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Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for November 5, 2025. If you missed the November 4, 2025, UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here.
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests, Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
What’s the ongoing story: As Delhi reaffirmed its support for the Gaza peace and underlined that “our two nations face a particular challenge from terrorism”, visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi Tuesday, said Israel and India are “building a long-term strategic partnership”.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is the status of India-Israel relations? How have they evolved in the last 2 decades?
— What are the areas of cooperation between both the nations?
— What is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor?
— Know about the historical background of the Israel-Palestine conflict?
— What is India’s stand on Gaza peace plan?
— What is the significance of peace in the region from India’s perspective?
— How does cross-border terror pose a huge security challenge for India?
— India’s counter-terrorism doctrine—Know its evolution.
Key Takeaways:
— Jaishankar, on his part, said, “India and Israel have a strategic partnership and, particularly in our case, that term has a real meaning. We have stood together in testing times. And we have created a relationship with a high degree of trust and of reliability.”
— Jaishankar said, “Our two nations face a particular challenge from terrorism. It is essential that we work towards ensuring a global approach of zero-tolerance towards terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations.”
— Sa’ar said, “Radical terror is a mutual threat to Israel and India. We strongly condemn the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam.”
— In his talks with Jaishankar, he said, “I believe that India is the future… India is the world’s largest democracy and fastest growing economy. India is a global superpower. And Israel is a regional powerhouse. Our nations already share a warm friendship. Our goal is to build a long-term strategic partnership between Israel and India.”
— Jaishankar said, “India has developed many new capabilities, especially in rail, road and port infrastructure, in renewable energy and in health. Our businesses are very keen to explore opportunities in Israel and we would certainly like to give that more attention.”
— “Given our strategic cooperation, an exchange of perspectives on regional and global issues also holds great value. There are some plurilateral initiatives in which we both have a strong interest,” he said.
— Sa’ar said, “I believe that the future for regional partnerships is bright. Israel supports regional connectivity projects such as I2U2 (India, Israel, UAE and US) and IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor). We want to promote connectivity between South Asia, West Asia and Europe”. This is Sa’ar’s first official visit to India, ahead of a possible visit by Netanyahu in December this year.
From Politics Page- India, Israel ink pact on defence cooperation
— India and Israel Tuesday signed a pact on defence cooperation that seeks to provide a unified vision and policy direction to deepen the already strong ties between the two countries, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
— The MoU was signed during the 17th meeting of Joint Working Group (JWG) on defence cooperation, co-chaired by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Director General of Israeli Ministry of Defense Maj Gen (Res) Amir Baram in Tel Aviv, the statement said.
— “The MoU will enable the sharing of advanced technology and would promote co-development and co-production,” the ministry noted.
Do You Know:
— India established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992. Since then, trade between the two countries has been rising significantly. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) brief on foreign relations, India is Israel’s second-largest trading partner in Asia and the seventh-largest globally.
— Shubhajit Roy writes- “India has a very deep strategic relationship with Israel, especially in the context of defence and security partnership. In the last decade or so, it has grown and has been made public — unlike in the past.”
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍PM Modi hails Trump’s Gaza peace efforts, calls it decisive progress
📍India has stakes in Gaza’s peace
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(1) The term “two-state solution” is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of (UPSC CSE 2018)
(a) China
(b) Israel
(c) Iraq
(d) Yemen
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
“India’s relations with Israel have, of late, acquired a depth and diversity, which cannot be rolled back.” Discuss (UPSC CSE 2018)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance, Polity and Governance.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Constitution of India — significant provisions and basic structure, Government policies and interventions.
What’s the ongoing story: The Bollywood film Haq, set to be released this Friday (November 7) and starring Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi, is inspired by the 1985 Shah Bano case. Revisiting one of the most politically charged cases in India’s history, the film now faces a legal challenge from the daughter of the woman who inspired it, allegedly for not seeking permission to use her identity.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is the significance of the Shah Bano case (1985) for women’s rights in India?
— What is the Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?
— What are the constitutional provisions related to UCC?
— How the Shah Bano case highlighted the tension between personal laws and the principle of equality under the Constitution?
— How did the Shah Bano case revive the debate on UCC?
