States)
  • C. Storm Shadow / SCALP-EG (United Kingdom-France)
  • D. BrahMos-A (India-Russia)

Q29. In the context of DRDO's indigenous weapon programmes such as ULPGM-V3, the term 'Development-cum-Production Partner (DcPP)' most appropriately refers to:

  • A. An Indian public-sector or private industry partner that is co-opted alongside the DRDO laboratory during prototype development itself and is simultaneously authorised to undertake series production of the system once trials are completed.
  • B. A foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer that mandatorily transfers technology to an Indian licensee under the offset obligations of the Defence Acquisition Procedure.
  • C. A consortium of IITs and other academic institutions tasked with basic research support for a DRDO nodal laboratory, with no manufacturing role.
  • D. A purely financial co-investor under the Strategic Partnership model that funds the project but takes no part in design, integration or manufacture of the weapon system.

Q30. With reference to the recently tested Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 programme of DRDO, consider the following statements regarding its industrial and institutional partners: 1. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad is one of the two Development-cum-Production Partners (DcPPs) for the missile. 2. Adani Defence Systems & Technologies Limited, Hyderabad is the other Development-cum-Production Partner for the missile. 3. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle platform used to launch the missile was indigenously developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). 4. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad is the nodal DRDO laboratory for the ULPGM-V3 project. Which of the above statements is/are NOT correctly identified?

  1. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad is one of the two Development-cum-Production Partners (DcPPs) for the missile.
  2. Adani Defence Systems & Technologies Limited, Hyderabad is the other Development-cum-Production Partner for the missile.
  3. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle platform used to launch the missile was indigenously developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
  4. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad is the nodal DRDO laboratory for the ULPGM-V3 project.
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 2, 3 and 4
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