On which date was India's ambitious Deep Ocean Mission formally launched, and which Union Ministry serves as its nodal administrative body?

A. 7 September 2021; Ministry of Earth Sciences

B. 15 August 2020; Ministry of Science and Technology

C. 26 January 2022; Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

D. 5 June 2021; Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways

What is the primary core mandate of the 'Gyan Bharatam Mission' launched by the Ministry of Culture?

D. Survey, conservation, digitization, and dissemination of India's ancient manuscript heritage

A. Reconstructing ancient river valley civilizations along the Saraswati riverbed

B. Establishing digital smart classrooms across all secondary government schools

C. Providing direct scholarship grants for higher technical research in Sanskrit universities

D. Survey, conservation, digitization, and dissemination of India's ancient manuscript heritage

Under the Constitution of India, on which specific grounds alone can a judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court be removed from office?

D. Proved Misbehaviour or Incapacity

A. Insubordination or Criminal Indictment

B. Moral Turpitude or Violation of Oath

C. Contempt of Parliament or Financial Insolvency

D. Proved Misbehaviour or Incapacity

What is the minimum number of Member of Parliament signatures required to submit a valid notice of an impeachment motion against a judge in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively?

B. 100 MPs in Lok Sabha or 50 MPs in Rajya Sabha

A. 50 MPs in Lok Sabha or 25 MPs in Rajya Sabha

B. 100 MPs in Lok Sabha or 50 MPs in Rajya Sabha

C. 75 MPs in Lok Sabha or 40 MPs in Rajya Sabha

D. 150 MPs in Lok Sabha or 100 MPs in Rajya Sabha

What is the statutory composition of the three-member committee constituted by the Speaker/Chairman under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 to investigate judicial allegations?

A. A Supreme Court Judge, a High Court Chief Justice, and a distinguished jurist

B. Chief Justice of India, Union Law Minister, and Leader of Opposition

C. Three senior-most Chief Justices of State High Courts

D. Attorney General of India, Law Commission Chairman, and Home Secretary

Which majority standard in Parliament is mandatory to pass an address for the removal of a judge before presenting it to the President of India?

D. Special majority: majority of the total membership of that House and a 2/3 majority of members present and voting

A. Simple majority of members present and voting in both Houses

B. Three-fourths majority of the total strength of each House

C. Absolute majority of the total membership of Parliament in a joint sitting

D. Special majority: majority of the total membership of that House and a 2/3 majority of members present and voting

Which High Court judge resigned from office in April 2026 leading to the cessation of parliamentary impeachment proceedings initiated against him?

C. Justice Yashwant Varma of Allahabad High Court

A. Justice Soumitra Sen of Calcutta High Court

B. Justice P.D. Dinakaran of Sikkim High Court

C. Justice Yashwant Varma of Allahabad High Court

D. Justice V. Ramaswami of Punjab and Haryana High Court

Which constitutional articles govern the impeachment and removal procedure for Supreme Court and High Court judges respectively?

C. Article 124(4) for Supreme Court and Article 218 for High Court

A. Article 131 for Supreme Court and Article 226 for High Court

B. Article 129 for Supreme Court and Article 215 for High Court

C. Article 124(4) for Supreme Court and Article 218 for High Court

D. Article 143 for Supreme Court and Article 227 for High Court

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BPSC Bihar Special • Current Affairs12 September 2026

Bihar Current Affairs: Deep Ocean Mission, Matsya 6000, Gyan Bharatam & Judicial Impeachment Rules

Source: Information & Public Relations Department (IPRD Bihar) / Official Gazettes•Exam Target: BPSC 71st & 72nd CCE Prelims

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BPSC 72nd Core Foundation Dossier — Module 3

1. Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) & Blue Economy

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Nodal Ministry & Launch Date: Launched by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) on 7 September 2021.

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Strategic Objective: Exploration and sustainable management of living and non-living deep-sea oceanic resources to propel India's Blue Economy.

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Flagship Samudrayaan Project: India's first manned ocean exploration initiative developing ‘Matsya 6000’, a self-propelled, manned submersible capable of carrying 3 scientists to an ocean depth of 6,000 metres.

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Historic August 2025 Deep Dive: Achieved a record deep-sea dive to 5,000 metres, proving hull integrity and underwater telemetry.

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Mineral Exploration: Successfully retrieved over 100 kg of cobalt-rich polymetallic nodules from a depth of 1,173 metres in the Andaman Sea.

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Mission Outlay & Horizon: Sanctioned with an outlay of ₹4,077 crore over five years across six core themes (deep-sea mining, ocean climate advisories, biodiversity conservation, deep-ocean surveying, energy/freshwater extraction, and advanced marine stations).

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Global Alignment: Aligned with the United Nations declaration of 2021–2030 as the “Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development”.

2. Gyan Bharatam Mission: Preserving Manuscript Heritage

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Nodal Authority: Launched by the Ministry of Culture as announced in Union Budget 2025–26.

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Financial Package: The Standing Finance Committee (SFC) approved ₹491.66 crore for the implementation phase spanning 2025–2031.

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Target Scale: Document, conserve, survey, and digitize over 1 crore ancient manuscripts preserved in educational institutions, museums, temples, libraries, and private collections nationwide.

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Inaugural International Conclave: The 1st Gyan Bharatam International Conference on “Reclaiming the Knowledge Heritage of India through Manuscript Heritage” took place at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi (11–13 September 2025).

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Crowdsourced Preservation: A dedicated Gyan Bharatam Portal and Mobile App enables citizens and private collectors to upload and digitally register rare manuscripts.

3. Constitutional Framework for Removal of Judges (Impeachment)

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Contemporary Trigger: In April 2026, Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu, abating formal parliamentary removal proceedings.

•

Background: Recovery of approximately ₹2.5 crore in cash following a fire at his official residence in New Delhi (March 2025); a three-member inquiry was initiated following Lok Sabha admission of an impeachment motion.

•

Constitutional Mandate:

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Article 124(4): Prescribes the removal procedure for Supreme Court judges.

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Article 218: Applies the provisions of Article 124(4) and 124(5) to High Court judges.

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Statutory Grounds for Removal: A judge can be removed solely on two constitutional grounds:

Proved Misbehaviour (सिद्ध कदाचार)

Incapacity (अक्षमता)

•

Procedural Steps under Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968:

Notice of Motion: Must be signed by at least 100 MPs in Lok Sabha or at least 50 MPs in Rajya Sabha and submitted to the Speaker/Chairman.

Inquiry Committee: If admitted, a 3-member statutory committee is constituted comprising:

◦

A Supreme Court Judge,

◦

A Chief Justice of a High Court, and

◦

A distinguished jurist.

Parliamentary Vote: If allegations are substantiated, an address must be passed by Special Majority in each House during the same session:

◦

Majority of the total membership of that House, AND

◦

Not less than two-thirds (2/3) of the members present and voting.

Presidential Order: The President issues the formal order of removal.

•

Historical Fact: To date, no judge has ever been successfully removed through completed impeachment proceedings in India (motions in cases like V. Ramaswami and Soumitra Sen lapsed or ended through resignation).

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