UPSC Key: Civil Defence Mechanism, CBI Director and Triple Test

Activate air raid sirens, rehearse blackouts, safety drills: Govt instructs all states, UTs

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.

What’s the ongoing story: With the Line of Control hotting up and tensions soaring over a likely Indian military response to the Pahalgam terror attack, the Centre Monday directed northern and western states and Union Territories to test and strengthen civil defence mechanisms in the event of a hostile attack.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What are civil defence mechanism?

• What is a mock drill?

• What activities are included in the civil defence mock drills?

• Know the significance of the nationwide civil defence mock drills in the context of India’s internal security preparedness.

Key Takeaways:

• The Ministry of Home Affairs asked the states and UTs, including J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, to conduct mock drills on May 7.

• Sources said states and UTs have been asked to operationalise air raid warning sirens, implement crash blackout measures in selected areas and train civilians, including students, on safety protocols to follow during an aerial or ground assault.

• Other key measures include conducting rehearsals of evacuation plans and early camouflaging of vital installations such as power plants and military-linked infrastructure.

• Sources said these directions are aimed at enhancing the preparedness of the civilian population and the administrative machinery.

• The instructions were issued even as a series of high-level meetings continued in the Capital.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Japanese counterpart, Nakatani Gen, while Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• At the bilateral meeting with Japan, the two sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and emphasised the need for enhanced collaboration and joint efforts to counter cross-border threats.

Do You Know:

• A civil defence mock drill is a simulation exercise designed to assess the current readiness for emergencies such as war, missile attacks, or aerial strikes. Its purpose is to highlight strengths, pinpoint weaknesses, and identify gaps in existing civil defence systems. The drill evaluates how effectively state and local authorities, along with various agencies, can respond, coordinate, and manage such situations, while also gauging the public’s level of preparedness.

• The drill will recreate situations such as coordinated terrorist attacks, chemical emergencies, and evacuation protocols. It will involve participation from state disaster response units, local police, fire services, and medical teams.

• On May 7, mock drills will be conducted in officially designated civil defence districts in coordination with state and local authorities. The public may experience brief power outages, blackout simulations, loud sirens, and limited access to certain public spaces. Temporary traffic diversions may also occur in some areas.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Putin dials Modi, echoes Delhi: Bring Pahalgam terrorists, backers to justice

Chenab runs dry near Pak as sluice gates of Salal, Baglihar dams are closed

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighbourhood- relations

What’s the ongoing story: Water level in the Chenab river in Jammu’s Akhnoor area fell below waist level for the first time in years, prompting many surprised locals to gather on the riverbed on Monday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Map Work—Ramban district, Reasi district and Chenab River (Know its Source, major dams, drainage, tributaries if any)

• What you know about Salal Dam?

• What makes Salal Dam so special?

• What you know about Baglihar Dam?

• What you understand by run-of-the-river power project?

• What is the meaning of term “drawdown flushing”?

• Discuss the implications of India’s decision to close the sluice gates of the Salal and Baglihar dams on the Chenab River.

• Know the strategic significance of water resource management in India-Pakistan relations, with reference to recent developments on the Chenab River.

Key Takeaways:

• Sources said this followed the closure of all sluice gates of the Salal and Baglihar hydel power dams in Reasi and Ramban districts on Sunday morning. While there is no official word on the development, sources said the gates were closed to store water in the reservoirs of both dams, which had earlier been emptied as part of the desiltation process on Friday and Saturday.

• As reported by The Indian Express, following the Pahalgam terror attack, India has ratcheted up its diplomatic offensive against Pakistan – including curbing water flow through the Baglihar dam.

• The gates of the sluice spillways on the Baglihar dam have been lowered to restrict water flow to Pakistan’s Punjab as a “short-term punitive action,” a senior official had told The Indian Express.

• The Centre had earlier announced the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, which has governed the use of the Indus river and its tributaries between India and Pakistan since 1960.

