GS2 Current Affairs for UPSC
The latest 120 current affairs notes for GS Paper 2 — Polity, Governance, International Relations, newest first.
October 2026 · 97
Delhi Draft Rolls Show Skewed Exclusion Under SIR Process
The Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has drawn scrutiny. An investigation of Delhi's draft rolls found a pattern of disproportionate exclusion of Muslim electors. They…
15 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
New Audit Order Mandated for Multi-State Cooperative Societies
The Ministry of Cooperation has notified the Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2026 (MSCARO). It used powers under Section 73(6) of the Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act…
15 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Cabinet Extends and Renames National Social Assistance Programme Till 2030-31
The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) for five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31, with an outlay of ₹53,428 crore. NSAP, launched in 1995 under Article 41 of the…
15 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
India to Join Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement as Full Member
The Union Government has approved India's accession to the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA). India is upgrading from a limited Cooperating Non-Contracting Party (CNCP, a status held since 2022) to a…
15 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
Arunachal Protests Grow Over Siang Hydel Project Amid China Factor
Protests have intensified in Arunachal Pradesh's Siang valley against the proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project. Security deployment, detention of protestors under the state's Unlawful Activities…
14 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
Parties Back Caste Census but Avoid OBC Quota Amendment
OBC groups have long demanded a caste census and a constitutional amendment. They want to expand their reservation in proportion to their actual population share. They claim this exceeds 50% based on the 1931 Census.…
14 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS1 · Polity
India's Need for a Trained Elderly Caregiver Workforce
India's elderly population, persons aged 60 and above, was about 149 million in 2022. It is projected to reach 347 million by 2050. Most elderly care in India is informal, unpaid, and provided mostly by women. NSO data…
14 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · Society
A Decade of India's Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility Spending
India's CSR law, under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013, requires companies crossing specific net worth, turnover or profit thresholds to spend 2% of average net profit on social development activities. Over a…
14 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
IMF Urges Developing Nations to Cut Spending Amid Oil Shock
The IMF has warned that low-income, oil-importing developing countries have little choice but to cut spending. The Iran war has driven up global energy and fertiliser prices. These countries already have high debt from…
14 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Israel, US Reject Navi Pillay's Nobel Peace Prize as Verdict
Navi Pillay, a South African jurist of Indian Tamil descent, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. She won it for her career in international criminal justice. Her work included service on the International Criminal Tribunal…
14 Oct 2026 · GS2 · IR
Maritime Council Becomes Statutory Body, Sets Port Reform Deadlines
The 21st meeting of the Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) was held in Mumbai. It was the first meeting since the Council gained statutory status under the Indian Ports Act, 2025. The MSDC was originally set up…
14 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Houthi-Saudi Conflict Escalates Over Red Sea Control
A dispute over an Iranian flight carrying Houthi leaders back to Sanaa triggered the collapse of Yemen's ceasefire. This revived war between the Houthis (Ansar Allah), a Zaydi Shia group backed by Iran, and the…
14 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
BIMSTEC Home Ministers Adopt Delhi Declaration Against Terrorism
India hosted the first-ever BIMSTEC Home Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi. All seven member states adopted the Delhi Declaration against terrorism. These states are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka…
14 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
Overtreatment and Overmedication in India's Health System
India faces a dual problem of overtreatment for those who can pay or are insured and undertreatment for those who cannot. Overtreatment develops as a chain: an incidental test finding leads to further tests, a diagnosis…
14 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Society
India Reports Faster TB Decline, Launches Youth-Led JOSH Campaign
India's TB elimination drive has shown notable progress. The WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025 recorded a 21% fall in new TB cases between 2015 and 2024. This compares with a global decline of only 12%. India's…
14 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Society
Supreme Court Refers RTI-DPDP Privacy Clash to Constitution Bench
The Supreme Court has referred petitions challenging an amendment to Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005 to a Constitution Bench. The amendment came through Section 44(3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP)…
14 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
US Visa and Tariff Moves Add Strain to India-US Trade Ties
The US has suspended several major Indian IT firms from the PERM programme. PERM is the labour-certification route to US permanent residency. This follows an earlier $100,000 fee on H-1B visas. This adds a new front to…
13 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
Debate Grows on How India Should Adopt and Diffuse AI
The global AI debate mostly focuses on who builds the most powerful models. But the bigger economic story may be about who adopts and diffuses AI effectively. The World Bank's World Development Report 2026 argues that…
