💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (August Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Type: Prelims Only

  • Navy Chief: INS Nipun will enhance our critical underwater capabilities

    Navy Chief: INS Nipun will enhance our critical underwater capabilities

    Why in the News

    The Indian Navy has commissioned INS Nipun at Mumbai, a dedicated Diving Support and Submarine Rescue Vessel built for work beneath the surface.

    What capability does INS Nipun add?

    1. It is a specialist platform for underwater work: The vessel is built for deep sea diving, underwater intervention and submarine rescue.
    2. It can carry the rescue submersible: Its ability to embark and operate the Indian Navy’s Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel is what converts it into a rescue platform.
    3. The rescue role extends beyond Indian submarines: It can respond to a distressed submarine of the Indian Navy or of a partner navy, which is the basis of the claim that India can emerge as the region’s preferred submarine rescue partner.
    4. Its diving capability supports relief work: The specialised diving capability can assist partner nations in underwater salvage and in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) missions.
    5. Few navies hold the combination: The vessel brings together a range of capabilities possessed by only a handful of navies.

    Why does the Navy frame this as a strategic requirement?

    1. The maritime environment is described as contested: The Chief of the Naval Staff assessed that threat perceptions are constantly evolving and morphing into newer forms.
    2. Preparedness is the stated response: The exact nature of future threats cannot be predicted, so robust capability has to be built against anticipated threats in advance.
    3. The Western Naval Command gains a full column capability: The addition allows the command to operate above, on and beneath the waves.
    4. Integration is the immediate task: The command is to fold the vessel into operational plans, exercise her capabilities rigorously and develop proficiency around her systems.

    What does the vessel mean for indigenous shipbuilding?

    1. The builder is an Indian yard: Hindustan Shipyard Limited at Visakhapatnam designed and built the vessel indigenously.
    2. The class is new to the fleet: INS Nipun is the second ship of the Nistar class of diving support vessels.
    3. The Ministry of Defence frames it as self-reliance: The induction is presented as a further step towards self-reliance in defence shipbuilding.
    4. The platform type is rarely built domestically: A diving and rescue vessel is a niche design, so building it in India establishes a capability that cannot be sourced quickly from imports.

    Challenges to India’s submarine rescue and underwater capability

    1. Rescue is a race against the air supply: A disabled submarine’s crew survives on limited oxygen, so a rescue system has to be transported and mated within hours. Eg. All 118 crew aboard the Russian submarine Kursk died in the Barents Sea in 2000 before foreign rescue assistance was accepted.
      The Fix: Keep rescue systems prepositioned on both seaboards with standing mating certification against partner navy hatch designs.
    2. The fleet operates on two seaboards with few rescue platforms: Indian submarines patrol the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, and dedicated rescue assets are limited in number. Eg. India inducted its first Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle system only in 2018, with the second following the next year.
      The Fix: Retain air transportable rescue systems that can be flown to the nearest usable port instead of sailed from a home base.
    3. Rescue only works where the hatch fits: A rescue vehicle can dock only with a submarine whose escape hatch matches its mating skirt, so cross navy rescue depends on standardisation. Eg. The International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office exists to run exercises that test exactly this compatibility.
      The Fix: Certify Indian rescue systems against partner navy hatch standards and publish the compatibility list to regional navies.
    4. Naval shipbuilding timelines stretch: Indian yards have delivered warships and submarines behind their original schedules, which delays the capability rather than the contract. Eg. Deliveries under the Scorpene class submarine programme ran years behind the timeline set at signing.
      The Fix: Link yard payments to certified milestone completion rather than to calendar tranches.
    5. Saturation diving is a scarce skill: Deep diving support needs trained saturation divers and chamber operators, and that trained pool is small worldwide. Eg. Offshore energy operators and navies draw saturation divers from the same limited global workforce.
      The Fix: Run a joint naval and commercial diving training school whose certification is recognised for offshore industry work, so the pool grows beyond service requirements.

    Back2Basics: Hindustan Shipyard Limited

    1. Status: A shipyard at Visakhapatnam that was transferred to the Ministry of Defence in 2010 from the Ministry of Shipping.
    2. Origin: It was founded in 1941 as Scindia Shipyard and built India’s first indigenous merchant ship, Jala Usha, in 1948.
    3. Work: It builds and repairs merchant and naval vessels and carries out submarine refits for the Indian Navy.
    4. Current orders: It is building the Nistar class diving support vessels and the fleet support ships ordered for the Navy.