• Built as run-of-the-river projects, the Baglihar and Salal dams enable India to regulate the timing of water release downstream. At the time of their construction, Pakistan had raised objections and sought the World Bank’s intervention. India had then agreed to keep the dam’s height at 143 metres, a decrease by 1.5 metres from the originally proposed height, thus reducing the water pondage capacity by 13.5 per cent.

• Sources said that though the dams cannot hold flow of Chenab waters to Pakistan for a long time, they provide India the capability to regulate timing of the release of water. While rabi harvesting, which is currently underway, does not require much water, farmers on both sides of the border do need it during paddy cultivation season, which will begin in one or two months.

Do You Know:

• Baglihar Dam also known as Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project, is a run-of-the-river power project on the Chenab River in Baglihar road in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir. The first power project executed by the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation, it was conceived in 1992 and approved in 1996, with construction begun in 1999.

• Salal Dam also known as Salal Hydroelectric Power Station, is a run-of-the-river hydropower project on the Chenab River in the Reasi district of the Jammu and Kashmir. It was the first hydropower project built by India in Jammu and Kashmir under the Indus Water Treaty.

• Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amount of storage, in which case the storage reservoir is referred to as pondage.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Screws tighten on Pakistan: Curb on water flow through Baglihar; crackdown on ships, trade

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

1. Consider the following pairs (2019)

	Glacier	River
1.	Bandarpunch	Yamuna
2.	Bara Shigri	Chenab
3.	Milam	Mandakini
4.	Siachen	Nubra
5.	Zemu	Manas

Which of the pairs correctly matched?

(a) 1, 2 and 4

(b) 1, 3 and 4

(c) 2 and 5

(d) 3 and 5

Trade deal stalled over UK carbon tax; India proposes plan for ‘rebalancing’

Syllabus:

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: The draft UK CBAM legislation states that the levy will apply to imported goods from January 1, 2027 and defines CBAM goods as aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen, iron and steel — sectors associated with high carbon emissions.

Key Points to Ponder:

• ‘Western labour and environmental standards continue to pose challenges for Indian trade negotiators’—Why?

• What you know about UK’s carbon tax?

• Why UK’s carbon tax is expected to disrupt India’s exports of iron, steel, aluminium, ceramics and cement?

• What is Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)?

• What is India’s “rebalancing mechanism”?

• What is Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS)?

• India UK free trade agreement—know its key highlights

• What are the benefits of India UK free trade agreement?

Key Takeaways:

• Western labour and environmental standards continue to pose challenges for Indian trade negotiators, with the UK’s carbon tax — it is expected to disrupt India’s exports of iron, steel, aluminium, ceramics and cement — emerging as a key sticking point in talks aimed to finalise a trade deal during the latest round of negotiations in London, The Indian Express has learnt.

• As the UK remains unwilling to grant any concession under its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which seeks to impose duties on carbon-intensive imports, India has proposed a “rebalancing mechanism” which would require the UK to compensate Indian industry for losses incurred due to the regulation.

• The draft UK CBAM legislation states that the levy will apply to imported goods from January 1, 2027 and defines CBAM goods as aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen, iron and steel — sectors associated with high carbon emissions.

• The draft also outlines how emissions will be calculated and how the CBAM rate will be set, based on a domestic sectoral price linked to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.

• India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) is based on intensity of emission that suits a developing nations model as against the system in Western countries that deals with absolute emission.

• Ajay Srivastava, former trade officer and head of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), said: “The UK’s proposed CBAM poses a significant concern for Indian exports, as the regulation would result in the UK gradually imposing higher taxes on imports based on their carbon footprint, potentially far exceeding the UK’s current average tariff rate of under 2 per cent.”

Do You Know:

• “The ‘rebalancing mechanism’ article has been inserted into the ‘general exceptions’ chapter of the negotiating text between the two countries. This would enable India to claim compensation for its losses and ensure the UK does not raise a dispute against India at the World Trade Organisation (WTO),” according to a government official.

• The general exceptions chapter in international trade agreements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) allows countries to implement measures that might “otherwise violate trade rules”, provided they are justified on grounds such as public health or environmental protection, according to the WTO.

