UPSC Key: Bail in India, Naxal-free India and Federalism

Key Points to Ponder:

• Decode the quote-“Bail is the rule and jail is an exception”

• What Article 21 of the Constitution of India says?

• Prolonged incarceration and delayed trial “produce violation of Article 21”-What exactly Supreme Court said?

• What is the primary objective of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)?

• What is “presumption of innocence” in criminal jurisprudence?

• Why UAPA bail provisions are considered stringent?

• Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)-Key Highlights

• Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Human Rights-Connect the dots

• Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Article 22 of the Constitution-Connect the Dot

Key Takeaways:

• The bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan made these observations while granting bail to a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Ifthikar Andrabi, in custody since 2020. Andrabi faces charges under the UAPA in a narco-terror case investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

• Saying that bail is the rule and jail an exception even in UAPA cases, the bench said it is a constitutional principle flowing from Articles 21 and 22, and the presumption of innocence is the cornerstone of any civilised society governed by the rule of law.

• The bench pointed out that in the Union of India vs K A Najeeb case in 2021, a three-judge bench of the court had held that violation of a fundamental right like right to speedy trial can be a ground for grant of bail even under a stringent law like the UAPA. The bench had then upheld the bail granted to an accused jailed since April 2015 for alleged involvement in chopping the hand of a Kerala professor in 2010.

Do You Know

• The court’s concern stems from the line of precedents it examined on whether the rigours of Section 43(D)(5) of the UAPA — which restricts the grant of bail — would “melt down” where prolonged incarceration and delayed trial lead to a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.

• Section 15 of the UAPA defines a terrorist act as an act done “with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security, or sovereignty of India or with intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the people in India.”
However, the provision qualifies that striking terror is by use of “bombs, dynamite or other explosive substances or inflammable substances or firearms…or any other means.”

• According to Prison Statistics India 2022, over 75 per cent of India’s prison population consists of undertrials: More than 4.3 lakh individuals who have not been convicted of any offence. Many have spent years in prison awaiting trial, often for offences carrying sentences shorter than the period of their incarceration.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Bail under UAPA: How different Supreme Court benches have delivered different rulings in the past

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
1) With reference to India, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE, 2021)
1. When a prisoner makes out a sufficient case, parole cannot be denied to such prisoner because it becomes a matter of his/her right.
2. State Governments have their own Prisoners Release on Parole Rules.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither I nor 2

Politics

India is now Naxal-free, Shah declares in Bastar

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Linkages between development and spread of extremism.

What’s the ongoing story: On his first visit to Bastar after the March 31 deadline that he had set to eradicate Left-wing extremism, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday declared India “Naxal-free”.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What do you understand by Naxalism?

• What created the space for Naxalism in India?

• What is red corridor or red zone?

• Map Work-Red Corridor

• How many states were affected by Naxalism in India?

• Maoism and Naxalism and left wing insurgency-Compare and Contrast

• What are Naxals fighting for in India?

• What are the socio-economic conditions the districts that make up the red corridor?

• ‘Naxalism is a social, economic and developmental issue manifesting as a violent internal security threat’-discuss

• What steps being taken by the Government of India to eradicate Naxal and LWE forces from the country?

• How the Government of India has taken several specific initiatives in LWE affected States with Special reference to expansion of road network, improving Telecommunication connectivity, skill development and financial inclusion?

• What do you know about the ‘Integrated Action Plan in Naxal-affected Districts’?

• Can Naxalism—or violent far-left politics—rise again?

Key Takeaways:

• “I proudly declare — India is now Naxal-free,” said Shah while reiterating that the development work in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, which was once the epicentre of the Maoist movement, would be expedited in the next few years to bring it on par with the rest of the country.

• At the event in Jadgalpur in Bastar district, Shah was addressing personnel from the various security forces that took part in anti-Maoist operations, as well as family members of security personnel and civilians killed in Maoist violence.

