Technology – Hard Level – GK Questions

Q: Which CBDC architecture enables programmable money with conditional payments?

Smart Contract-enabled – Smart contract-enabled CBDC allows conditional payments: escrow, subsidies with usage restrictions, automated tax collection. Requires careful design to balance flexibility with privacy and monetary policy control.

Q: Which standard verifies carbon offset projects for credibility and additionality?

Both A and B – Gold Standard and Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) certify offset projects: renewable energy, forestry, methane capture. Ensure real, measurable, additional emission reductions. Critical for carbon market integrity.

Q: Which international agreement governs activities on the Moon and other celestial bodies?

All of these – Outer Space Treaty (1967) establishes foundational principles; Moon Agreement (1979) addresses resource use (limited ratification); Artemis Accords (2020) promote peaceful lunar exploration. India signed Artemis Accords.

Q: Quantum supremacy means quantum computers can solve all practical problems faster than classical computers.

False – Quantum supremacy (Google 2019) demonstrated solving a specific contrived problem faster than classical supercomputers. It does NOT mean universal superiority. Most practical problems still favor classical computers.

Q: The measure of how long a qubit maintains quantum state before decoherence is called ________ Time.

Coherence – Coherence time (T1 for energy relaxation, T2 for phase decoherence) determines how many quantum operations can be performed before errors dominate. Longer coherence enables more complex algorithms.

Q: Which cryptographic approach is being standardized by NIST to resist quantum attacks?

All of these – NIST PQC standardization includes: CRYSTALS-Kyber (lattice-based KEM), CRYSTALS-Dilithium (lattice signatures), SPHINCS+ (hash-based). India's CERT-In and DRDO actively research PQC adoption.

Q: The quantum algorithm that threatens RSA encryption by factoring large integers efficiently is ________ Algorithm.

Shor's – Shor's Algorithm factors integers in polynomial time on quantum computers, breaking RSA which relies on factoring difficulty. Requires fault-tolerant quantum computers not yet available. Critical for post-quantum cryptography planning.

Q: Which regulation requires impact assessments for high-risk AI systems in the EU?

AI Act – EU AI Act (2024) mandates Fundamental Rights Impact Assessments for high-risk AI: hiring, credit scoring, law enforcement. India monitors global developments for domestic policy alignment.

Q: Which technique helps explain AI model predictions to non-technical stakeholders?

All of these – Explainable AI (XAI) techniques: Feature Importance ranks input influence; LIME/SHAP provide local explanations; Model Cards document model purpose, performance, limitations. Critical for trust and regulatory compliance.

Q: Which privacy technique enables statistical analysis without accessing individual records?

All of these – Differential Privacy adds noise to aggregates; Federated Learning trains models on-device; SMPC computes jointly without sharing inputs. All enable privacy-preserving analytics. Critical for confidential data science questions.