• Among India’s earlier demands were concessions for Indian MSMEs and country-specific exemptions. The two sides also discussed harmonising carbon emission standards to allow Indian carbon taxes to remain within the country, but differences in measurement techniques remain unresolved.

• The carbon tax, first introduced by the European Union, has also met with strong resistance in India. Notably, the EU’s CBAM is set to take effect in January 2026, with a transition period — requiring exporters to report data to EU authorities — already underway since October 1, 2023. This is particularly significant for India, which sends over 15 per cent of its total goods exports to the EU. In 2022–23, India exported goods worth $75 billion to the bloc.

• While several countries, including China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa, have taken the EU to the WTO over CBAM, India is yet to file a formal case as both sides are actively pursuing a free trade agreement. Similarly, India and the UK continue to negotiate, the talks aimed at finding a common ground.

• Trade between the two nations totalled 42.6 billion pounds in 2024. India was Britain’s 11th largest trading partner.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India-UK trade pact: Outstanding issues to be resolved after Britain’s general elections

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
2. Regarding “carbon credits”, which one of the following statements is not correct? (2011)
(a) The carbon credit system was ratified in conjunction with the Kyoto Protocol
(b) Carbon credits are awarded to countries or groups that have reduced greenhouse gases below their emission quota
(c) The goal of the carbon credit system is to limit the increase of carbon dioxide emission
(d) Carbon credits are traded at a price fixed from time to time by the United Nations Environment Programme

3. Consider the following statements (2023)
Statement—I: Carbon markets are likely to be one of the most widespread tools in the fight against climate change.
Statement—II: Carbon markets transfer resources from the private sector to the State.
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 is incorrect but Statement—II is correct

CBI chief may get extension as consensus eludes panel

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.

What’s the ongoing story: The incumbent chief of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Praveen Sood, is likely to get a one-year extension, The Indian Express has learned. The possibility was discussed during a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to select Sood’s successor, which was also attended by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.

Key Points to Ponder:

• How Director of CBI is Appointed?

• Who appoints the CBI director?

• Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)-Organisation, Role and Functions

• What Santhanam Committee said on Prevention of Corruption?

• What is Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946?

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) draws its power from which act/statute?

• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)-Connect the dots

• Is CBI constitutional or non-constitutional or statutory body?

• ‘From the “caged parrot” to a “jamai” (son-in-law) trinity (the other two being Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate), the Central Bureau of Investigation, the country’s premier anti-corruption agency, has acquired many an epithet for its reputation of acting at the behest of who pulls its political strings at the Centre’-Analyse role of CBI

• Issues and Challenges associated with CBI-Brainstorm

• What was the landmark 1997 Vineet Narain judgment of the Supreme Court (Vineet Narain & Others vs Union Of India & Anr)?

• The tenure of the CBI Director at two years is fixed-True or false?

Key Takeaways:

• According to sources, the three-member selection panel, which met at the Prime Minister’s Office, deliberated on the names of a few senior IPS officers. However, no consensus could be reached on any of the suggested candidates, following which the members agreed to extend Sood’s tenure by a year.

• The deliberations come ahead of the scheduled end of Sood’s two-year fixed tenure on May 25.

• A 1986-batch IPS officer of the Karnataka cadre, Sood served as the state’s Director General of Police before being appointed as CBI Director on May 25, 2023. His career includes postings as Superintendent of Police in Bellary and Raichur; Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) in Bengaluru City; Commissioner of Police in both Mysuru and Bengaluru; Additional Director General of Police (ADGP); Principal Secretary (Home); Director General of Police (Internal Security); and DGP (Criminal Investigation Department). He has also served as an advisor to the Government of Mauritius.

Do You Know:

• Under the provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, the CBI Director is appointed for a fixed term of two years by the central government on the recommendation of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India. The process is intended to ensure transparency and shield the agency from political influence.

• The CBI, India’s premier investigative agency, plays a critical role in probing cases referred by the central government, state governments, or the courts.

