*Todays 25 th May- UPSC GS Paper Current Affairs Ans with Explainations* *Q1. Panchayats at the intermediate level* Statements: I. Panchayats at the intermediate level exist in all States. II. To be eligible to be a Member of a Panchayat at the intermediate level, a person should attain the age of thirty years. III. The Chief Minister of a State constitutes a commission to review the financial position of Panchayats at the intermediate levels. Answer: (a) I and II only Explanation: Statement I – Incorrect: Intermediate-level Panchayats exist only in states with a population above 20 lakhs. Not all states have them. Statement II – Incorrect: Minimum age to contest Panchayat elections is 21 years, not 30. Statement III – Correct: A State Finance Commission is constituted by the Governor (not Chief Minister) every five years to review financial positions of Panchayats, as per Article 243-I. *Q2. BIMSTEC* Statements: I. It is a regional organization consisting of seven member States till January 2025. II. It came into existence with the signing of the Dhaka Declaration, 1999. III. Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Nepal are founding member States of BIMSTEC. IV. In BIMSTEC, the subsector of tourism is being led by India. Answer: (c) I and IV Explanation: Statement I – Correct: BIMSTEC currently has 7 members. The mention of "till January 2025" is vague, but factually correct as of now. Statement II – Incorrect: BIMSTEC was established in 1997 (Bangkok Declaration), not Dhaka 1999. Statement III – Incorrect: Nepal is not a founding member; original members were: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Myanmar. Statement IV – Correct: India leads Tourism, Counter-terrorism, Environment and Disaster Management sectors in BIMSTEC. *Q3. Jury for Gandhi Peace Prize* Options: I. The President of India II. The Prime Minister of India III. The Chief Justice of India IV. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Answer: (c) II, III and IV Explanation: The Prime Minister of India is the Chairperson of the jury. Other members: Chief Justice of India, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, and two eminent persons. President is not a member of the jury. *Q4. GAGAN (GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation)* Statements: I. It is designed to provide additional accuracy and integrity. II. It will allow more uniform and high quality air traffic management. III. It will provide benefits only in aviation but not in other modes of transportation. Answer: (d) I and II only Explanation: Statement I – Correct: GAGAN enhances GPS accuracy and integrity. Statement II – Correct: It enables better air traffic management, especially for precision landing. Statement III – Incorrect: GAGAN can be used in non-aviation sectors too, like railways and highways. *Q5. AI Action Summit (Paris, 2025)* Statements: I. Co-chaired with India, the event builds on Bletchley Park Summit 2023 and Seoul Summit 2024. II. US and UK also signed the declaration on inclusive and sustainable AI. Answer: (c) Both I and II Explanation: Both statements are factually aligned with recent AI developments and multilateral commitments. India is increasingly active in global AI ethics summits. Bletchley Park (UK, 2023) and Seoul (2024) were real summits. US and UK are participants in global AI governance efforts. *Q6. International Year - Matching* Pairs: I. International Year of the Woman Farmer – 2026 II. Sustainable and Resilient Tourism – 2027 III. Peace and Trust – 2025 IV. Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence – 2029 Answer: (c) Only three Explanation: I. Woman Farmer – 2026 → Correct (Announced by UN at India’s proposal) II. Sustainable Tourism – 2027 → Correct III. Peace and Trust – 2025 → Incorrect (It was 2021, not 2025) IV. Asteroid Awareness – 2029 → Correct (NASA & UN declared special focus due to Apophis asteroid flyby)