— Why did some oppose the Shah Bano judgement?
Key Takeaways:
— The case began with a 62-year-old Muslim woman’s plea for maintenance from her husband after their divorce, sparking a national debate on secularism, minority rights and the need for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
— In 1978, Shah Bano Begum, a mother of five from Indore, was divorced by her husband and advocate Mohammed Ahmad Khan, after 43 years of marriage. He divorced her by pronouncing an irrevocable ‘talaq’. For a few months, he paid her a small maintenance sum, but then stopped.
— With no means to support herself, Shah Bano filed a petition in court under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973. This is a secular provision that obligates a person with sufficient means to provide maintenance to those he is responsible for, including his wife, who is unable to maintain herself. The explanation in the section clarifies that “wife” includes a divorced woman who has not remarried.
— Khan contested the petition, arguing that under Muslim personal law, his liability was limited to the period of iddat — the waiting period of about three months after divorce, during which a woman cannot remarry, under Muslim personal law. He stated that he had paid her maintenance for this period and also paid her the deferred mahr or dower, which is the sum paid as a right of the wife during the marriage. Thus, he claimed, he had no further obligation.
— A local court directed Khan to pay a nominal Rs 25 per month. On appeal, the Madhya Pradesh High Court increased the amount to Rs 179.20 per month. Khan then appealed to the Supreme Court.
— On April 23, 1985, a five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by then Chief Justice YV Chandrachud, delivered a unanimous judgment. The court dismissed Khan’s appeal and upheld the High Court order.
— The court held that Section 125 of the CrPC is a secular provision that applies to all citizens irrespective of their religion. It stated that the provision was enacted to prevent destitution, and there was no reason to exclude Muslim women from its ambit. It concluded that if a divorced Muslim woman is unable to maintain herself, she is entitled to claim maintenance from her former husband even after the iddat period.
— The bench ruled that there was no conflict between Section 125 and Muslim personal law on the question of a husband’s obligation to his divorced wife. It referred to the Quran to hold that it imposes an obligation on a Muslim husband to provide for his divorced wife. The judgment also expressed regret that Article 44 of the Constitution, which suggests that the state institute a Uniform Civil Code, remained a “dead letter”.
— Facing political pressure, the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government, which had a substantial majority in Parliament, passed The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, to nullify the judgment.
— The new law stipulated that a divorced Muslim woman was entitled to a “reasonable and fair provision and maintenance” from her former husband only during the period of iddat. After this period, the responsibility of maintaining her would shift to her relatives, who would inherit her property and, if they were unable to do so, to the state Waqf Board.
— The constitutional validity of the 1986 Act was immediately challenged. The case came before a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in 2001.
— The court upheld the Act but did so through a creative interpretation that protected the rights of divorced Muslim women. The court focused on Section 3(1)(a) of the Act, which requires the former husband to make “a reasonable and fair provision and maintenance to be made and paid to her within the iddat period.”
— The court interpreted this to mean that the husband’s liability was not limited to just three months of iddat. Instead, he had to make a one-time payment during the iddat period that was large enough to provide for her maintenance for the rest of her life or until she remarried.
— This interpretation effectively upheld the spirit of the Shah Bano verdict while keeping the 1986 Act on the statute books.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍How the idea of marriage has evolved over time
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(2) Which Article of the Constitution of India safeguards one’s right to marry the person of one’s choice? (UPSC CSE 2019)
(a) Article 19
(b) Article 21
(c) Article 25
(d) Article 29
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
What’s the ongoing story: In 2019, an image of a Sudanese woman standing atop a vehicle and addressing a crowd went viral online as a powerful symbol of hope in a country beset with conflict. Soon, the 30-year regime of President Omar al-Bashir collapsed, but what followed was further division and a war that continues.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What are the key causes of the ongoing conflict in Sudan?
— What role has the United Nations played in addressing the Sudan crisis?
— What are the major humanitarian consequences of the civil war in Sudan?
— How does the legacy of colonial rule continue to influence Sudan’s internal conflicts today?
— What role have regional and international actors played in sustaining or resolving the conflict?