    [2026] Which of the following items of defence hardware is/are manufactured in India?

    1. Su-30 MKI Fighter Jets

    2. T-90 MK-III Tanks

    3. Akula Class Submarine

    (a) 1 and 2

    (b) 1 and 3

    (c) 1 only

    (d) 2 only

  • V-Dem’s democracy index rates India at its lowest since 1975

    V-Dem’s democracy index rates India at its lowest since 1975

    Why in the News?

    India is in the news after the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed serious concern over reported large-scale violations by law enforcement agencies and the exclusion of voters, particularly Muslims, during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The issue has gained further attention because the V-Dem Institute has also classified India among countries experiencing gradual autocratisation, reporting a decline in its electoral democracy score.

    About the V-Dem Institute

    1. Host and status: Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) is an independent research institute based at the Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
    2. Method: It uses a multidimensional approach to conceptualising and measuring democracy, aggregating ratings supplied by country experts rather than issuing a single composite judgement.
    3. Five principles measured: The dataset is organised around the electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative and egalitarian principles of democracy.
    4. Flagship output: It publishes an annual Democracy Report, releasing the index in March and naming the countries it assesses as autocratising or democratising.

    About the Electoral Democracy Index

    1. What it measures: It scores how far the ideal of electoral democracy is achieved in a country, on a scale from 0 to 1.
    2. Its conceptual base: It builds on the polyarchy concept, which requires elected officials, free and fair elections, freedom of expression, alternative sources of information, freedom of association and inclusive suffrage.
    3. Regime classes: V-Dem sorts countries into closed autocracy, electoral autocracy, electoral democracy and liberal democracy.
    4. The comparator to know: The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index is a separate exercise, scoring 60 indicators from 0 to 10 across five categories and classifying India as a flawed democracy.

    India in the latest reading

    1. The score is a 50 year low: India’s electoral democracy index score was 0.38 in 2025, below the 0.39 recorded in 1975 under Emergency rule.
    2. The ranking: India stands 106th among 179 countries, against Denmark at the top with a score of 0.9 in 2025.
    3. The classification: V-Dem lists India among countries autocratising slowly, with a systematic dismantling of democratic institutions.
    4. The decline is not new: India’s performance on the index has fallen gradually since 2009.
    5. The parameters at 50 year lows: Judicial accountability and judicial corruption, autonomy of the Election Management Body (EMB), impartial administration by public officials, media freedom and academic freedom are all at their lowest in 50 years.
    6. A parallel United Nations finding: The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in its first review of India since 2007, recorded grave concern over reports of large-scale violations by law enforcement officials and over the exclusion of large numbers of voters, Muslims in particular, under the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

    [2016] Which of the following is/are the indicator/ indicators used by IFPRI to compute the Global Hunger Index Report?

    1. Undernourishment

    2. Child stunting

    3. Child mortality

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1, 2 and 3

    (d) 1 and 3 only

  • ‘To find the rare & unusual’: NASA launches new space telescope

    ‘To find the rare & unusual’: NASA launches new space telescope

    Why in the News

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center. The telescope cost 4.3 billion dollars and is named after NASA’s first chief astronomer. It is bound for an observation point 1.6 million kilometres from Earth, the same location that already hosts the James Webb Space Telescope, and takes more than three months to reach it. A wide survey instrument is therefore being added to a fleet built around narrow and deep observation.

    What does the Roman Space Telescope add to the existing fleet?

    1. The field of view: Roman’s field of view is more than 100 times wider than that of the Hubble Space Telescope, which has been in orbit for 36 years.
    2. The survey speed: A month of Milky Way observations by Roman would take Hubble a century to complete.
    3. The division of work with Webb: Webb observes a narrower field and can reach objects almost as old as the Big Bang. Roman spots new worlds first, and Webb then targets them to fill in the detail.
    4. The wider observing network: Roman joins Hubble and Webb alongside the European Space Agency’s Euclid spacecraft and the National Science Foundation’s Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile.

    What is the mission set up to observe?

    1. The expected catalogue: The telescope is expected to record thousands of supernovae, tens of thousands of planets, billions of galaxies and tens of billions of stars.
    2. The unseen components: It is expected to shed light on the dark matter and dark energy that make up most of the universe and remain concealed.
    3. The rate of expansion: Its catalogue of galaxies will let scientists establish how quickly the universe is expanding under those forces.
    4. The centre of the galaxy: It will scan the galactic bulge at the dead centre of the Milky Way, giving the deepest view yet of the heart of the galaxy.

