UPSC Key: Creamy Layer, Farakka Treaty and Vaishya Tekri

Jaishankar meets Putin, focus on trade, energy, fertilisers, high-tech

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: Ahead of two scheduled meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the next three weeks, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on the latter in Moscow on Monday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Indo-Russia Relations-Know the background

• Russia plays a very important role in logistical as well as technological support when it comes to defence forces-Know India and Russia Military trade

• How India–Russia relations have showed up immense resilience despite profound changes in the international strategic environment?

• How can India maintain its strategic partnership with Russia while simultaneously deepening its engagement with the United States and Europe?

• Why is Russia important for India’s energy security?

• What are the opportunities and challenges in India’s partnership with Russia?

• Area of contention between India and Russia-know in detail

• Why Russia is significant for India?

• Why India is significant for Russia?

Key Takeaways:

• Putin told Jaishankar that among the areas of bilateral cooperation with India, Russia is giving priority to energy, fertilisers, nuclear energy and high technology sectors.

• Modi and Putin are expected to meet at the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit in Kyrgyzstan on August 31-September 1, and again at the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13.

• Underlining the increase in bilateral trade between the two sides, Putin credited Modi for giving “personal attention” to the relationship. “Your visit today underscores the level of relations that has long been established between Russia and India, over decades. We continue to work together in virtually all areas. This includes governmental ties, inter-parliamentary ties, and economic cooperation,” Putin told Jaishankar.

• “I am pleased to note that our trade turnover has increased this year. While it declined slightly last year, it’s growing this year, and this is partly, and perhaps primarily, thanks to Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), who is devoting his personal attention to developing Russian-Indian relations,” he said.

• Intensifying trade and economic relations has been identified as a priority area by both the leaders, who had set a bilateral trade target of US$ 100 billion by 2030. Bilateral trade between the two sides touched a record high of US$ 68.7 billion in FY 2024-25; it was US$ 59.863 billion in FY 2025-26.

• “At the beginning of our conversation, I would like to ask you to convey my best wishes to Modi. I hope to see him soon, as we planned, within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation very soon. Our schedule is such that we will probably be able to meet again this year,” Putin said.

Do You Know:

• Modi is expected to travel to Uzbekistan for a bilateral visit on August 29-30, and then to Kyrgyzstan for the SCO leaders’ summit on August 31-September 1.

• Putin also gave a sense of the discussions held between Jaishankar and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov under the Inter-Governmental Commission, noting that various issues including energy, fertiliser supplies, nuclear energy and high-technology cooperation were on the agenda.

• India is set to host the BRICS leaders’ summit in New Delhi on September 12-13; Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are among those expected to attend. Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to Russia (August 23-24). Earlier in the day, he co-chaired the 27th session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) with Manturov.

• While the Indian side included India’s Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar and Joint Secretary, Eurasia Division, Mayank Singh, the Russian side was represented by Manturov, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maksim Oreshkin, and Aide to the President of Russia Yury Ushakov.

• The India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC) has two divisions: the Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), co-chaired by Jaishankar and Manturov; and the Military and Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC), headed by the defence ministers of the two countries.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Russia deeply cherishes equal and respectful relations with India: Envoy

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
1) Consider the following statements with regard to BRICS: (UPSC CSE, 2025)
I. The 16th BRICS Summit was held under the Chairship of Russia in Kazan.
II. Indonesia has become a full member of BRICS.
III. The theme of the 16th BRICS Summit was Strengthening Multiculturalism for Just Global Development and Security.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) I and II
(b) II and III
(c) I and III
(d) I only

2) Recently, India signed a deal known as ‘Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field’ with which of the following countries? (UPSC CSE, 2019)
(a) Japan
(b) Russia
(c) The United Kingdom
(d) The United States of America

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-Russian defence deals? Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (UPSC, GS2, 2020)

OBC creamy layer candidates in ’25 civil services exam: Govt seeks SC directions

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: General Studies II: 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: The Centre on Monday sought “clarifications and appropriate directions” from the Supreme Court on the applicability of its March 11 judgment ordering the consideration of claims by nearly 100 OBC candidates who were selected in Civil Services Examinations (CSE) since 2016 but rejected by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on the basis of creamy layer criteria.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Supreme Court’s March 11, 2026 judgment?