— Map work: Locate Sudan and Darfur region. (Refer to Atlas)
Key Takeaways:
— On Tuesday, United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres said the situation in Sudan was “spiralling out of control” after a paramilitary force seized the city of el-Fasher in Darfur.
— Speaking in Qatar, Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire in the two-year conflict that’s become one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
— Primarily, competing power-grabbing attempts have contributed to the instability. An interim civilian-military government fell in 2021, following a coup led by military generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
— While they promised elections by 2023, disagreements on the role of the RSF and the SAF led to a fallout. Since then, the country has witnessed a civil war that has left tens of thousands of people dead.
— The RSF has been accused of targeting the Massalit and other non-Arab people. Recently, the RSF’s advances have been accompanied by reports of “widespread executions”, Guterres said.
Do You Know:
— Sudan’s current conflict is not without historical precedent. Over the past seventy years, the country has experienced twenty attempted coups, ranking second only to Bolivia in the frequency of such events, reflecting a deeply entrenched pattern of political instability. In addition, Sudan has endured two protracted civil wars, the most recent of which culminated in 2011 with the secession of South Sudan, now recognised as Africa’s newest sovereign state.
— The country’s tumultuous past has laid the foundation for the current crisis, creating a vicious cycle of conflict and instability. Therefore, any efforts to establish lasting peace in Sudan must be based on a comprehensive understanding of the complex and interrelated historical, political, and societal factors that continue to shape the country’s volatile environment.
— The underlying causes of the conflict are both multifaceted and deeply entrenched. Primary factors that have contributed to the outbreak of the current crisis include the pronounced politicisation of ethnic and regional identities, persistent challenges related to democratisation and governance, and the significant influence of external actors.
— While most violent conflicts have occurred during the post-colonial period, the colonial era played a decisive role in laying the foundations for many of these enduring issues.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Conflicts in Africa | Why Sudan remains trapped in prolonged civil war
UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:
(3) The “Darfur region” was in the news. It lies within:
(a) Democratic Republic of Congo
(b) Tanzania
(c) Kenya
(d) Sudan
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.
What’s the ongoing story: Ajay Srivastava writes- “On October 22, Washington cut off one of the world’s biggest oil flows by sanctioning Rosneft and Lukoil, which produce 57 per cent of Russia’s crude. Global oil prices reacted instantly. Within a week of the announcement, crude rose 7.5 per cent — from $61 to $65.6 a barrel — and may climb further as supplies tighten. Officially framed as a step toward peace in Ukraine, the US action was really about rescuing its struggling shale industry, regardless of the hit to global oil supplies.”
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is shale oil, and how is it extracted?
— What is the status of India’s import of oil from Russia?
— What are the reasons for the US sanction on Russian oil?
— How does the ban by the US on Russian oil impact Indian refineries?
— How U.S. tariff threats have influenced India’s decisions on oil import diversification?
Key Takeaways:
— “Unlike UN sanctions that target specific entities, US sanctions are far broader. They punish not only the sanctioned firms but also anyone dealing with them. Non-compliance can land countries or companies on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List, enforced by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and cut them off from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) — the global network that enables cross-border payments. Losing access can freeze a nation’s trade overnight.”
— “The US says the goal of sanctions is to starve Moscow of money and bring peace to Ukraine. But if peace were truly the aim, Washington could achieve it without blocking a single barrel of Russian oil.”
— “The uncomfortable truth is that war has become good business for US defence contracts; their logistics and energy exports are all booming. As economist Jeffrey Sachs has noted, the roots of the Russia-Ukraine conflict lie not in 2022 but in years of NATO’s eastward expansion — a policy driven mainly by Washington and long opposed by Moscow. The sanctions are less about moral principle and more about power and price.”
— “Strip away the rhetoric and Washington’s real goal comes into focus — keeping global oil prices high enough to save America’s fragile shale oil industry. Most US crude comes from light, sweet shale oil, produced through fracking — blasting rock with high-pressure water, sand, and chemicals — and horizontal drilling. Unlike traditional wells, shale oil fields decline fast, losing up to 70 per cent of output in the first year. They need prices above $55 a barrel to survive.”