    Conclusion

    The telescope is in transit and its survey work begins only on reaching its observation point. The next marker is the first release from its galaxy catalogue, since the expansion rate measurement rests on that catalogue rather than any single observation.

    Back2Basics: Dark Matter and Dark Energy

    1. Dark matter: Matter that emits no light and is detected only through its gravitational effect. It is inferred from the rotation speeds of galaxies and from the bending of light by galaxy clusters.
    2. Dark energy: The name for whatever drives the accelerating expansion of the universe. It was inferred in 1998 from observations of distant Type Ia supernovae.
    3. Their share of the universe: Ordinary matter accounts for about 5 per cent of the universe’s content, dark matter for about 27 per cent and dark energy for about 68 per cent.
    4. Why supernovae carry the measurement: A Type Ia supernova has a known intrinsic brightness, so its observed brightness gives its distance. That property makes it the standard yardstick for measuring expansion.

    “[2022, GS3, 15 marks] Launched on 25th December, 2021, James Webb Space Telescope has been much in the news since then. What are its unique features which make it superior to its predecessor Space Telescopes? What are the key goals of this mission? What potential benefits does it hold for the human race?”

    [2016] With reference to ‘Astrosat’,’ the astronomical observatory launched by India, which of the following statements is/are correct?
    1. Other than USA and Russia, India is the only country to have launched a similar observatory into space.
    2. Astrosat is a 2000 kg satellite placed in an orbit at 1650 km above the surface of the Earth.
    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    [A] 1 only

    [B] 2 only

    [C] Both 1 and 2

    [D] Neither 1 nor 2

  • Sailing on uncertainty

    Why in the News

    Panama has declared a state of emergency over falling water levels in the Panama Canal. The trigger is an El Nino driven drought across the region, which has cut the fresh water the waterway needs to move ships. Canal authorities are rationing passage in response, cutting the number of vessels allowed through each day. A waterway is therefore limiting traffic for reasons of rainfall rather than of shipping demand.

    Why does a rainfall deficit stop ships in the Panama Canal?

    1. Every transit spends fresh water: The canal moves ships between two ocean levels through a series of locks, and each lockage releases stored fresh water that is not recovered.
    2. Rainfall over the watershed is the only refill: The reservoir system that feeds the locks is replenished by rain falling on the canal catchment, so a rainfall shortfall translates directly into fewer lockages the system can support.

    What does rationing transits mean for global shipping?

    1. The canal carries a fixed share of world trade: The shipping route handles 5% of global maritime trade, so a capacity cut is felt across ocean freight rather than in one region alone.
    2. Slots are being withdrawn in two steps: Daily transits fall from 36 to 34 from September 3, and to 32 later in the month.
    3. Vessels wait for the reduced slots: Container ships are queuing outside the canal for passage, adding waiting time to voyages that were scheduled against the old transit count.

    Conclusion

    Drought has turned the Panama Canal from a fixed piece of trade infrastructure into a variable one. Panama’s state of emergency is in force and the second stage of the transit cut takes effect later in September. The next marker is the canal authority’s own restoration notice, which will show whether the catchment has refilled.

    Back2Basics: Panama Canal

    1. What it is: An artificial waterway across the Isthmus of Panama linking the Atlantic Ocean, through the Caribbean Sea, to the Pacific Ocean.
    2. Opened and transferred: It opened in 1914 under United States control, and full control passed to Panama at the end of 1999.
    3. Capacity classes: An expanded set of larger locks opened in 2016, creating the Neopanamax class of vessel alongside the older Panamax limit.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2011] Between India and East Asia, the navigation time and distance can be greatly reduced by which of the following? 1. Deepeing the Malacca straits between Malaysia and Indonesia. 2. Opening a new canal across the Kraisthmus between the Gulf of Siam and Andaman Sea. (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 ANSWER: (b)”

  • Trump administration seeks to restrict internships for international students (CPT rules)Trump administration seeks to restrict internships for international students (CPT rules)

    Trump administration seeks to restrict internships for international students (CPT rules)Trump administration seeks to restrict internships for international students (CPT rules)

    Why in the News

    The Trump administration issued a memo, dated August 24, directing US universities to restrict Curricular Practical Training (CPT) work authorisations for international students. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), part of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said it had observed a rise in CPT authorisations that appear to violate the rule permitting CPT only where the training is an integral, curriculum-linked requirement. The memo warned that non-compliant institutions could lose certification to enrol foreign students, prompting the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley to pause certain CPT applications.