• The panel that selects the CBI chief consists of the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of India. The process of appointment was established by the Supreme Court’s Vineet Narain judgement (1997), and the changes made to The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946 by The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The CBI’s uneasy history

EXPRESS NETWORK

Let’s celebrate invisible biodiversity: DBT Secy on ‘One Day One Genome’

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General Science and Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nanotechnology, bio-technology.

What’s the ongoing story: The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has over the past five months released detailed graphical summaries, infographics, and other details of over 100 bacterial genomes as part of the ‘One Day One Genome’ initiative launched to harness the microbial potential of India.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the ‘one day one genome’ initiative?

• What is genome sequencing?

• What do you understand by the term ‘Genome’?

• How Genome and Gene differ from each other?

• What is the primary goal of the Genome India Project?

• How Genome India Project is significant in understanding India’s genetic diversity?

• What are the ethical and legal implications of making genome data available for research?

• What are the potential applications of genomic research in India?

Key Takeaways:

• The initiative was announced in New Delhi on November 9, 2024, on the first foundation day of the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC), an autonomous body under the (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology. It aims to make genomic data more accessible to researchers, students and the general public.

• BRIC-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), a West Bengal-based institute under the DBT, is coordinating the ‘One Day One Genome’ mission and sharing a collection of bacterial genomes from 13 BRIC institutions, along with two autonomous institutions:
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) New Delhi and Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB) Faridabad.

• The BRIC-NIBMG team analyses these genomes and is showcasing a fully annotated bacterial genome, complete with a detailed graphical summary, infographics, and genome assembly/annotation details, on its website daily, making it freely available to researchers, student community and the general public. This release is complemented by social media posts designed to capture the imagination of the general public and students, educating them about the potential of bacterial genomic resources.

• For several years, Indian scientists have gathered genomic data of various Indian strains of microorganisms. The mission now aims to highlight the unique bacterial species found in India and emphasise their critical roles in the environment, agriculture, and human health.

Do You Know:

• Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC) introduced the ‘One Day One Genome’ initiative to showcase the enormous microbial potential of India. In this initiative an annotated microbial genome will be publicly released every day to make microbial genomics data more accessible to researchers and directly benefit the community.

• The unique features of these microbes and their genomes will be highlighted. Common people will get the benefits of sophisticated technologies and cutting-edge genomic research. It will bring ground breaking transformation in environmental, agricultural and health research. This initiative will be coordinated by BRIC-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (BRIC-NIBMG).

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What is the Genome India project, why it matters

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
4. With reference to agriculture in India, how can the technique of ‘genome sequencing’, often seen in the news, be used in the immediate future? (2017)
1. Genome sequencing can be used to identify genetic markers for disease resistance and drought tolerance in various crop plants.
2. This technique helps in reducing the time required to develop new varieties of crop plants.
3. It can be used to decipher the host-pathogen relationships in crops.
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

EXPLAINED

AI as ‘normal’ technology

Syllabus:

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, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

What’s the ongoing story: It will take decades, not years, for artificial intelligence to transform society in the revolutionary ways that big developer labs and companies have been predicting, say AI researchers at Princeton University. AI, they argue, is a general-purpose technology like electricity which will not make human labour redundant

Key Points to Ponder:

• What AI researchers at Princeton University says?

• Why AI researchers call AI a ‘normal’ technology?

• What is “AI effect”?

• What best describes the current perspective of experts on AI integration into society?

• What can be the long term implications of considering Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a general-purpose technology on policy formulation and societal adaptation in India?

• What are the challenges and opportunities presented by the gradual integration of AI into various sectors of the Indian economy?

• According to the essay called ‘AI as Normal Technology’, the impact of AI will be slow, based on something called “the innovation-diffusion feedback loop”. What does that mean?

Key Takeaways:

• According to the Arvind Narayanan, AI being a ‘normal’ technology is the common-sense view. We hear about supposed AI breakthroughs every day, but how much of that is actually real? And even if the technology is advancing rapidly, our ability to use it productively is limited because there is a learning curve. If anything, stories about AI being adopted rapidly are even more exaggerated than stories about AI breakthroughs.
When we peel back the curtain, AI does not look that different from other technologies — such as the Internet. This is not to say that it will not be transformative. But if it is transformative, that will happen over decades, not months or years.