— “The maths is simple. Russian Urals crude sells for about $55 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hovers near $60. Washington has removed a significant share of global output by targeting Rosneft and Lukoil, which pump roughly 60 per cent of Russia’s oil. Sanctioning Russian firms that supply a tenth of the world’s crude tightens global supply and lifts prices by $15–$20 a barrel — just enough to keep US shale profitable.”
— “So the strategy is straightforward: Make Russian oil untouchable, tighten supply, and let scarcity prop up prices. But there’s a significant weakness in this plan. America wants the world to buy its oil and petroleum products instead of Russia’s — yet it doesn’t have enough to sell.”
— “There’s another problem. The US mainly produces light, sweet shale oil, while many refineries — at home and abroad — are configured for heavier grades. America thus exports its lighter crude to Europe and Asia even as it imports heavier feedstock to keep domestic refineries running.”
— “And with no spare refining capacity, America can’t easily turn more of its oil into finished products. Even if every rig in Texas worked overtime, America couldn’t replace the 7 million barrels per day of Russian oil being pushed off world markets. The lack of refining and production capacity hasn’t stopped Washington from selling a dream. The US has secured commitments from allies to replace Russian oil with American supply and LNG under the threat of high tariffs.”
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(4) The term ‘West Texas Intermediate’, sometimes found in news, refers to a grade of (UPSC CSE 2020)
(a) Crude oil
(b) Bullion
(c) Rare earth elements
(d) Uranium
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change.
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Government policies and intervention, Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
What’s the ongoing story: Cautioning against “illegal harvest of wild animals that are later declared as captive bred”, a verification mission of the CITES has recommended that India stop importing critically-endangered species — such as gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and snow leopards — until the government reinforces “due diligence and controls” to safeguard against illegal animal trade and provides “evidence to the satisfaction of the Secretariat” based in Geneva.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)?
— What is the main objective of CITES?
— How does CITES work?
— What are the Constitutional Provisions for Wildlife in the Indian Constitution?
— What are the Salient Features of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972?
— What are the concerns raised by CITES about animals being declared as “captive bred”?
Key Takeaways:
— The CITES is a global treaty with 185 signatories. India became a party to CITES in 1976. Every member country designates their own CITES authorities. No international shipment of endangered species is allowed without export and import permits from the CITES authorities of the two countries involved.
— At its last meeting in Geneva this February, the CITES Standing Committee took note of the information provided by a number of countries regarding “the trade in live animals with purpose code Z (zoo) to the facility of the Greens Zoological Rescue & Rehabilitation Center (GZRRC)” in Gujarat, and asked the CITES Secretariat to undertake a verification mission to “understand how Indian authorities ensure that live wildlife are acquired and imported legally”.
— The inspection mission was in India between September 15 and 20 when it also visited Vantara’s GZRRC and Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust (RKTEWT) facilities in Jamnagar.
—In its 14-page report, the mission noted that while no import to India took place without CITES export and import permits, “several imports still raise questions regarding the origin of the specimens”, the exemptions sought, “the use of source and purpose-of-transaction codes, and the exercise of due diligence by India”.
— The report underlined that CITES allows purchase of wildlife if the trade is under certain conditions, but India’s Wildlife Protection Act states that “no zoo shall acquire, sell or transfer any wild or captive animal except from or to a recognised zoo”. This is why wildlife imports by India are almost exclusively under the source code C (captive bred) and purpose code Z (zoo).
— Since a number of animals came from “established commercial breeding facilities, which would normally sell the animals,” the report said it would be “important to clarify that exporting facilities are indeed registered as zoos in their countries, to ensure that the operations of the GZRRC and RKTEWT do not inadvertently become a driver of illegal harvest of wild animals that are later declared as captive bred.”
— Considering the quantity of specimens being imported by the GZRRC and RKTEWT, the report recommended that India “reviews as a matter of urgency its import procedures and implements such stronger due diligence” so that animals sourced from the wild are not imported as captive-bred.
— The CITES Secretariat recommended that India verify all imports highlighted in its report, and other cases that raise similar concerns, with source or transit countries, including Congo, Germany, Guyana, Iraq, Mexico, Syria and the UAE, to check if the imported animals were indeed captive-bred and, if not, take appropriate measures.
— The CITES Secretariat recommended that the CITES Standing Committee, scheduled to meet in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand on November 23, ask India to take necessary actions and submit a report within 90 days.