    Why does the CPT restriction matter for Indian students?

    1. Indian students form a large share of the affected pool: Indian nationals are among the largest cohorts of international students in the United States, concentrated in graduate programmes in science, technology, engineering and business where CPT and its post-study counterpart, Optional Practical Training, are commonly used to gain early work experience.
    2. CPT often bridges study and full-time employment: Many international students use CPT internships to secure the practical experience and employer relationships that later translate into full-time job offers and sponsored work visas, so tighter CPT rules narrow that pathway at its earliest stage.
    3. Institutional caution creates immediate uncertainty: Universities such as UCLA and UC Berkeley pausing CPT applications while they review the guidance leaves currently enrolled students without a clear timeline for authorisations they may need for the coming term.

    Challenges the CPT tightening creates

    1. Ambiguity in what counts as curriculum-integral training: The memo does not precisely define the line between legitimate curriculum-linked internships and authorisations SEVP considers a violation, leaving universities to interpret the standard conservatively. Eg. UC Berkeley’s international office described the August 24 memo as “more narrow in focus” and “more restrictive in nature” than earlier guidance, without full clarity on the new threshold. Fix. SEVP could issue detailed, program-specific criteria for curriculum integration, developed in consultation with universities, rather than a general compliance warning.
    2. Institutional risk pushes universities toward blanket caution: Because non-compliance risks an institution’s certification to enrol any foreign student, universities have an incentive to pause CPT broadly rather than assess applications individually, even where most are legitimate. Eg. UCLA paused certain CPT authorisations altogether while it determines next steps, affecting students beyond those the memo specifically targets.

    What is Curricular Practical Training (CPT)?

    Work authorisation tied to the curriculum: Curricular Practical Training is a work authorisation available to international students on an F-1 visa that allows off-campus employment or internships considered an integral part of an established academic curriculum, distinct from Optional Practical Training, which applies mainly after a course of study is completed.

  • India seals deal to purchase Javelin anti-tank missile system from US

    India seals deal to purchase Javelin anti-tank missile system from US

    Why in the News

    India has finalised a deal to buy the Javelin anti-tank guided missile system from the United States, with the Indian Army signing a Letter of Offer and Acceptance through the US Foreign Military Sales process. The US Embassy called the signing a “milestone” that strengthens the US-India Major Defence Partnership and opens discussions on co-production, extending a series of recent India-US defence deals that followed Operation Sindoor.

    What is the Javelin system, and how was the deal concluded?

    1. A man-portable, fire-and-forget missile: The Javelin is a single, man-portable, fire-and-forget, medium-range anti-tank guided missile designed for use against armoured vehicles and fortified positions. “Fire-and-forget” means soldiers do not need to remain exposed after launch, and “man-portable” means it can be carried by soldiers, a combination that makes it particularly effective.
    2. Produced by a joint venture, used by Ukraine: The Javelin is manufactured by the Javelin Joint Venture, a partnership between RTX and Lockheed Martin, and is used by the US Army and Marine Corps as well as several international customers, including Ukraine in its war with Russia.
    3. A prior clearance preceded the final signing: In November last year, the US had approved a possible foreign military sale of 100 FGM-148 Javelin rounds, one Javelin missile and 25 Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Units and related equipment, estimated at $45.7 million, ahead of Friday’s signed agreement.

    What does the deal signal for US-India defence ties?

    1. Co-production is now under discussion: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said in May that Washington had committed to pursuing co-production of Javelin munitions with India, calling it a real, tangible step to improve the collective readiness of both forces.
    2. Part of a broader run of recent procurements: The Javelin purchase follows India’s acquisition of 216 M982A1 Excalibur tactical projectiles, a planned purchase of six additional Boeing P-8I maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, US approval of support services and equipment for Apache helicopters worth $198.2 million, a five-year, Rs 7,995 crore support agreement for the MH-60R helicopter fleet, and an October 2024 deal for 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance drones.
    3. Built on the 2024 defence partnership framework: India and the US signed the framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership last October, a framework the current wave of procurements, including the Javelin deal, sits within.

    What is the Foreign Military Sales process?

    A government-to-government US arms transfer route: Foreign Military Sales is the US government’s mechanism for selling defence equipment and services to foreign governments, under which the US government, rather than the manufacturer directly, administers the sale.