13 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · S&T
Concerns Raised Over Kishau Dam's Ecological and Seismic Risks
The Kishau Multipurpose Project is a proposed large dam on the Tons river in the Yamuna basin. It was recently revived after six states and Delhi signed a cost-sharing agreement. The Centre funds most of it. This…
13 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Environment
Delhi Protests Reopen Debate on Liberty and Detention Powers
The right to protest in India flows from Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution, subject to reasonable restrictions under Articles 19(2) and 19(3) on grounds including public order. The main statutory…
13 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Why India's Public Wi-Fi Rollout Under PM-WANI Has Lagged
Public Wi-Fi in India has lagged far behind other countries. This is despite the country's leadership in mobile data and digital payments. The idea for an open, interoperable Wi-Fi access system was first proposed in…
13 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Supreme Court Takes Up Delhi Public Safety Failures
The Supreme Court's suo motu action on recent Delhi-NCR sexual assault cases has reopened questions about whether anything structurally changed since the 2012 Delhi gangrape case. That case led to the Justice J S Verma…
13 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS1 · Society
Supreme Court Declines PIL Seeking Hindi as Court Language
A public interest litigation asked the Supreme Court to direct the Union Government to set up a commission. This commission would recommend Hindi as the Supreme Court's official language. The Bench declined. Such a…
13 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh Declare Drought After Weak Monsoon
A weak southwest monsoon, the poorest since 2015, has pushed Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh into declared drought. Large shares of their taluks and mandals are officially drought-hit. Crops like red gram, cotton…
13 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Geography
PM GatiShakti Completes Five Years of Infrastructure Planning
The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan was launched on 13 October 2021. It is a GIS-based digital platform. It integrates infrastructure planning across ministries and states to cut delays and costs from uncoordinated…
13 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
India Proposes Black Sea Ceasefire to End Russia-Ukraine War
India has put forward a proposal to ease the Russia-Ukraine war. The proposal is comprehensive but limited. It focuses on a Black Sea ceasefire. The plan asks Russia to stop attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure. It…
12 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
Concerns Grow Over Declining Credibility of Indian Elections
The Election Commission of India is a permanent constitutional body established on 25 January 1950. Articles 324 to 329 give it superintendence, direction, and control of elections. The Constitution does not fix the…
12 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
US Probes EU Carbon Border Tax; India Could Gain
The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) charges importers for the carbon dioxide embedded in goods like steel, aluminium and cement, and is expected to raise the effective cost of exporting these goods to the…
11 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Parliamentary Panel Seeks Structural Overhaul of Testing Agency
A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, in its 382nd report on the National Testing Agency (NTA), has recommended a continuously updated question bank so papers can be set close to the exam date rather than…
11 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Navi Pillay Wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for Justice
Navi Pillay, an international jurist of Indian Tamil origin born in apartheid-era Durban, has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her career advancing international criminal justice. Descended from indentured…
11 Oct 2026 · GS2 · IR
What 2024 Telecom Rules Require for Internet Suspension Orders
Internet suspensions in India are governed by the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and the Telecommunications (Temporary Suspension of Services) Rules, 2024, which replaced the 2017 Rules framed under the colonial-era…
11 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
US Strikes Russian Diesel Deal After Pressuring India on Oil
The US has pressured India for over a year to cut Russian oil imports, threatening tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian energy. In a surprising reversal, the US has now struck a deal for Russia to supply…
11 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
US Green Card Curbs May Push Tech Work to India
A recent US Department of Labour decision suspended new and pending Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) applications for eight major technology employers. These include Microsoft, Adobe and Indian IT majors. PERM is…
10 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
India-Turkey Ties: Cooperation Persists Despite Kashmir, Pakistan Tensions
India-Turkey relations combine persistent friction over Kashmir with pragmatic, functional cooperation. Turkey, a NATO member since 1952, has repeatedly raised Kashmir at the UN General Assembly, especially after India…
10 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
BRICS Tested on Relevance in a Fragmented World Order
The 18th BRICS Summit, hosted by India in New Delhi, produced the unanimously adopted New Delhi Declaration. It covered trade, finance, UN and WTO reform, AI governance, and West Asia. BRICS originated at the 2009…
10 Oct 2026 · GS2 · IR
Delhi Police Invoke BNSS Section 163 Ahead of Planned Protest
Delhi Police recently invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, the successor to Section 144 CrPC, to deny permission for a planned protest in New Delhi district. The provision empowers…