Annual global corporate investment in AI.

• According to the Sayash Kapoor, We do not think AI is different from other past technologies in its patterns of tech development and societal impact. We have attempted to outline a vision for the future where AI is neither utopian nor dystopian, and we can learn from how past general-purpose technologies impacted the world.

Do You Know:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the field of computer science which aims to make computer systems think, reason, learn, and act
to solve a complex system like humans.

• This field of research was established in 1956 at a small workshop at Dartmouth College (New Hampshire, United States). It was organised by a young mathematician named John McCarthy, who had become intrigued with the idea of creating a thinking machine. He also persuaded Marvin Minsky of Harvard University, Nathaniel Rochester from IBM, and Claude Shannon from Bell Telephone Laboratories to help with the workshop. These four men are considered some of the founding fathers of AI.

• The term artificial intelligence was coined by McCarthy. “McCarthy later admitted that no one really liked the name — after all, the goal was genuine, not ‘artificial’, intelligence — but ‘I had to call it something, so I called it “Artificial Intelligence”,’” wrote Melanie Mitchell in her book, ‘Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans’.

• To enable computer systems to imitate the way that humans learn, and perform tasks autonomously (meaning, without instructions), machine learning (ML) is used. ML is implemented by training (this term will also be explained in subsequent explainers) computers on data so that they can make predictions about new information.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍AI basics: What are artificial intelligence and machine learning?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
5. With the present state of development, Artificial Intelligence can effectively do which of the following? (2020)
1. Bring down electricity consumption in industrial units
2. Create meaningful short stories and songs
3. Disease diagnosis
4. Text-to-Speech Conversion
5. Wireless transmission of electrical energy
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2, 4 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

‘Triple test’ to determine OBC quota in Jharkhand

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

What’s the ongoing story: Jharkhand has finished collecting data on the population of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from all districts of the state, in order to determine quotas for OBCs in urban local bodies.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the “triple test”?

• What has happened in Jharkhand so far?

• What did the survey look at?

• How are OBCs classified in Jharkhand?

• What are vertical and horizontal reservations?

• How are the two categories of quotas applied together?

Key Takeaways:

• The data collection is a part of the first step of the “triple test”, a three-step guideline laid down by the Supreme Court to ensure OBC quotas in local bodies are determined in a fair and constitutional manner.

• The following are the three steps of the so-called “triple test”.
—Setting up a dedicated commission to conduct a rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness in local bodies;
—Specifying the proportion of reservation required in local bodies in light of recommendations of the commission, so as not to fall foul of overbreadth; and
—To ensure reservation for SCs/STs/OBCs taken together does not exceed an aggregate of 50 per cent of the total seats.

Do You Know:

• The “triple test” was outlined by the Supreme Court in the Vikas Kishanrao Gawali vs State of Maharashtra and others on March 4, 2021.

• Jharkhand set up a dedicated OBC Commission in June 2023. Members of the Commission, including administrative officials, toured Madhya Pradesh to study how the “triple test” was implemented there.

• Data collection began in December, with the deadline set for March. However, several districts missed their submission deadlines, and the complete data reached the Commission this week.

• In Jharkhand, OBCs are subdivided into more socially and educationally backward BC-I (Backward Class I), and the relatively better-off BC-II (Backward Class II) categories.
While both BC-I and BC-II categories are eligible for reservations, the former typically receives a higher share in the pie to ensure equitable representation. Currently, there are 127 castes under the BC-I category, and around 45 under BC-II.

• OBCs make up roughly 50% of Jharkhand’s population. The Kudmi community, a subgroup of the Mahato/Mahto caste, is the largest OBC community, accounting for 15% of the electorate, by some estimates.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What is triple test survey, which UP is to carry out for OBC quota in urban local bodies

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
6. Consider the following statements: (2023)
Statement-I: The Supreme Court of India has held in some judgments that the reservation policies made under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India would be limited by Article 335 for maintenance of efficiency of administration.
Statement-II: Article 335 of the Constitution of India defines the term ‘efficiency of administration’.
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-1
(c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
(d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Some deported to Pak say they are Indian voters: who gets a Voter ID and how?