• He began his speech by saying, “This is a very big day for Bastar. Aaj yaha khada rehkar seena tan ke keh sakta hoon Bharat Naxal mukht ho chuka hai. (Standing here today, I can proudly say with my head held high that India has become free of Naxalism). All credit for this achievement goes to our security forces, and I bow before you. This was a dream — a dream for which thousands of jawans made the ultimate sacrifice to turn it into reality.”

• After Shah set March 31, 2026, as the deadline to eradicate Left-wing extremism from the country, security forces had stepped up anti-Maoist operations, especially in the Bastar region over the last two years. This resulted in the killing of hundreds of Maoist cadres and the surrender of hundreds more, including senior leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist).

Do You Know

• Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-related incidents and resultant deaths have fallen by over four-fifths since 2010. The number of LWE-affected districts has shrunk from nearly 200 in the early 2000s to just 38 by the end of 2025. A February 2026 review by the Ministry of Home Affairs shows that only seven districts—five in Chhattisgarh, one in Jharkhand and one in Odisha—are now categorised as “LWE Affected”, with just three of them (Bijapur, Narayanpur and Sukma) marked “Most Affected”.

• Surrounding them is a ring of 31 “Legacy Thrust” districts, where violence has ebbed but state support is being maintained to
consolidate gains.

• Former CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad, who helped craft Greyhounds’s counter-insurgency model, argues that Maoists were “never a match to the State”. “The movement started failing a long time ago. The Maoists have admitted this in their own documents. In 2024, the CPI (Maoist) leadership told cadres to either move to secure zones or surrender.”

• Emerging from the Naxalbari uprising of 1967, early Naxalite groups framed India as a “semi-feudal, semi-colonial” society in which only armed peasant war could deliver land and dignity. Over decades, they spread across what became known as the “Red Corridor”—from forests of Andhra and Telangana to tribal belts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha—by embedding themselves among landless peasants, Dalits and Adivasis for whom the formal state was distant, predatory or violently absent.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Maoist operations: What after March 31 milestone

Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme:
Q. Naxalism is a social, economic, and developmental issue manifesting as a violent internal security threat. In this context, discuss the emerging issues and suggest a multi-layered strategy to tackle the menace of Naxalism. (2022)
Q. What are the determinants of left-wing extremism in the Eastern part of India? What strategy should the Government of India, civil administration and security forces adopt to counter the threat in the affected areas? (2020)
Q. Article 244 of the Indian Constitution relates to administration of scheduled areas and tribal areas. Analyze the impact of non-implementation of the provisions of the Fifth schedule on the growth of Left-wing extremism. (2018)

Citizenship rule change: Declare, surrender Pak, Bangladesh and Afghan passports

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

What’s the ongoing story: The Centre on Monday notified draft changes to the Citizenship Rules, 2009 that would require certain applicants to declare possession or surrender passports issued by Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026?

• Citizens and Aliens-compare and contrast in terms of civil and political rights

• What are those rights and privileges that the Constitution of India confers on the citizens of India and denies the same to aliens?

• The Citizenship Act of 1955 prescribes five ways of acquiring citizenship-Know them in detail

• The Citizenship Act, 1955, prescribes three ways of losing citizenship-What are they?

Key Takeaways:

• In a gazette notification issued on Monday, the MHA said the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026, published under section 18 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, insert a new paragraph into Schedule IC of the 2009 rules. “The new provision, paragraph (iiiA), obliges applicants to state whether they hold a valid or expired passport issued by any of the three neighbouring countries. Those who possess such passports must provide passport details – number, date and place of issue, and expiry – and agree to surrender the document to the Senior Superintendent of Post or Superintendent of Post concerned within 15 days of citizenship approval,” the notification said.

Do You Know

• According to the notification, the rules will come into force on the date of publication in the official gazette. An MHA official described the amendment as an administrative clarification aimed at strengthening verification and record-keeping in citizenship cases.