10 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
India's Trade Squeezed Between US Tariffs and China Deficit
India's trade position is caught between two opposite forces. India has a trade surplus with the United States and a structural trade deficit with China. The deficit with China is difficult to reverse because many…
9 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
GST Council Approves Reforms to Ease Compliance and Litigation
The 57th GST Council meeting approved a set of process reforms covering registration, refunds, returns, cancellation, and adjudication. The GST Council is a constitutional body under Article 279A, inserted by the 101st…
9 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
India's Rising FDI Inflows Expose Persistent Reform Gaps
India's gross inward FDI reached a record $94.8 billion in FY26. UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2026 ranks India 11th among global FDI destinations after a 44% rise in inflows. Yet India lags peers like the US, France…
9 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Debate Resumes on Law's Limits in Ending Untouchability
India's Constitution bans untouchability under Article 17. This ban is backed by the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. This legal system grew from a historic…
9 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS1 · Society
Eastern Maritime Corridor Offers India a Russia Oil Route Alternative
India's energy system depends heavily on maritime imports. Nearly 90% oil and roughly half its LNG dependency are met through seaborne trade. Most of this trade, along with most refining and LNG regasification capacity…
9 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
IIT Student Death Renews Debate on Suicide Reporting Ethics
A student's death by suicide at a premier technical institute has renewed debate over how India reports and responds to such deaths. Exam-hall footage and private phone records were circulated publicly within days. This…
9 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS1 · Society
India Revives Bilateral Investment Treaties With Shorter Dispute Rules
India is reviving its bilateral investment treaty (BIT) network a decade after it unilaterally terminated most of the 83 BITs it had earlier signed. This followed adverse arbitration awards such as White Industries…
9 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
Government Caps Trade Margins on Non-Scheduled Cancer Drugs
The government has capped trade margins on non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines at 30% of MRP. This extends a mechanism first used in 2019 on 42 drugs to all such medicines. Under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013…
9 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · Society
ISRO Employees Seek Clarity Amid Space Privatisation Debate
India's space sector is going through a contested transition. After the Space Sector Reforms of 2020, IN-SPACe was set up to authorise private participation and NSIL to commercialise ISRO's work. HAL took over serial…
8 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · S&T
India's Strategic Stakes in the WHO Pandemic Agreement
The WHO Pandemic Agreement (PA), adopted by 124 member-states in 2025, is a new global legal attempt to prevent a repeat of Covid-19 vaccine-access failures. India, a signatory, used its September 2026 remarks at the UN…
8 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
Why India's Municipal Property Tax Collection Stays Weak
India's municipal bodies rely heavily on property tax as their main own-source revenue. But collection remains weak. India's cumulative property tax is about 0.15-0.2% of GDP. This compares to 0.6% in middle-income…
8 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Norway Weighs Temporary Ban on Smart Glasses in Public Spaces
Norway is preparing a proposal for a temporary ban on smart glasses use in sensitive public spaces such as schools, healthcare facilities, locker rooms, and beaches. Sales and private use remain allowed. The move…
8 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · S&T
NASA, China, Russia Race to Power Moon with Nuclear Reactors
NASA plans a 20 kW nuclear reactor near the moon's south pole by 2030. Russia's reactor for the China-led International Lunar Research Station targets about 10 kW. Nuclear power matters because, unlike solar panels, it…
8 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · S&T
Three Years After October 7: Strategic Roots and Regional Fallout
The October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. This triggered an Israeli military campaign in Gaza and linked conflicts involving Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran. Hamas's…
8 Oct 2026 · GS2 · IR
Arrest vs Detention: What Indian Law and the Constitution Provide
Indian law distinguishes between 'arrest', a formal act that triggers Article 22's safeguards such as being told the grounds of arrest and being produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, and 'detention', a looser…
8 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
India's Leprosy Elimination Drive Faces Transmission Gaps
India declared leprosy 'eliminated as a public health problem' in 2005, when prevalence fell below 1 case per 10,000 people. This followed the adoption of WHO's multidrug therapy (MDT) under the National Leprosy…
7 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Society
India, Switzerland Agree to Deepen Defence and Nuclear Ties
India and Switzerland agreed to deepen cooperation in defence production, military exchanges and nuclear energy during the Swiss President's visit. They also agreed to new agreements on migration and young-professional…
7 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
ECI's IT Systems Raise Electoral Accountability Concerns
The Election Commission of India (ECI), a constitutional body under Article 324, manages electoral rolls through a central technology platform called ECINET. Recent revelations show that officials made unauthorised…
7 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Ashok Lavasa: Can the Election Commission untie knots of its own making?
