(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)
Prelim and Main
1. Why India and China have pushed against climate change-related trade measures at COP29 READ MORE
2. SC issues guidelines to curb illegal demolitions: what it said, what do state laws say? READ MORE
3. What is Munambam waqf land dispute which has led to protests by Christians, Hindus READ MORE
4. Avian flu decimates over 17,000 elephant seals in Argentina, breeding populations most impacted READ MORE
5. Addressing N2O emissions key to meeting 1.5°C target, protecting human health, biodiversity: Report READ MORE
6. Climate emergency: Only 6 years left before global carbon budget for limiting warming to 1.5°C is exhausted READ MORE
7. ‘Sea ranching’ launched off Thiruvananthapuram as follow-up to artificial reef project READ MORE
8. India’s tea, sugar exports raise sustainability concerns at home | Explained READ MORE
9. India, Saudi Arabia discuss steps to boost defence industry partnership READ MORE
Main
GS Paper- 1
1. Extending net of protection online for children READ MORE
2. It’s not social constraints or access anymore — women are held back by lack of employment opportunities READ MORE
3. Women waste pickers in India: Transforming waste management amidst challenges READ MORE
GS Paper- 2
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. The perfect cocktail of layered discrimination READ MORE
2. India’s federalism dilemma: Cooperative model or competitive reality? READ MORE
SOCIAL ISSUES
1. Debating the ‘healthy longevity initiative’ READ MORE
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
1. Cautious rebuilding of Delhi-Kabul ties READ MORE
2. Taiwan and India: A partnership in climate action and sustainable development READ MORE
3. The UN Charter is Outdated and Unfit for Purpose READ MORE
4. BRICS Southeast Asia hype belies wider Indo-Pacific institutional stakes READ MORE
GS Paper- 3
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1. Surprise spike: On the Consumer Price Index READ MORE
2. The green transition India needs READ MORE
3. How marginalised are the marginalised in India: Evidence from the latest consumption data READ MORE
4. Food inflation: Soaring prices sink rate cut hopes READ MORE
5. Are e-commerce giants violating FDI norms? READ MORE
6. A good time for India to make a much-needed pivot in trade policies READ MORE
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Time to align climate & health policies READ MORE
2. Diverse, climate-responsive design is key to net-zero goals READ MORE
3. What the Global South can expect at COP29 READ MORE
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Inactivated COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac associated with TTP READ MORE
INTERNAL SECURITY
1. Manipur’s misery: On the need for the Centre to act READ MORE
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
1. India committed to Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction: PM’s aide P.K. Mishra READ MORE
GS Paper- 4
ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY
1. The complex morality in armed intervention READ MORE
2. AI and data ethics: Navigating the complexities of digital transformation READ MORE
3. Breaking the Cycle of Burnout READ MORE
Questions for the MAIN exam
1. As global conflicts and humanitarian crises continue to unfold, the UN’s ability to act decisively is increasingly questioned. Discuss how the enduring presence of veto power undermines the fundamental principle of sovereignty and democracy that the organisation purports to uphold?
2. India’s interest in cultivating the Colombo Security Conclave as a vital forum in the region is demonstrated by its need to look for avenues to enhance cooperation in the Indian Ocean. Analyse.
3. Organic farming is emerging as a sustainable agricultural solution, offering an eco-friendly alternative to conventional farming practice. Comment.
4. The global clean energy transition agenda is driven by social, environmental and economic concerns. Comment.
5. The IMEC is not a direct alternative to China’s BRI, but it is part of the global response to counter China’s growing economic influence. Discuss.
QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS
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- Federalism is part of the inviolable basic structure of the Constitution of India. The Indian Union is a federal union. States are the federating units.
- India is a federation of various ethno-linguistic stakeholders, none of whom is a majority in India. But the major ones among them form the basis of various linguistic States, where they are super majority.
- Constitutional judicial review is destined to always meet with unworthy and ungenerous efforts at denigration and the attribution of a specific political and “careerist” motive to justices.
- India’s energy transformation needs decentralised renewable systems, operational cost models, climate-resilient investments, global supply chain integration, digital solutions, circular economy practices, and better consumer financing.
- There is an urgent need to have an official estimate of the poverty line and bring in policy changes to impact the lives of the social groups less fortunate.
- While it is imperative to protect India’s interests in a country as strategic as Afghanistan, the Indian side must ensure it is not used by the Taliban to counterbalance the group’s relations with Pakistan, which are at an all-time low.
- For challenges like dengue, we need to implement interventions to reduce vulnerability, integrated vector control measures and greater response capacity within health systems.
- Funding for climate action can help protect systems necessary for human health and survival while reducing the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on health and yielding interconnected benefits.
- No public health programme has ever succeeded without the active cooperation and participation of the people. It is truer for AMR containment and preventing the world from sliding into the dreadful post-antibiotic era.
- There is an urgent need for structural reform, streamlining tax rates and enhanced digital transaction incentives to bring clarity, efficiency and fairness to tax regime.
- “Cooperative federalism” is at the core of democratic governance in India, but it does not require states to toe the Union government’s policy line.
- The enduring presence of veto power, monopolised by a select few nations, undermines the fundamental principle of sovereignty and democracy that the organisation purports to uphold.
- During the Cold War, amid shifting power balances, United States (US) bilateral alliances coexisted with indigenous multilaterals like the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and non-US minilaterals like the Five Power Defense Arrangements (FPDA) in Southeast Asia.
- The UN remains caught in a paradox, a global body designed to enforce peace and justice but, in practice, constrained by the very structures that enable the perpetuation of conflict and inequality.
ESSAY TOPIC
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- Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing inessential to take away.
50-WORD TALK
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- J&K Assembly resolution seeking dialogue with Centre on return to special status avoids mentioning Article 370. This makes it rhetorical in its sweep, but pragmatic in substance. It also shows how Omar Abdullah has matured in politics. There’s no need to be knee-jerked into negativity. This, in fact, is progress.
- A second term for Donald Trump is already making global climate action advocates wary. He’s a denier. He was reluctant to support past climate commitments, including financial support to India. The US exited from the Paris Accord in his first term. All this dampens the mood for COP29 in Azerbaijan.
Things to Remember:
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- 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.