• Earlier this month, the Union Home Ministry had notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026, introducing electronic Overseas Citizen of India (e-OCI) cards, fully online applications and stricter norms on dual passports for minors. “The rules introduce a fully digital OCI framework, mandating online applications, electronic records and acknowledgements, while phasing out duplicative physical processes. A new provision allows issuance of electronic OCI (e-OCI) alongside physical cards, signalling a shift toward paperless identity for overseas Indians. Applicants must now consent to sharing biometric data for integration with fast-track immigration programmes, enabling possible automatic enrolment in the future,” the MHA official said.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Defined registration, exemption for some minority religious groups: What’s in the new Foreigners Act?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
2) With reference to India, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE, 2021)
1. There is only one citizenship and one domicile.
2. A citizen by birth only can become the Head of State.
3. A foreigner once granted the citizenship cannot be deprived of it under any circumstances.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 2 and 3

Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme:
📍”Right of movement and residence throughout the territory of India are freely available to the Indian citizens, but these rights are not absolute.” Comment. (2022)

Nation

India and Sweden: Delivering growth, resilience and sustainability… together

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story: Narendra Modi and Ulf Kristersson Writes- As the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary, the value of international cooperation and multilateralism has become even more evident. At the same time, the need to reform global governance institutions to reflect contemporary realities has become impossible to ignore.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Know about India and Sweden bilateral relations

• India and Sweden cooperate under the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT)-true or false

• Why India–Sweden partnership in recent years is significant?

• Why countries such as India and Sweden increasingly cooperate on sustainability issues?

• What is industrial decarbonisation? Why is it important for climate governance?

• What are the opportunities and challenges India faces in achieving sustainable industrial transformation?

Key Takeaways:
Narendra Modi and Ulf Kristersson Writes-

• At a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty, energy insecurity and economic fragmentation, the world faces a defining choice — retreat into narrow national approaches or strengthen partnerships that deliver growth, resilience and sustainability together.

• As the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary, the value of international cooperation and multilateralism has become even more evident. At the same time, the need to reform global governance institutions to reflect contemporary realities has become impossible to ignore.

• A rules-based international order anchored in international law and sovereign equality has helped create decades of relative stability and development. Yet today’s challenges of climate change, industrial transformation, supply-chain disruptions and energy transition require a renewed spirit of practical and inclusive cooperation.

• Few challenges are as universal or consequential as climate change. It affects societies and economies across all regions, whether in India, Sweden or elsewhere. But climate action cannot be divorced from development aspirations. Billions of people continue to seek better living standards, jobs, modern infrastructure and energy access. Delivering growth and opportunity while advancing sustainability is therefore not a contradiction, it is the defining economic and political task of our times.

• India has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies while pursuing one of the world’s largest renewable energy transitions. The approach is guided by a clear objective: To bridge climate ambition with development realities.

Do You Know
Narendra Modi and Ulf Kristersson Writes-

• The approaches of India and Sweden reflect a broader belief that climate action can create jobs, expand opportunity, strengthen energy security and improve lives. The aim is not only to decarbonise domestic development pathways, but to help build partnerships that make clean industrialisation at scale possible.

• It is in this spirit that India and Sweden met in Gothenburg on May 17. Our partnership reflects a shared conviction that industrial transformation can be driven through collaboration between governments, industry, innovators and financial institutions.

• The green transition is not only an environmental imperative, it is also central to competitiveness, economic resilience and long-term growth.

• India and Sweden have demonstrated the value of such cooperation through the LeadIT, launched jointly by both countries in 2019 with the support of the United Nations. LeadIT has helped place industrial decarbonisation and hard-to-abate sectors at the centre of the global climate discussion. More importantly, it has shown that developed and developing economies can co-create solutions through trust, innovation and shared responsibility.

• The next phase of LeadIT should move from words to action, meaning implementation at scale. It has proved to be a useful platform for action by accelerating technology partnerships, enabling industrial pilot projects, mobilizing sustainable finance, strengthening resilient clean-energy supply chains and building globally competitive low-carbon industries.

• The next phase should aim to support workforce transitions, skills development and financial architecture that reduce risk and lower the cost of capital for industrial transformation.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍PM Modi’s Europe trip begins today: What India hopes to gain from better ties with Nordic countries

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
3) Consider the following countries: (UPSC CSE, 2025)
I. Austria
II. Bulgaria
III. Croatia
IV. Serbia
V. Sweden
VI. North Macedonia
How many of the above are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization?
(a) Only three
(b) Only four
(c) Only five
(d) All the six

India, Norway elevates bilateral ties to Green Strategic Partnership

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story: India and Norway decided to elevate bilateral ties to “Green Strategic Partnership” and signed pacts on space, health and digital development following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo on Monday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the significance of the India–Norway Green Strategic Partnership?