  • PSU banks more efficient than private peers: EAC-PM

    PSU banks more efficient than private peers: EAC-PM

    Why in the News

    A paper by two economists for the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), a body that advises the Prime Minister on economic policy questions, found that public sector banks (PSBs) are more efficient than private and foreign banks.

    Titled “Reforms, Efficiency, and Productivity of Indian Banking Sector in the Last Decade: DEA Approach”, the paper used Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a method that measures how far a unit could shrink its inputs while producing the same output, to compare 47 banks.

    What does the study find?

    1. PSBs improved significantly: During 2014-15 to 2025-26, PSBs recorded average efficiency of 88.53%, compared with 85.62% for private banks. Foreign banks led over the full period: Foreign banks had the highest 12-year average of 88.98%, but their efficiency declined from 95.86% in 2014-15. Most efficient banks:
    2. HSBC and JPMorgan Chase: 100% efficiency in all 12 years.
    3. HDFC Bank: 97.54% average efficiency among private banks.
    4. State Bank of India (SBI): 97.49%, highest among PSBs.
    5. DBS Bank India: Lowest single-year efficiency of 40.12% in 2021-22, linked to its merger with Lakshmi Vilas Bank.
    6. Impact of PSB mergers: PSBs were relatively less efficient than private banks during FY2019 to FY2022, partly due to the merger and rationalisation of branches, employees and business operations.

    Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

    1. DEA is a method for measuring the relative efficiency of units, here banks, that produce the same kind of output from different combinations of inputs.
    2. An efficiency score below 100% means the unit could reduce its inputs by that shortfall and still produce the same output. Eg. A score of 85% means the unit could cut inputs by 15% without any loss of output.

    “[2024] Consider the following statements:
    Statement-I: Syndicated lending spreads the risk of borrower default across multiple lenders.
    Statement-II: The syndicated loan can be a fixed amount/lump sum of funds, but cannot be a credit line.
    Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
    (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
    (b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
    (c) Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
    (d) Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

  • Nuclear power operator plans new design unit to support pvt players

    Nuclear power operator plans new design unit to support pvt players

    Why in the News

    The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is setting up a new design vertical to support private companies deploying Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) technology. This follows recent legal reform enabling private participation in civil nuclear power. The move marks a shift from NPCIL’s traditional role as sole builder and operator of India’s nuclear fleet toward a design-support role for private entrants, addressing India’s stated need to scale nuclear capacity to meet rising electricity demand while keeping deployment within a technology NPCIL already operates at scale.

    Why does India favour PHWR technology for private entry?

    1. Established domestic supply chain: PHWR technology has been indigenised in India since the 1980s, giving it a mature domestic manufacturing and fuel-cycle base that a newly entering private player can draw on.
    2. Natural uranium fuel cycle: PHWRs use natural, unenriched uranium, avoiding dependence on enrichment technology that remains tightly controlled internationally.

    What does NPCIL’s new design unit change?

    1. From sole operator to technology enabler: NPCIL will now provide design support to private players rather than being the only entity that builds and runs reactors, opening a role private companies previously could not access.
    2. Institutional capacity test: Whether NPCIL’s new vertical can support multiple private projects simultaneously, without diverting engineering capacity from its own ongoing reactor construction, remains to be demonstrated.

    Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

    • PHWR = Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor uses heavy water (deuterium oxide, D₂O) as moderator and Coolant
    • It uses natural, unenriched uranium as fuel.

    Key Features of PHWR

    Heavy Water

    • Heavy water contains deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen.
    • It acts as both the moderator and coolant in PHWRs.

    Natural Uranium

    • PHWRs can operate using natural uranium, avoiding the need for uranium enrichment for the reactor fuel.

    Online Refuelling

    • PHWRs permit online refuelling.
    • Fuel bundles can be replaced while the reactor continues operating.
    • Therefore, the reactor does not need to be shut down for routine fuel replacement.

    “[2017, GS3, 15 marks] Give an account of the growth and development of nuclear science and technology in India. What is the advantage of fast breeder reactor programme in India?”

    [2023] Consider the following statements:
    Statement-IIndia, despite having Uranium deposits, depends on coal for most of its electricity production.
    Statement-II:Uranium, enriched to the extent of at least 60%, is required for the production of electricity.
    Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements

    [A] Both Statement-I and Statement – II are correct and Statement- II is the correct explanation for Statement- I

    [B] Both Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I.

    [C] Statement- I is Correct but Statement-II is incorrect.

    [D] Statement-I incorrect but Statement-II is correct.

