Relevance: GS Paper I – Indian Society; GS Paper II – Governance & Social Justice Source: The Indian Express analysis and commentary by Yogendra Yadav Context  The caste system in India is one of the oldest forms of social hierarchy in the world —…

Relevance: GS-III (Environment; Public Health); GS-II (Governance) Green crackers are redesigned fireworks developed by India’s National Environmental Engineering Research Institute under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. They cut particulate and gas emissions by roughly 30–40 percent compared with many conventional formulations and…

Relevance: GS-III (Science & Tech; Disaster Management) A magnetic switchback is a sharp, S-shaped kink in the solar wind’s magnetic field that briefly flips direction before snapping back. Long seen close to the Sun by the Parker Solar Probe, scientists have now reported a…

Relevance: GS-II Governance (Education & Youth); GS-III Economy (Skills & Employment) What it aims to fix A national Prime Minister’s Internship push is expected to make internships universal, credit-bearing and paid, so students get real-world exposure before graduating—and employers, districts and startups tap fresh…

Relevance: GS-II Education; GS-III Science & Technology What’s changing From 2026–27, artificial intelligence will be threaded through the school curriculum from Class 3 onward. The Central Board of Secondary Education is building a grade-wise framework, and a pilot already helps teachers use AI tools…

Relevance: GS-III – Science & Tech (AI); GS-II – Governance & Regulation What it is DeepSeek R1 is a next-generation language model built for reasoning. Instead of only predicting the next word, it is trained to think through problems—math, code, planning—using reinforcement learning that…

Relevance: GS-III – Environment & Biodiversity; Conservation Governance The Green Status of Species is the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s new yardstick that looks beyond “risk of extinction” to ask a hopeful question: how far has a species recovered, and how much did…

Relevance: GS-II – Governance; GS-III – Science & Technology (Digital governance) The problem with the old PIN India’s Postal Index Number (1972) is a 6-digit area code. It works for mail routes but not for flat-level accuracy. In crowded bastis, new layouts or hilly…

Relevance: GS-III – Economy; Science & Technology (Digital Public Infrastructure) What it is Global Fintech Fest (GFF) is India’s annual showcase of digital public infrastructure—identity, payments and data-sharing rails—and the place where regulators, banks, startups and global funds announce pilots and partnerships. Why it…

UPSC relevance: GS-III (Economy, Energy, Environment) & GS-II (International Relations—Indus basin) The news, briefly India has moved ahead with the 1,856 megawatt Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project on the Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir. The project—first accorded environmental clearance earlier and long delayed—has regained momentum after…

UPSC relevance: GS-III (Environment, Biodiversity, Conservation) The news, briefly Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh has been admitted to UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves under the Man and the Biosphere Programme, making it India’s first cold-desert biosphere reserve. The designated area spans ~7,770 sq…

Relevance: GS-III (Indian Economy—Growth & Development) What the chart measures The ratio lines compare nominal GDP in US dollars between two countries. A lower ratio means India has moved closer to that economy; a higher ratio means the gap has widened. Key takeaways (2014…

Relevance: GS-III (Indian Economy—Growth, Industry, Data & Indices) Why revise the base year? India’s economy has shifted towards new products (LEDs, mobiles, EV parts) and new supply chains, while many old items have faded. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) still uses 2011-12 as…

Relevance: GS-I (Society & Culture), GS-II (Governance—Border Areas), GS-III (Economy, Environment, Infrastructure) Context: Arunachal Pradesh shows how a remote, diverse, border State can blend tradition with modern opportunity. In three ideas—connect people, dignify livelihoods, and protect nature—the State offers repeatable lessons for India’s next…

The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Maria Corina Machado, a Venezuelan politician and long-time advocate of democracy and civil liberties.  The Norwegian Nobel Committee recognised her for her “extraordinary civilian courage in leading Venezuela’s democracy movement” amid decades of authoritarian rule…

Relevance: GS-III (Economy—Financial Inclusion, Banking), GS-II (Governance—Social Protection) Context New sector data from Sa-Dhan show a sharp rise in missed repayments across India’s microfinance industry in 2024–25. Rural borrowers and Bihar bear the brunt. The stress is linked to income shocks, over-lending in some…

Relevance: GS-I (Society—Population & Demography), GS-II (Governance—Social Sector), GS-III (Economy—Employment, Skilling) Essence. India has entered a new demographic phase: fertility is near replacement level in most States, longevity is rising, migration is reshaping districts, and the share of elders will grow quickly. A demographic…

Relevance: GS-II (International Relations, India and its Neighbourhood), GS-III (Internal Security) Why this matters now India has announced that its technical mission in Kabul will be upgraded to an embassy. The External Affairs Minister met Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi,…

Relevance: GS-III (Economy—Employment), GS-II (Governance) Context. India’s growth is not translating fast enough into good first jobs for degree-holders. The sharpest pain is among youth and educated women. Long job searches, queues for low-skill posts, and exits from the labour market point to a…