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Main Examination: 

• General Studies II: Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.

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

What’s the ongoing story: Following a government order in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, hundreds of Pakistani nationals have left India this week. However, many of the deportees have claimed that they have valid Aadhaar cards, ration cards and even Voter IDs.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What you know about voter IDs?

• What are the rules regarding voter IDs?

• How is citizenship determined?

• Who are ‘Citizens’?

• Who is a citizen in India’s constitutional scheme? What are various principles/kinds of citizenship?

• How did Partition and the large-scale migration from territories that became part of Pakistan impact citizenship?

• 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:

• One such deportee was Osama, who, in a video recorded by news agency ANI, claimed to have moved to Uri in Jammu & Kashmir’s Baramulla district from Rawalpindi in 2008. He also said that he had voted in India despite holding the citizenship of Pakistan. On April 30, an FIR was filed regarding the matter on the orders of Baramulla’s District Election Officer (DEO).

• According to the ECI’s manual on electoral rolls, the ERO is responsible for making sure that no ineligible person is added to the electoral roll. However, usually, if there is no objection to a new elector’s applicant, the check for citizenship does not come up.

• The manual says when a claim is presented before the ERO, the officer has to “satisfy himself that the applicant is, inter alia, a citizen of India”. The ERO must consider all evidence the person concerned may tender in the course of the inquiry. The manual stresses that EROs must apply their minds independently, “without being influenced by extraneous considerations”.

• “It must be remembered that there is a provision for appeal against the decision of the Electoral Registration Officer… The onus of proof of citizenship shall initially lie on the applicant who applies for inclusion of his name for the first time,” the manual states.
In the case of migrants from other parts of India, the ERO has to cross-check with the DEO of the district where the claimants have migrated from.

• In the case of married women, who have changed their address as a result of marriage, and who cannot produce documentary evidence as proof of citizenship, the ERO can rely on proof of being registered as a voter as an unmarried person. In such cases, the ERO can also rely on proof of marriage or certificates issued by headmen of both villages where the woman lived before marriage and after.

• In case there is an objection filed against an applicant for not being a citizen, the onus of providing the proof is on the objector, according to the manual. Here, the ERO “would be justified in requiring the person concerned to show evidence that he is a citizen of India”.

Do You Know:

• Article 326 of the Constitution states that every Indian citizen aged 18 years or above has the right to vote in elections to the Lok Sabha and state/Union Territory Assemblies.

• Section 16 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1950, expands on this, giving the reasons for which a person can be disqualified for registration in an electoral roll. The disqualification can happen if a person “is not a citizen of India”, if she is “of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court”, or if she “is for the time being disqualified from voting under the provisions of any law relating to corrupt practices and other offences in connection with elections.”

• The Form 6 — the Election Commission of India’s (ECI’s) form for registering new electors — requires the applicant to provide self-attested copies of age proof and address proof.
Although the applicant does not need to present citizenship proof, the form includes a declaration of citizenship which needs to be signed by the applicant. In case the declaration is found to be false, the applicant can face action as per Section 31 of the RP Act which provides for a punishment with imprisonment of up to one year or a fine or both.

• Once the completed form is received, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) is expected to enquire into the claims and objections, issue notices of hearing where required, and take a final decision on the same. The Booth Level Officers (BLOs) appointed by the ERO are required to collect the claims and objections on behalf of the ERO or assistant ERO.

• ECI sources say cases of non-citizens getting voter IDs have been found in the past as well. Whenever the objections are found to be true, the electors concerned are struck off the rolls and action has been initiated against them.