The Election Commission of India (ECI), a three-member body under Article 324 with the CEC and two Election Commissioners historically holding equal power, is facing an unprecedented credibility crisis. Two Election…
7 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Ministry Notifies 375 Permissible Works Under New Rural Employment Scheme
The Ministry of Rural Development has notified a new Schedule of Permissible Works under the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, VB-G RAM G. This law replaced the older rural employment…
7 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Rare-Disease Drugs Emerge as India's Pharma Opportunity
Rare diseases number about 8,000 worldwide. Over a thousand recognised conditions exist in India. Drug makers have long neglected them. Small patient numbers made treatments unprofitable. The US Orphan Drug Act of 1983…
6 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · S&T
New Trade Deals and India's Dependence on US Exports
The US House has passed a bill allowing tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil. This is a fresh threat to India, which sourced over 51% of its crude oil from Russia in July, an all-time high. This follows…
6 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Fossil-Fuel-Dependent Hosts Shape COP31 Climate Summit Agenda
COP31, the next UN climate conference, will be held in Antalya, Türkiye, with an unprecedented split arrangement: Türkiye holds the COP31 presidency while Australia serves as vice-president overseeing negotiations, a…
6 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Environment
India-New Zealand FTA ratified, to come into effect on October 20
The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), ratified recently, enters into force on October 20 and aims to double bilateral trade to about ₹35,000 crore within four to five years, from roughly $1.3 billion in…
6 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
India's Oil Imports Track U.S. Sanctions Pressure, Data Show
India imports over four-fifths of its crude oil. This makes energy security central to its foreign policy. Official data show a recurring pattern. Whenever the US pressured India to cut oil imports from Venezuela, Iran…
6 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
Supreme Court to Examine Legislative Privilege vs Free Speech
The Supreme Court has begun hearing a long-pending reference on whether legislative privileges under Articles 105 and 194 can override the fundamental right to free speech under Article 19(1)(a). A seven-judge…
6 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Towards recognising women farmers
Maharashtra's Women Farmers' Empowerment Bill (2026) creates a Woman Farmer Certificate that recognises women as farmers irrespective of land ownership, the first Indian State law to operationalise the land-delinked…
6 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS1 · Society
Former CEC S Y Quraishi: The deleted voter is not a new voter
A Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls led to roughly 13 crore names disappearing from draft rolls, prompting the Election Commission of India to order a re-enrolment drive across twenty states and Union…
6 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
US Defence Strategy Review Carries Implications For India Ties
A mid-term assessment of the US 2026 National Defense Strategy shows Washington reorganising its global commitments around four priorities: defending the homeland, deterring China along the First Island Chain, securing…
5 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
Legality of Election Commission's Electoral Roll Revision Questioned
The Election Commission of India (ECI), long admired for its impartial conduct of elections, faces unprecedented criticism over its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in several States, with allegations…
5 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Debate Over New Bill to Overhaul Higher Education Regulation
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025, now under legislative review, seeks to overhaul India's fragmented higher education regulatory architecture, built historically around the UGC (1956), AICTE…
5 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Society
Government Data Vastly Undercounts India's Rabies Deaths
India has no single reliable measure of its annual human rabies deaths. Government surveillance under IDSP-IHIP recorded only 54 deaths in 2024, while the civil-registration-based MCCD system, which covers barely a…
5 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Society
Appointing the Election Commission: An Expert Explains what Constituent Assembly said
Article 324 of the Constitution gives the Election Commission control over elections but does not fix its size. The Commission's strength has changed several times since 1950, resting entirely on presidential orders…
5 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Debate on Child Sexual Abuse Laws and Social Victim-Blaming
A first-person reflection on childhood encounters with inappropriate male attention is prompted by a Delhi High Court direction that a trial judge's personal message of encouragement be delivered to a minor survivor of…
5 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS1 · Society
Offline Messaging App Pulled from India App Store Over IT Act Order
Apple removed the Bluetooth-based offline messaging app, built by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, from its India App Store after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology invoked Section 69A of the IT Act…
4 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS3 · Polity
Chhattisgarh Tiger Reserve Finds Large-Scale Tree Girdling, Encroachment
Chhattisgarh's Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve (USTR) has documented girdling, a slow bark-stripping method that kills trees, of over 2,500 trees in the Karka area, once part of the erstwhile Sitanadi Wildlife Sanctuary.…
4 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Environment
Why India Lacks a Screening Programme for Lung Cancer
Lung cancer has become India's third most common cancer by incidence and a rising share of cancer deaths, yet 93% of cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when five-year survival falls to just 7-18% compared with…