• What is the strategic importance of Arctic cooperation between India and Norway.

• How can India leverage its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) model in partnerships with Norway?

• Know the potential of India–Norway cooperation in offshore wind energy, carbon capture and maritime sustainability.

• How collaborations in digital health and artificial intelligence with Norway can strengthen India’s healthcare ecosystem?

• What lessons can India learn from Norway in renewable energy governance?

Key Takeaways:

• After the bilateral talks, PM Modi said: “Today, we are giving shape to India-Norway relations as a ‘Green Strategic Partnership.’ Through this strategic partnership — spanning sectors ranging from clean energy to climate resilience, and from the Blue Economy to Green Shipping — our companies will develop global solutions by combining India’s scale, speed, and talent with Norway’s technology and capital.”

• Modi met Støre hours after he landed in Oslo from Sweden as part of his four-nation European tour.

• On Arctic and space cooperation, Modi said, “Norway is a key nation in the Arctic region. We share a long-standing history of cooperation in Arctic and polar research. We are grateful to Norway for its support in the operations of India’s Arctic research station, “Himadri.” The MoU being signed today between ISRO and the Norwegian Space Agency will add new dimensions to our cooperation in the space
sector.”

Do You Know

• This is the first visit by an Indian PM to Norway in over 40 years; the last PM to visit Norway was Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1983. PM Modi also met King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway and received the Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍PM Modi’s Europe trip begins today: What India hopes to gain from better ties with Nordic countries

Explained

In federalism challenges, consensus is the solution

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development and Indian Polity and Governance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein

What’s the ongoing story: Contentiousness has marked discussions around the recently defeated Constitutional Amendment Bill. But that has been true of the evolution of federalism since Independence, not least because federalism has been a critical instrument of nation-building.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is federalism?

• Why India is called federalism?

• What is the nature of Federalism in India?

• Important features of Indian federalism-Know in detail

• The Constitution of India provides for a federal system of government, But the term ‘federation’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution-True or False?

• What Supreme Court of India said on Federalism in India in Union of India and Anr versus M/s Mohit Minerals Through Director case?

• How Supreme Court of India defined federalism?

• Decode the quote- “Democracy and federalism are interdependent on each other for their survival such that federalism would only be stable in well-functioning democracies”.

• Competitive Federalism Cooperative Federalism and Fiscal Federalism are very much in news. What do you understand by these terms in Indian Scenario?

Key Takeaways:

• From the centralisation turn in the constitutional design in the aftermath of the horrors of Partition, to the never-ending debates on vertical and horizontal devolution in fiscal federalism, to the centralising effects of the Planning Commission, to the misuse of Article 356 and dismissal of state governments by the Centre and imposition of President’s Rule, to the partisan role of Governors, the language imbroglio, delimitation and the distribution of seats in Parliament, federalism has been a work in progress and never set in stone.

• In democracies, equal citizenship requires that each citizen’s vote should have the same weight. As populations shift, periodic adjustments in the distribution of seats, both across states (between states with slower and more rapid growing populations) as well as within states (between slower growing rural areas and faster growing urban areas) is needed to ensure this equality. But principles in the abstract need to be adjusted with the pragmatism of political wisdom.

Do You Know

• According to NCERT textbooks, federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. Usually, a federation has two levels of government. One is the government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest. The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the day to-day administering of their state. Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍 CJI D Y Chandrachud: Indian federalism is a dialogue

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
4) Which one of the following in Indian polity is an essential feature that indicates that it is federal in character? (UPSC CSE, 2021)
(a) The independence of judiciary is safeguarded.
(b) The Union Legislature has elected representatives from constituent units.
(c) The Union Cabinet can have elected representatives from regional parties.
(d) The Fundamental Rights are enforceable by Courts of Law.