• Notably, the ECI is currently in the process of linking Aadhaar with Voter IDs to ensure that only Indian citizens get the right to vote. However, in the case of non-citizens who have Aadhaar, that would not be enough to identify ineligible electors.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍On citizenship debate, SC judgment strikes an inclusive note

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
7. With reference to India, consider the following statements:
There is only one citizenship and one domicile.
A citizen by birth only can become the Head of State.
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

ECONOMY

RBI adds over 57 tonnes of gold to forex reserves, brings 38 tonnes back to India

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

What’s the ongoing story: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) added 57.49 tonnes of gold to its foreign exchange kitty during the fiscal ended March 2025 with the value of the gold holding rising by 48.41 per cent amid the rise in the prices of the yellow metal.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is meant by foreign exchange reserves?

• What are important components of the forex reserve of India?

• What is the role of RBI in foreign exchange reserves?

• What is gold in forex?

• What is the purpose of holding forex reserves?

Key Takeaways:

• The country’s central bank also brought 38.64 tonnes of its gold holding back to India from Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in FY 2025. With this, the RBI has brought back 88.60 tonnes of gold to India in the last two years.

• The RBI held 879.59 metric tonnes of gold as of March 2025, of which 511.99 metric tonnes were held domestically. While 348.62 metric tonnes of gold were kept in safe custody with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 18.98 metric tonnes were held in the form of gold deposits, the RBI said in its half-yearly report on forex management.

• In March 2024, the central bank held 822.10 metric tonnes of gold, of which 408.31 metric tonnes were held domestically. While 387.26 metric tonnes of gold were kept in safe custody abroad and 26.53 metric tonnes were held in the form of gold deposits.

• The value of gold held by the RBI rose by $ 25.50 billion to $ 78.17 billion as of March 2025 as against $ 52.67 billion a year ago. In value terms (USD), the share of gold in the total foreign exchange reserves increased from 9.32 per cent as at end-September 2024 to about 11.70 per cent as at end-March 2025, the RBI said.

• According to the World Gold Council (WGC), central banks’ insatiable appetite for gold reached a significant milestone in 2024. Having added 712 tonnes in the first three quarters of the year, central banks bought a further 333 tonnes in Q4 to bring the net annual total to 1,045 tonnes. “As a result, they have extended their buying streak to 15 consecutive years, and, remarkably, 2024 is the third consecutive year in which demand surpassed 1,000 tonnes – far exceeding the 473 tonnes annual average between 2010-2021, and contributing to gold’s annual performance,” WGC said.

• Among major gold holders, Germany leads with 3,351 tonnes of gold, followed by Italy 2,451 tonnes, France 2,437 tonnes and China 2,292 tonnes, WGC said,

Do You Know:

• India’s gross foreign exchange reserves comprise foreign currency assets of the Reserve Bank, gold held by RBI and Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) of the Government of India. India’s Reserve Position in the International Monetary Fund is not included as part of foreign exchange reserves as they may not be available on immediate demand, although some countries do include these balances as part of their reserves.

• Forex reserves are external assets in the form of gold, SDRs (special drawing rights of the IMF) and foreign currency assets (capital inflows to the capital markets, FDI and external commercial borrowings) accumulated by India and controlled by the Reserve Bank of India.

• The International Monetary Fund says official foreign exchange reserves are held in support of a range of objectives like supporting and maintaining confidence in the policies for monetary and exchange rate management including the capacity to intervene in support of the national or union currency. It will also limit external vulnerability by maintaining foreign currency liquidity to absorb shocks during times of crisis or when access to borrowing is curtailed.

• The Reserve Bank functions as the custodian and manager of forex reserves, and operates within the overall policy framework agreed upon with the government. The RBI allocates the dollars for specific purposes.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Why India’s forex reserves are rising, what this means for the economy

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
8. Which one of the following groups of items is included in India’s foreign-exchange reserves? (2013)
(a) Foreign-currency assets, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and loans from foreign countries
(b) Foreign-currency assets, gold holdings of the RBI and SDRs
(c) Foreign-currency assets, loans from the World Bank and SDRs
(d) Foreign-currency assets, gold holdings of the RBI and loans from the World Bank

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1.(a) 2.(d) 3.(b) 4.(d) 5.(b) 6.(c) 7.(a) 8.(b)

  

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