(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)
Prelim and Main
1. Explained: Why is it so difficult to decipher the Harappan writing system? READ MORE
2. Several workers stuck in a coal mine in Assam: What is ‘rat-hole’ mining? READ MORE
3. Extreme rainfall, ferocious floods: How climate change is affecting Earth’s water cycle READ MORE
4. Indonesia is admitted to the BRICS bloc of developing nations, Brazil announces READ MORE
5. Climate change majorly disrupted global water cycle in 2024, led to Wayanad landslides: Report READ MORE
6. Guidelines on playing national anthem | Explained READ MORE
7. UGC’s new draft guidelines give powers to Chancellors to constitute panel to appoint Vice-Chancellors READ MORE
8. Water gushes out from underground in Rajasthan village: What is ‘artesian condition’, responsible for it? READ MORE
Main
GS Paper- 1
1. Gandhi’s arrest: A turning point in the global fight for freedom READ MORE
2. The implications of China’s mega-dam project | Explained READ MORE
3. What do the State of Forest Report 2023 findings mean? | Explained READ MORE
4. Imagine a society based on trust READ MORE
GS Paper- 2
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. The Collegium and changes — it may still be early days READ MORE
2. Enhancing governance the digital way READ MORE
3. Finally, a legal framework for data protection in India READ MORE
4. Early steps to digital dignity READ MORE
SOCIAL ISSUES
1. Why was the no-detention policy rolled back?: Explained READ MORE
2. India needs to prioritise preventive care READ MORE
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
1. A new chapter for India’s regional strategic policy READ MORE
2. BRICS: Will Actions Follow Words? READ MORE
3. India employs diplomacy in a turbulent South Asia READ MORE
GS Paper- 3
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1. How uniform taxation can turn the agricultural sector around READ MORE
2. Farmers’ demand for a legal guarantee for MSP is the bare minimum READ MORE
3. India must rethink export-led manufacturing READ MORE
4. Cooperative entrepreneurship: A pathway to inclusive growth and social justice READ MORE
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. India-EU green hydrogen partnership: Powering a sustainable future READ MORE
2. Unlocking philanthropy to meet India’s climate goals READ MORE
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. HMPV in India: A call for vigilance, not panic READ MORE
INTERNAL SECURITY
1. Pegasus probe needs new push READ MORE
2. Digital Personal Data Protection Act: Shaping India’s AI-driven fintech sector READ MORE
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
1. The lessons learnt since 2004 READ MORE
GS Paper- 4
ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY
1. Can netas uphold Rajdharm over conditional imperatives READ MORE
2. Divinely contagious READ MORE
Questions for the MAIN exam
1. Chanakya’s governance principles have left a lasting impact shaping modern governance theories, public administration, and strategic diplomacy. Examine.
2. Politics and ethical leadership often clash, yet pressing societal demand for moral governance remains paramount. Comment.
3. Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative emphasises fairness, impartiality, and respect for human dignity as the basis for ethical and just political decision-making. Discuss.
4. Moral foundations such as political fairness, community care, and loyalty play a pivotal role in shaping public perceptions of leadership in guiding polity. Comment.
5. While Kantian ethics are rooted in the framework of reason and autonomy, transcending cultural and religious boundaries, dharm emphasises spiritual, cultural and traditional harmony with cosmic principles. Justify.
6. Discuss why public welfare takes precedence over personal gain? How can political leaders balance ethical obligations with addressing critical issues while safeguarding social welfare and democratic values?
QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS
-
- A river is more than an amenity, it is a treasure.
- Any meaningful reform of the collegium system is possible only when the government stops stonewalling proposals, on arbitrary and often undisclosed grounds.
- Striking a balance and ensuring that the sovereign function of making judicial appointments would not come in the way of ensuring the autonomy of the courts was always going to be a sticky issue.
- Chanakya’s governance principles have left a lasting impact, particularly in South Asia, shaping modern governance theories, public administration, and strategic diplomacy.
- Building the capacity of participants to integrate digital tools has become essential to reimagining governance at every level.
- Digital governance represents a paradigm shift in how government employees and associated service providers or intermediaries such as contractors should engage with their work.
- The rapid evolution of digital tools necessitates ongoing training and upskilling opportunities to ensure that employees remain capable and confident in their roles.
- India’s digital governance initiatives have laid a strong foundation, but much remains to fully harness the potential of digital transformation.
- Higher procurement of millets, pulses and oilseeds and expanding their inclusion in the food security schemes would help redress the present imbalance in procurement.
- The dynamic principles of rajdharm, rooted in the ethos of Indian philosophy, emphasise selflessness, justice, and collective welfare over personal ambition.
- Moral foundations such as political fairness, community care, and loyalty must play a pivotal role in shaping public perceptions of leadership in guiding polity.
- While Kantian ethics are rooted in the framework of reason and autonomy, transcending cultural and religious boundaries, dharm emphasises spiritual, cultural and traditional harmony with cosmic principles.
- India’s neighbourhood ties will have its wins and losses in the neighbourhood, and it must learn to take them in its stride.
- Developing countries need not abandon manufacturing, but they must explore other paths to growth.
- Cooperative entrepreneurship is emerging as a transformative mechanism to address social and economic challenges, especially for marginalised communities.
- Cooperatives are crucial for fostering social justice in Eastern India by addressing systemic inequities and promoting inclusive growth.
- In the green-energy transition, green hydrogen has emerged as a promising vector for collaboration between India and the EU.
- The future of BRICS lies in its ability to balance diversity with unity and ambition with pragmatism. If successful, the grouping could redefine global power structures and become a cornerstone of an equitable world order.
- India demonstrated its commitment to the “Neighbourhood First” policy, even as domestic discourse increasingly acknowledged the strategic autonomy of its neighbours and recognised that internal factors driving regime changes or anti-India sentiments were often beyond New Delhi’s control.
ESSAY TOPIC
-
- A river is more than an amenity, it is a treasure.
50-WORD TALK
-
- ISRO’s SpaDeX mission takes India one step closer to achieving autonomy in space technology, testing a crucial docking mechanism required for the Bharatiya Antariksha Station, Gaganyaan, and Chandrayaan-4 missions. The space agency’s slow and steady achievements bode very well for India’s future in space, while ending 2024 with a win.
- RBI data shows NPA crisis left by UPA is under control. Bad loan ratios are at 13-year lows & additions of new NPAs are slowing. Unsecured loans are turning sour, but RBI has done what it can on those. It’s government that needs to implement policies to increase people’s incomes.
Things to Remember:
-
- For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
- Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
- For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
- For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
- Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.