  • ‘Killer robots’ are closer than ever, warn UN, ICRC

    ‘Killer robots’ are closer than ever, warn UN, ICRC

    Why in the News

    The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have jointly warned that the world is dangerously close to the autonomous targeting of humans by machines, renewing an urgent appeal for international regulation of lethal autonomous weapon systems. The statement renews a 2023 call by the UN Secretary General and the ICRC president for specific bans and restrictions on the technology by this year.

    Note: Lethal autonomous weapon systems are weapon systems that select targets and apply force without human intervention.

    What is the concern, and how has it changed since 2023?

    1. The warning has hardened, not softened: The two bodies stated their fundamental concerns remain unchanged from 2023 but that the underlying risks have intensified since then.
    2. The alarm includes the technology’s own developers: The statement highlights that scientists and engineers involved in developing these weapon systems have themselves raised concerns about the direction the technology is taking.
    3. No confirmed use yet, but the trajectory is the concern: Experts state there has been no confirmed use of fully autonomous weapons to directly target humans so far, and the warning is precautionary rather than a report of an actual deployment.

    International Regulation

    1. United Nations: The UN has repeatedly called for international rules governing autonomous weapons.
    2. Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW): Discussions on LAWS have taken place under the CCW framework.
    3. UN Secretary General and ICRC: Both have advocated prohibiting weapons that operate without meaningful human control and imposing strict restrictions on other autonomous weapons.
    4. International Humanitarian Law (IHL): Existing principles such as distinction, proportionality and precaution remain central to assessing autonomous weapons.

    India’s Position

    1. India has participated in international discussions on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems under the CCW.
    2. India has generally emphasised the importance of human control, international law and responsible development of emerging military technologies.
    3. For India, the issue is particularly relevant as AI, drones, robotics and autonomous systems become increasingly important in modern warfare.

    “[2025, GS2, 15 marks] “The reform process in the United Nations remains unresolved, because of the delicate imbalance of East and West and entanglement of the USA vs. Russo-Chinese alliance.” Examine and critically evaluate the East-West policy confrontations in this regard.”

    [2025] Consider the following statements regarding Al Action Summit held in Grand Palais, Paris in February 2025:
    I. Co-chaired with India, the event builds on the advances made at the Bletchley Park Summit held in 2023 and the Seoul Summit held in 2024.
    II. Along with other countries, US and UK also signed the declaration on inclusive and sustainable AI.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    [A] I only

    [B] II only

    [C] Both I and II

    [D] Neither I nor II

  • Congress urges PM to scrap caste census questionnaire

    Congress urges PM to scrap caste census questionnaire

    Why in the News

    The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha have written to the Prime Minister demanding that the questionnaire prepared for the caste census be scrapped. They have asked that a new questionnaire be prepared to ensure accurate enumeration of castes.

    What is being contested about the questionnaire’s design?

    1. The objection targets an open-ended format: The two leaders object to an open-ended format proposed for recording caste details, arguing it could allow the same caste to be recorded under different names, sub-castes, and linguistic variants, undermining accurate counts.
    2. They demand consultation before the survey form is finalised: The letter asks the government to formulate a new survey form only after consulting political parties, experts, and the public, rather than proceeding with the existing draft.
    3. The stated purpose is enumeration accuracy, not the census itself: The objection is to the questionnaire’s design, not to the decision to conduct a caste census, and the leaders frame the current format as an obstacle to the caste enumeration’s own stated purpose of social justice.

    Constitutional & Legal Angle

    • Article 15: Prohibits discrimination on grounds including caste and enables special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes.
    • Article 16(4): Enables reservation in public employment for backward classes that are not adequately represented.
    • Article 46: Directs the State to promote the educational and economic interests of weaker sections, particularly SCs and STs.
    • Article 340: Provides for a Commission to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes.
    • Article 17: Abolishes untouchability, making caste-related discrimination a key constitutional concern.
    • Privacy dimension: Caste is sensitive personal information, so enumeration also requires safeguards against misuse and unauthorised disclosure. UPSC has repeatedly tested the Right to Privacy under Article 21.

    Why Accurate Caste Data Matters

    • Reliable data → identify deprivation → better targeting of welfare → evidence-based reservation policy → social justice
    • Poor classification can lead to:
      • Under-counting of communities
      • Over-counting due to duplicate names
      • Difficulty comparing data across regions and time
      • Distorted assessment of representation and deprivation

    “[2009] Which one among the following South Asian countries has the highest population density ?

    (a) India

    (b) Nepal

    (c) Pakistan

    (d) Sri Lanka