Do You Know:
The species covered under CITES are listed in three Appendices, according to the degree of protection they need.
— Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted rarely, only in “exceptional circumstances”, such as gorillas, and lions from India.
— Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled to ensure their survival. For example, certain kinds of foxes and Hippopotamuses.
— Appendix III contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade, like the Bengal fox or the Golden Jackal from India. Different procedures are given category-wise to engage in the trade of species in each of the lists.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(5) With reference to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which of the following statements is/are correct? (UPSC CSE 2015)
1. IUCN is an organ of the United Nations and CITES is an international agreement between governments.
2. IUCN runs thousands of field projects around the world to better manage natural environments.
3. CITES is legally binding on the States that have joined it, but this Convention does not take the place of national laws.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
What’s the ongoing story: The Gujarat High Court has quashed an order of the Vadodara Police Commissioner for detention of an accused in a communal riot case stating that a “mere disturbance of law and order” is not necessarily sufficient for preventive detention under the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-social Activities Act (PASA).
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is Preventive detention?
— What are the constitutional provisions related to preventive detention?
— Punitive Detention and Preventive Detention-Compare and Contrast
— Article 22 confers certain rights on a person who is arrested or detained under an ordinary law-What are they?
— What are the fundamental rights provided to citizens of India in the Constitution?
Key Takeaways:
— The accused, identified as Irfan Ibrahim Shaikh, has at least one more offence registered against him besides the September 19 riot that took place outside City Police station over an “AI-generated post” that allegedly “hurt religious sentiments”.
— The Division Bench of Justice Ilesh Vora and Justice P M Raval was hearing Shaikh’s petition filed through a representative, challenging the legality and validity of the detention order issued on October 7.
— Arguing against the detention order, Shaikh’s advocate submitted that the grounds of detention stated by the Vadodara city police has “no nexus to the public order” but is merely a matter of law and order as the registration of an offence against a person cannot be said to have adverse effect on public order, as per the PASA Act.
— Citing precedents of the Supreme Court, the oral order of the court states, “We are of the considered opinion that the material on record are not sufficient for holding that the alleged activities of the detenue have either affected adversely or likely to affect adversely the maintenance of public order… and therefore, the subjective satisfaction arrived by the detaining authority cannot be said to be legal, valid and in accordance with law…”
Do You Know:
— Article 22 of Constitution of India prescribes protection against arrest and detention but has a major exception. It says in Article 22 (3) (b) that none of those safeguards apply “to any person who is arrested or detained under any law providing for preventive detention.” The remaining clauses — Article 22(4)-(7) — deal with how preventive detention operationalises.
— First, the state, which would be the district magistrate, would issue an order to detain a person when it is necessary to maintain “public order.” The state can delegate this power to the police as well.
— If the detention ordered is for more than three months, under Article 22(4), such a detention requires the approval of an Advisory Board. These Boards are set up by states and normally consist of retired judges and bureaucrats. A detainee is generally not allowed legal representation before the Board. If the Board confirms the detention, the detainee can move Court challenging the detention order.
— Article 22(5) of the Constitution mandates that the state is required “as soon as maybe,” to communicate to the detainee the grounds of detention and “shall afford him the earliest opportunity of making a representation against the order.”
— A basic set of facts that are the grounds for detention are required to be communicated in one instalment, and the state cannot then add fresh, new or additional grounds to strengthen its original detention order. The grounds have to be read in a language that the detainee understands.
— However, even this safeguard is diluted to a certain extent by Article 22(6), which says that nothing in clause 5 shall require the state to “disclose facts that the state considers to be “ against the public interest to disclose.”
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Preventive detention by routine exercise of powers must be nipped in bud: Supreme Court
UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:
(6) With reference to the preventive detention, consider the following statements:
1. It means detention of a person by the state without trial and conviction by court, but merely on suspicion.
2. Article 22 prescribes protection against arrest and detention but has a major exception.
3. Detention period up to the period of one year does not require the approval of an Advisory Board.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
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| PRELIMS ANSWER KEY |
| 1. (b) 2. (b) 3. (d) 4. (a) 5. (b) 6. (b) |
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