15 May 2026 Current Affairs MCQ — 10 Questions & Explanations

The two-day BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting concluded with the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration — the first major outcome document under India's BRICS 2026 Chairship. The declaration called for maritime safety in the Strait of Hormuz, reform of multilateral institutions like the UN Security Council and IMF, and resistance to unilateral coercive sanctions. It sets the thematic agenda for the 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit in September 2026. India's hosting of the meeting reflects its strategic positioning as a voice of the Global South while maintaining balance between competing global blocs.

The 2026 theme of International Day of Families is "Families and Climate Action" — recognising that climate change disproportionately affects families, particularly in developing nations, through heatwaves, floods, and food insecurity. The day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 and first observed in 1994. The theme aligns with SDG 13 (Climate Action), acknowledging that household-level decisions on energy, food, and transport collectively shape a significant portion of global carbon emissions. In India, family-level government interventions include Mission Shakti, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and Poshan Abhiyaan.

India's Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is published by the Office of Economic Adviser (OEA) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry — with a base year of 2011-12. WPI measures price changes at the factory and wholesale level — not the retail level — and covers three components: Primary Articles (22.6%), Fuel and Power (13.2%), and Manufactured Products (64.2%). The May 2026 surge to 8.3% was driven by the Strait of Hormuz blockade causing an energy price spike in the Fuel and Power component. It is important to note that CPI — not WPI — is RBI's primary inflation targeting tool, published by the NSO under MoSPI.

India's Phase 1 Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) facilities are located at Visakhapatnam (1.33 million tonnes, Andhra Pradesh), Mangalore (1.5 million tonnes, Karnataka), and Padur (2.5 million tonnes, Karnataka) — giving a total capacity of approximately 5.33 million tonnes, or about 9.5 days of import cover. Bhubaneswar is not an SPR site — Chandikhol in Odisha is part of the Phase 2 expansion plan. The India-UAE strategic petroleum storage agreement signed on May 15 builds on an existing partnership between ISPRL (Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd) and ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company).

Raja Bhoj (1000–1055 CE) was the most celebrated ruler of the Paramara dynasty — a medieval Rajput dynasty that ruled from Dhar in present-day Madhya Pradesh. He was renowned as a scholar-king and patron of arts and learning, and Hindu groups believe he built the Bhojshala as a Saraswati (Vagdevi) temple — a centre of Sanskrit scholarship. The structure's legal dispute involves the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which freezes the religious character of all worship sites as they existed on August 15, 1947 — with the only explicit exception being the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute. The MP HC ruling will face scrutiny against this Act.

Australia banned the National Socialist Network (NSN) — a neo-Nazi organisation — under the Criminal Code Act, 1995, which has been progressively amended to cover designated terrorist and violent extremist groups. The ban reflects a growing global trend of formally proscribing far-right extremist organisations — the UK became the first country to do so when it banned National Action in 2016. Australia and India share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and are both members of the Quad (along with the US and Japan) — making Australia's domestic security governance decisions of strategic relevance to India's partnerships.

The Compliance Reduction and Deregulation initiative — of which Deregulation Phase-II is a part — is coordinated by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The initiative aims to eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens on businesses, move toward risk-based compliance, enable self-certification for low-risk activities, and improve India's Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) ranking. Tripura completing Phase-II first — covering state-level compliances in labour laws, environmental clearances, and building permissions — is a significant governance achievement for a smaller northeastern state.

Tilak Varma was named captain of India's 15-member 'A' squad for the one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka, with Riyan Parag as vice-captain. The tournament also features the 'A' squads of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. India 'A' tours are the primary development pathway for domestic cricketers transitioning toward the senior national team, providing high-quality international exposure without the full pressure of senior cricket. The National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru supports India 'A' preparation and player monitoring.

The final of the 23rd FIFA World Cup 2026 will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA — the first time a Super Bowl-style half-time musical spectacular (featuring Madonna, Shakira, and BTS) has been announced for a FIFA World Cup final. The tournament is co-hosted by USA, Canada, and Mexico — the first three-nation World Cup host — featuring an expanded field of 48 teams playing 104 matches. The next edition in 2030 will be hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain as the centenary edition.

The Ebola virus belongs to the Filoviridae family — a group of filamentous (thread-shaped) viruses. It was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The natural reservoir is fruit bats, and transmission occurs through direct contact with bodily fluids — it is not airborne. The approved vaccine is Ervebo (rVSV-ZEBOV) and the first FDA-approved treatment is Inmazeb (2020). The DRC has experienced more Ebola outbreaks than any other country, and the WHO coordinates response through GOARN and the International Health Regulations (IHR), 2005 framework.