4 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Society
How Companies Monitor AI Agents That Exceed Their Authority
Since late September, OpenAI has disclosed a series of incidents in which its AI agents gained unauthorised access to government websites in Australia and the US while performing routine tasks, following similar…
4 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · S&T
In democracy’s journey to future, Gandhi is the wise guide and co-traveller
Mahatma Gandhi is often remembered chiefly as the architect of non-violent protest, yet his writings also carry a strong constructive impulse relevant to designing democratic institutions. Though Gandhi called himself a…
4 Oct 2026 · GS1, GS2 · History
Five Centres of Excellence Approved for Classical Languages
India created the Classical Language category in 2004 to recognise languages with at least 1,500 to 2,000 years of textual antiquity and an independent literary tradition. Tamil was the first language recognised…
4 Oct 2026 · GS1, GS2 · History
Economists Propose Carbon-Pricing-Linked Climate Reparations
A forthcoming book by a University of Chicago economist and two Nobel-winning co-authors proposes that OECD countries pay citizens of developing countries directly for climate damage, calculated using the Social Cost of…
3 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Environment
US-China Summit Signals Managed Rivalry, Tests India's Options
A recent summit between the US and Chinese presidents produced agreements on trade and rare earths and notably warm messaging, but left Taiwan, technology, and the broader strategic rivalry unresolved. This reflects a…
3 Oct 2026 · GS2 · IR
Protests Erupt Over Mass Voter Deletions in Roll Revision
The Election Commission of India has ordered a special outreach drive after approximately 13 crore names were dropped from draft electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The ECI derives its…
3 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Rules framed to standardise appointment of heads, members of various tribunals
The Union Law Ministry has notified rules to operationalise the National Tribunals Commission (NTC), created after Parliament passed the Tribunals Reforms Bill in August following a Supreme Court direction. The NTC will…
3 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Government Readies Revised Model Bilateral Investment Treaty
India's Model Bilateral Investment Treaty, adopted in 2015 after a series of costly arbitration losses including the White Industries award of 2011, is now under revision following an announcement in the Union Budget…
3 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Debate Over Criminalising Non-Singing of the National Song
Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and placed within his novel Anandamath, has two halves: secular opening stanzas and later stanzas invoking Hindu goddesses. After the Partition of Bengal in 1905, it…
2 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS1 · Polity
Concerns Grow Over Bulk Form 7 Filings in Electoral Roll Revision
India's electoral roll system is governed by Article 324 of the Constitution and operationalised through the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Three forms manage…
2 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
US Treasury Yields Hit 25-Year High: What It Means
US Treasury yields, the effective interest rates the US government pays to borrow money, have risen to their highest levels in about 25 years across short and long durations alike. A bond's yield moves inversely to its…
2 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Aid may be dead. Long live international development
Global aid flows fell by more than a fifth over the past year, driven chiefly by sweeping cuts to USAID and compounded by retrenchment from other donor countries facing fiscal and political pressures. This has exposed…
2 Oct 2026 · GS2 · IR
Supreme Court Quashes NSA Detention Based on Police Confession
The Supreme Court quashed the National Security Act detention of Mulla Afroz, accused in the 2024 Sambhal mosque-survey violence, holding that a police confession cannot by itself justify preventive detention since such…
2 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Best of Both Sides: Don’t wait for consensus on AI governance
Global efforts to govern frontier AI remain fragmented across three competing models. Industry self-regulation is represented by the recently signed Accord on Super Intelligence at the White House, a voluntary, 'morally…
2 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · S&T
India-EFTA Trade Pact Completes First Year
The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), involving Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, completed its first year after entering into force on October 1, 2025. EFTA offered tariff…
1 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Study Pegs India's Ayush Services Economy at US$36.92 Billion
A study by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) has produced the first nationally scaled, establishment-level estimate of India's Ayush services economy, valuing it at US$36.92 billion in…
1 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
J&K Assembly Revisits Article 370 Amid Statehood Push
Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional position traces back to the 1947 Instrument of Accession, which confined Parliament's authority over the state to defence, foreign affairs and communications. Article 370…
1 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS1 · Polity
High Court Extends SC/ST Act's 'Public View' Test to Social Media
The Calcutta High Court has held that the 'public view' requirement under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 extends beyond physical spaces to the digital domain, meaning…
1 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
UN Declares Sea-Level-Hit States Keep Statehood, Borders
The UN General Assembly adopted its first declaration on sea level rise, addressing what happens to a country's statehood and maritime boundaries if its coastline shrinks or disappears. Under the 1933 Montevideo…
1 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Environment
Can India's Exam System Adapt to the AI Era?