5) Which one of the following is not a feature of Indian federalism? (UPSC CSE, 2017)
(a) There is an independent judiciary in India.
(b) Powers have been clearly divided between the Centre and the States,
(c) The federating units have been given unequal representation in the Rajya Sabha.
(d) It is the result of an agreement among the federating units.

How does earth protect itself from the sun? new mission to find out

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

What’s the ongoing story: In a first, Chinese and European space agencies are sending a joint mission to study the Earth’s defences against the Sun. The (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission will be launched on Tuesday (May 19) at 05:52 CEST (09:22 IST) on a European Vega-C rocket.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission?

• What is auroras?

• What is solar activity, solar prominence, solar flare and coronal mass ejection or CME?

• How solar activity, solar prominence, solar flare and coronal mass ejection or CME impacts Earth?

• Does all solar activity impact Earth? Why or why not?

• What are coronal holes?

• What is a geomagnetic storm?

• What is a sunspot?

• What is solar maximum and solar minimum?

• What is the solar cycle?

• What is Earth’s magnetosphere?

• How Earth’s magnetosphere is protecting life on Earth?

Key Takeaways:

• The mission aims to capture the first X-ray images of Earth’s protective magnetic shield in action as it battles and deflects harmful charged particles and energies coming from the Sun.

• These periodic events, when the Sun’s ejections interact with the outer layers of Earth’s magnetic field, give rise to spectacularly bright ‘dancing lights’ in the sky, called auroras. Auroras have been visible from Earth for centuries and evoked a sense of wonder. For the very first time, a satellite placed deep in space will capture the full spectrum of this interaction and take never-before-seen images of a crucial process that enables life on Earth.

• By studying these interactions, the SMILE mission can help enable an early warning system for solar ejections that would be useful not just in protecting our space assets but also ground-based infrastructure like electricity grids from particularly nasty solar flares.

• The Sun constantly spews various types of matter, magnetic fields, energy and plasma into space. Among the most harmful solar ejections are solar flares, solar storms and coronal mass ejections, all of which are highly potent and can interfere with space weather. Perturbations to space weather can have major ramifications on many of Earth’s critical space assets.

Do You Know

• Earth remains largely protected from these ejections thanks to the magnetic field that blankets it, called the magnetosphere. In our solar system, Earth has one of the strongest magnetospheres. It is a vast, comet-shaped bubble that continuously shields the planet from harmful solar and cosmic particle radiation.

• It is the magnetosphere that makes it possible for life to form, exist and sustain on Earth. It also acts as a shield, preventing the Earth’s atmosphere from being eroded due to the incoming solar winds. The magnetosphere thus adapts and reacts to the solar, planetary and interstellar conditions, which manifest in space weather from time to time.

• SMILE is not the first space mission meant to study the magnetosphere. Past missions like the Swarm and Cluster by the European Space Agency (ESA) have also vastly improved our understanding of this region in space and the processes that happen here.

• What sets SMILE apart is that it will, in real-time, be able to capture X-ray images of how the Earth’s magnetosphere instinctively reacts and protects the Earth from numerous incoming solar emissions and charged particles. Unlike previous missions, it will also get a full view of the interactions happening in the magnetosphere.

• SMILE is designed to get answers to what happens when a stream of solar wind interacts with Earth’s magnetic shield and the magnetic glitches occurring on the dark side of Earth. It will help solar physicists better understand space weather.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍 Solar Storm and Space Weather

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
6) If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the following are the possible effects on the Earth? (UPSC CSE, 2022)
1. GPS and navigation systems could fail.
2. Tsunamis could occur at equatorial regions.
3. Power grids could be damaged.
4. Intense auroras could occur over much of the Earth.
5. Forest fires could take place over much of the planet.
6. Orbits of the satellites could be disturbed.
7. Shortwave radio communication of the aircraft flying over polar regions could be interrupted.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2, 4 and 5 only
(b) 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 only
(c) 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1.(b)  2.(a)  3.(b)  4.(a)  5.(d) 6.(c)

  

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