Which edition of the PM Mementos e-Auction is running in 2026, and until when is it open?

The correct answer is Rajasthan. The Ministry of Culture drew attention to a group of mementos in this year's auction that stand for the state's folk deities, devotional painting, textile craft, architectural heritage and sporting achievement, from the Ambabari elephant with its howdah to the silver figures of Veer Tejaji Maharaj. Gujarat is wrong because none of the pieces in this set is drawn from it. Madhya Pradesh is wrong as well: the temples and shrines named in the catalogue, such as the Brahma Temple at Pushkar and the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, all lie in Rajasthan. Odisha is a tempting choice because one artwork is done in the Pattachitra style, which is associated with that state, but the subject is Krishna Raas Leela within a Rajasthan collection, so the style alone does not change the answer.

The correct answer is 37 artefacts. That is the size of the Rajasthan set described by the Ministry of Culture, and the pieces are spread across woodwork, silver mementos of folk deities, devotional painting, textiles, framed views of heritage shrines and memorabilia of recent events and sporting achievement. The other three counts do not match the catalogue at all. Aspirants should hold the number together with the rest of the detail that goes with it: this is the eighth edition of the PM Mementos e-Auction, it stays open until the second day of October this year, and the full list of items along with the rules for taking part is placed on the official portal, pmmementos.gov.in, which the ministry named in its announcement.

The correct answer is Nathdwara, the town linked with Pichwai painting, a form in which cloth hangings are made for the shrine of Shrinathji. The catalogue places these works beside a Phad painting of Lakshmi and Narayan and a Pattachitra-style picture of Krishna Raas Leela, all three being ways of telling a devotional story through art. Pushkar is wrong because it comes into the collection through the Brahma Temple, shown as part of the state's architectural heritage. Karauli is wrong because it appears with Kaila Mata, one of the revered deities represented in the set. Banswara is wrong because it is named for the painting of Mangarh Dham. Matching each art form or shrine to its town is the safest way to answer such questions.

The correct answer is 108 crore litres. The Home Minister said the railways burnt 293 crore litres of diesel in 2015-16 and that the quantity had come down to 108 crore litres by 2024-25, a fall he linked to the spread of electric traction and one he felt received little notice. Option A, 293 crore litres, is the earlier of the two figures, for 2015-16, so it names the starting point rather than the later year. Options B and C, 205 and 150 crore litres, are neither of the two quantities quoted. The same speech put the share of the network already electrified at 99.6 per cent, with the small remainder to be finished soon, which explains why diesel use has shrunk so sharply.

The correct answer is 12,000 horsepower. The engine put into service at Sabarmati is a twin-section machine of that rating, and it can pull on its own a load that would otherwise need roughly 600 trucks. Two locomotives used to be joined together for such a haul, so one WAG-12 now does the work of a pair, which the Home Minister called a landmark for Indian Railways. Options A and B, 6,000 and 9,000 horsepower, are lower ratings that do not match the machine described at the ceremony. Option D, 15,000 horsepower, is higher than the stated figure. A shed costing Rs 700 crore was opened at the same station precisely to maintain locomotive engines of this class, which is why the number is worth remembering with the shed.