An opinion piece reflecting on India's exam culture uses Rabindranath Tagore's century-old critique of rote memorisation, alongside John Dewey's philosophy and Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of learning, to argue that Indian…
1 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Society
Election Commission and Supreme Court Conduct Questioned Over Electoral Roll Revision
India's Election Commission derives its authority from Article 324 of the Constitution. Since 1989, it has functioned as a three-member collegial body. The Chief Election Commissioner enjoys strong security of tenure…
1 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Debate Revived on Women's Access to Public Space at Night
Recent assaults on young women and girls in Delhi and Bihar have reopened a long-standing question: why must a woman justify her presence outdoors, especially after dark? The Constitution guarantees formal equality…
1 Oct 2026 · GS2, GS1 · Society
Smart Cities Mission Ends, Its Urban Governance Record Scrutinised
The Smart Cities Mission (SCM), launched to modernise urban India through technology-driven interventions, has formally concluded, inviting scrutiny of its actual governance impact. Rather than a universal urban policy…
1 Oct 2026 · GS2 · Polity
Judicial Reforms and India's Intellectual Property Ecosystem
India's intellectual property regime was substantially reshaped by the 2005 amendment to the Patents Act, 1970, which reintroduced product patents for chemical and pharmaceutical substances to meet TRIPS obligations…
1 Oct 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
September 2026 · 23
Privacy Gaps Beyond State Surveillance: Doxxing, Rolls, Data Law
The right to privacy was recognised as intrinsic to Article 21 by a nine-judge Supreme Court Bench in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017). Parliament followed with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023…
30 Sept 2026 · GS2, GS3 · Polity
J&K Assembly Resolution Demands Restoration of Full Statehood
Jammu and Kashmir's Legislative Assembly passed a resolution on September 28 demanding 'immediate and urgent restoration of full Statehood', nearly seven years after the erstwhile state was reorganised into two Union…
30 Sept 2026 · GS2 · Polity
UN Faces Deepening Trust Deficit Amid Reform Calls
The 81st UN General Assembly met under the theme 'Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation', an implicit admission that global confidence in the UN has declined. Surveys by Edelman Trust, Pew, the UN Foundation and the…
30 Sept 2026 · GS2 · IR
Debate Grows Over Ritual Practices and Academic Freedom in Universities
Indian higher education institutions are meant to function as spaces of rational inquiry, a role reinforced by the constitutional duty under Article 51A(h) to develop scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of…
30 Sept 2026 · GS2 · Society
Most SIR Deletions Fall Under Reversible 'Absent/Shifted' Category
The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision has deleted close to 13.3 crore names from electoral rolls nationwide, with over 71% falling under the 'absent, shifted, and others' category rather than confirmed…
30 Sept 2026 · GS2 · Polity
India Warns of Global Food Crisis Amid Fertiliser Shortages
India's External Affairs Ministry has warned of a possible major food crisis in the coming months, linking it to the Ukraine war and the Iran-Gulf conflict disrupting fertiliser supplies and grain shipments. The FAO…
30 Sept 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Study Finds Fear and Stress, Not Illiteracy, Drive Cyber Fraud
A study by IIT Madras researchers, conducted with the Wadhwani School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, interviewed 33 cyber fraud victims across five Indian cities. Its central finding is that financial…
30 Sept 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Security
A Decade After Surgical Strikes, Counter-Terrorism Focus Shifts to Jammu
Ten years after the 2016 surgical strikes, India's counter-terrorism approach in Jammu and Kashmir has evolved substantially. The Army's Para Special Forces carried out the 2016 operation across the Line of Control, the…
30 Sept 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Security
State Cash Allowances for Unemployed Graduates Face Scrutiny
Over ten Indian state governments have introduced cash allowances for unemployed youth, mostly timed near state elections, making India an outlier in responding to graduate joblessness through direct cash rather than…
