1. Understanding Ukraine’s counter-offensive What are the territorial gains made by the Ukrainian forces? How has Kremlin reacted? Ukrainian forces have pushed back Russian soldiers from most of Kharkiv Oblast, retaking thousands of square kilometres of territory. Russia has confirmed the retreat, saying it withdrew troops for “regrouping”. Ukraine says it has retaken some 3,500 square […]
1. The fall in natural rubber prices in India Why are natural rubber farmers protesting against the government? What has led to the decline in prices? After a moderate post-pandemic revival, the price of natural rubber (NR) has crashed to a 16-month low of ₹150 per kg (RSS grade 4) in the Indian market. Under […]
1. States told to implement adoption rules The instructions come despite concerns over jurisdiction of District Magistrates The Ministry of Women and Child Development has written to State governments, asking them to immediately implement the revised adoption rules requiring adoption orders to be passed by District Magistrates (DMs) instead of courts with effect from September […]
1. The tedious process of adoption What laws determine adoption rules in India? Why is referring cases to District Magistrates cause for concern? From September 1, District Magistrates (DM) have been empowered to give adoption orders instead of courts. All cases pending before courts have to be now transferred. The revised rules have parents, activists, […]
1. Why cloudburst forecast in India still remains elusive Monitoring stations on the ground can hardly capture cloudburst characteristics due to their highly localised and short occurrence Cloudbursts — violent and voluminous amounts of rain pouring down in a short duration over a small area — have been reported since the mid-19th century. Yet, the […]
1. India, China to take up remaining LAC issues India and China will take up remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) once the ongoing disengagement at Patrolling Point (PP) 15 in Gogra-Hot Springs is completed by Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. Beijing welcomed the disengagement at PP15 […]
India, China troops disengage at LAC friction point in Ladakh Pullback begins from Patrolling Point-15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area India and China on Thursday announced that their Armies have begun to disengage from Patrolling Point-15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area of eastern Ladakh, marking a step forward towards ending the stand-off ongoing since May 2020. The […]
1. Content moderation on Wikipedia What are the mechanisms Wikipedia uses to ensure that users do not have unrestricted editorial privilege? India has summoned officials of Wikipedia, in response to cricketer Arshdeep Singh’s Wikipedia page being edited with misleading information that stated he was a “khalistani”. To increase Wikipedia’s reliability and also to prevent vandalism […]
1. The Chilean referendum for a new constitution What led to the referendum? What were some of the proposed amendments? The people of Chile resoundingly rejected a new constitution which was set to replace a charter imposed by General Augusto Pinochet 41 years ago. In 2019, over a million people took to the streets of […]
1. Seat belts, head restraints and safety regulations What are the functions of seat belts and head restraints? Is India implementing its mandatory seat belt policy? The death of Cyrus P. Mistry, former Chairman of Tata Sons, in a car crash in Maharashtra’s Palghar district has turned the focus on whether compulsory use of seat […]
1. Deploying 5G in a world built on 4G technology The switch to a pureplay 5G architecture is no more a question of whether or not, but when and how Since 4G’s inception in the early 2010s, the number of smartphone users have grown significantly. According to Statista, the total number of smartphone users in […]
1. Flight test of LCA-Mk2 to be completed by 2027 Cabinet Committee on Security sanctioned the development of the model earlier this week at a total cost of ₹9,000 crore With the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) sanctioning the development of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk2, a bigger and more capable fighter than the […]
1. Paddy cultivation sees decline 5.62% decrease in the area covered this year compared to 2021, data show The trend of decrease in paddy sowing has continued even as the monsoon season in north India is in its last legs. According to the data released by the Union Agriculture Ministry on Friday, the decrease in […]
1. Vostok-2022 begins in Russia with India, China participating U.S. criticises India’s attendance in the joint military exercise An Indian Army contingent comprising troops from 7/8 Gorkha Rifles is participating in the multilateral strategic and command exercise ‘Vostok-2022’ which commenced on Friday at the training grounds of the eastern military district in Russia. The exercise […]
1. The jurisprudence of bail The Supreme Court has time and again reiterated that “bail is the rule and jail is the exception” The jurisprudence of bail in post-independent India, is anchored on the bedrock of Article 21 of the Constitution which states that liberty can be deprived only through the procedure established by law, […]
1. The concerns around Aadhaar-Voter ID linkage Why is the Election Commission keen on voters linking their Aadhaar with voter IDs? There have been instances of block officers mandating the linking of Aa dhar with Voter IDs after the Election Commission’s campaign to promote the linkage of Voter ID and Aadhaar which began on August […]
1. Centre picks 75 tribal districts for TB intervention project Move comes after door-to-door screening of over 68,000 villages in tribal districts After having run an active case-finding campaign to detect instances of Tuberculosis (TB) among tribal populations over the past six months, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Central TB Division of the […]
1. SC to review PMLA order on two aspects Judgment had found no reason for ECIR to be shared with accused, shifts burden of proof on them The Supreme Court on Thursday prima facie agreed to reconsider two aspects of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) upheld by its judgment on July 27, which […]
1. The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 Why is an amendment to the already existing Indian Competition Act necessary? As the dynamics of the market changes due to technological advancements, artificial intelligence, and the increasing importance of factors other than price, amendments became necessary to sustain and promote market competition. The long-awaited Bill to amend the […]
1. Reinvigorating the Chabahar port Why has interest in the Iran-based port suddenly spiked? How has the port construction progressed so far? The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal visited Chabahar on August 20. Mr. Sonowal reviewed the progress in the work on the terminal and handed over six mobile harbour cranes […]
Current affairs decide a large share of marks in UPSC Prelims, Mains and the Interview, and in TNPSC exams. Every morning our faculty publish the day’s important news from The Hindu, PIB, Indian Express and other sources — explained, organised by GS paper, and linked to the syllabus.
What each daily post includes
The key news of the day, grouped by GS Paper 1, 2, 3 and 4
Background and the static syllabus topic each story connects to