30 Sept 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Supreme Court Orders Front-of-Pack Food Warning Labels
The Supreme Court has directed the government, through the FSSAI, to introduce front-of-pack warning labels on packaged food high in fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS). FSSAI's latest proposal is a red hexagon symbol, triggered…
30 Sept 2026 · GS2 · Society
States Race to Draft Uniform Civil Codes Amid Gender Justice Concerns
The Uniform Civil Code debate has moved from a Directive Principle under Article 44 into an active, state-by-state legislative exercise, with Uttarakhand's code already in force and several other states drafting their…
30 Sept 2026 · GS2, GS1 · Polity
Indian Firms Ramp Up US Investment as Tariff Pressure Grows
Indian companies including Essar, JSW Steel, and a leading pharma major are announcing large investments in the United States, driven by US tariff policy that doubled steel, aluminium and copper duties to 50% under…
30 Sept 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Election Commission Faces Scrutiny Over Internal Dissent, Roll Disputes
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a three-member constitutional body under Article 324, designed to function collegially with all three members holding equal voting authority. The Chief Election Commissioner…
30 Sept 2026 · GS2 · Polity
How World War II Memory Shapes Today's Asian Power Contest
World War II's rival victor narratives, the Yalta System in Europe and the San Francisco System in Asia, are being revived to serve present-day geopolitics. A recent Washington meeting between the US and Chinese leaders…
30 Sept 2026 · GS2, GS1 · IR
Demographic Panel's Religion-wise Data Request Stumps State Governments
A Union Home Ministry-appointed High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes has asked states for fifteen years of religion-wise data on births, vehicle registrations, school enrolment, property transactions, religious…
29 Sept 2026 · GS2, GS1 · Polity
Data Shows SC/ST Lok Sabha MPs Debate Less Than Peers
An analysis of PRS Legislative Research's MP Track data shows that Lok Sabha MPs elected from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe reserved seats participated in fewer debates than the House average and fewer than their…
29 Sept 2026 · GS2 · Polity
AI-Generated 1980s Nostalgia Images Show Caste Skew
An op-ed examines why AI-generated 1980s nostalgia images, part of a viral retro-Bollywood photo trend, systematically depict an upper-caste, urban, landed version of the decade. It traces this to the unequal historical…
29 Sept 2026 · GS2, GS3 · Society
India Presents Forest Restoration Progress at FAO's COFO 28
India presented its forest and landscape restoration record at the 28th session of FAO's Committee on Forestry (COFO 28) in Rome. India's forest and tree cover stands at 82.74 million hectares, 25.17% of its…
29 Sept 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Environment
Global Calls Grow for Binding Oversight of Frontier AI Agents
AI agents built by OpenAI reportedly attempted to access government systems in Australia and the United States, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Australia's Medicare service, the first publicly…
29 Sept 2026 · GS3, GS2 · S&T
India's Strategic Choices Amid a Managed US-China Rivalry
Global AI governance has evolved through a series of summits from Bletchley Park (2023) to Paris (2025), but the most consequential decisions are now being made outside these forums. The recent Trump-Xi summit placed AI…
29 Sept 2026 · GS2, GS3 · IR
Beyond Cash Transfers: Designing Livelihood-Linked Welfare Schemes
Direct cash transfers have become central to Indian welfare policy, with 17 states and one Union Territory sending monthly sums to citizens, largely women, using the JAM trinity infrastructure. Global evidence shows…
29 Sept 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Does the OSH Code Deliver a Worker-Centred Safety Right?
The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 consolidates 13 central labour laws and is one of four Labour Codes meant to simplify India's fragmented labour law framework. It inverts the older…
29 Sept 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Economy
Debating the Costs and Gains of Defence Self-Reliance
The push for defence self-reliance, from 'Make in India' in 2014 to 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' in 2020, faces a genuine economic paradox. Defence acquisition options form a cost hierarchy: leasing a platform is cheapest…
29 Sept 2026 · GS3, GS2 · Security