• What is the concept of the creamy layer for OBC reservation?

• What is creamy layer?

• Why was the creamy layer introduced?

• What are the criterion for deciding creamy layer for OBC reservation?

• What was the SC ruling in the Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992)?

• How Article 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution indirectly associated with affirmative action?

• What are the DoPT OM of 1993 and the clarification of October 2004?

• What was the impact of the DoPT clarification?

• Who will benefit from the Supreme Court ruling?

Key Takeaways:

• The petition, filed by the DoPT, comes even as sources told The Indian Express that the government had been preparing to implement the verdict, with verification of documents of affected candidates already completed.

• The Centre’s clarification plea comes just ahead of the start of the Foundation Course for the CSE-2025 batch, tentatively scheduled to begin at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie this week.

• In its appeal, the government said that the March 11 judgment “altering settled position (on creamy layer) was rendered five days after the final result of CSE-2025 already stood declared”.

• It cautioned that any delay in finalisation of the category-wise merit and allocation list would have a cascading effect on the training schedule, batch strength, logistics arrangements, the training calendar fixed by the respective academies, cadre allocation for IAS and IPS officers, and the seniority and pay fixation of the incoming batch vis-à-vis subsequent recruitment cycles.

• The government stated that “a mechanical or unqualified application of the ratio of the said judgement, with retrospective effect, to the already-concluded selection process of CSE-2025, would result in a peculiar and acute anomaly amounting to discrimination inter se candidates of the very examination cycle sought to be benefited”.

• The Centre emphasised that its appeal for clarification and appropriate directions was concerned solely with CSE-2025, whose selection process “stood substantially concluded prior to the pronouncement of the judgment and is presently at the terminal stage of service allocation”. However, in its appeal, the DoPT does not mention the applicability of the Supreme Court judgment from next batches.

Do You Know:

• The Centre has argued that SC’s March 11 judgment came five days after the final result of CSE-2025 was declared. Delay in finalisation of the category-wise merit and allocation list would have a cascading effect — from training to seniority and pay fixation of the incoming batch.

• The matter traces its origins to a DoPT letter of October 14, 2004, clarifying an Official Memorandum (OM) of September 1993 on the creamy layer criterion for OBCs. The 1993 OM had excluded income from salary and agricultural sources from the income/wealth test used to determine creamy layer status. However, the 2004 clarification said the salary income of employees in public sector undertakings (PSUs) and the private sector would be a criterion.

• On March 11 this year, hearing an appeal by one of the candidates, Rohith Nathan, a Division Bench of Justices P S Narasimha and R Mahadevan ruled that income cannot be the sole criterion for determining the creamy layer among OBCs. The Court said: “The object of excluding the creamy layer is… not to create artificial distinctions between equally placed members of the same social class… unequal treatment of similarly placed OBC candidates would not only be legally erroneous but constitutionally impermissible.”

• It further held that treating the children of those employed in PSUs or private employment as excluded from reservation benefits solely on the basis of salary income, without reference to the nature of their posts (Group A, B, C or D), “would certainly lead to hostile discrimination between parties who are similarly placed and would amount to equals being treated unequally, thereby attracting the rigour of the equality doctrine under Articles 14, 15 and 16”.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍SC verdict on parental income as OBC creamy layer criterion: What has court said, what changes

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍Whether National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) can enforce the implementation of constitutional reservation for the Scheduled Castes in the religious minority institutions? Examine. (UPSC, GS2, 2018)

Nation

Why Bihar wants the Farakka treaty scrapped — and why it puts Govt in a bind

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: A fresh diplomatic and political confrontation is brewing in Bihar over the 1996 India-Bangladesh Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, or known colloquially as the Farakka treaty.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Ganga water treaty or Farakka treaty between India and Bangladesh?

• Why does Bihar oppose renewal?

• Map Work—Padma, Jamuna and Meghna

• What do you understand by these terms—Upstream Country, downstream Country and riparian states?

• How can India balance Bihar’s concerns over flooding and water availability with its broader diplomatic obligations towards Bangladesh?

• How climate change and changing hydrological patterns is impacting India’s transboundary river-water agreements.

• How external influences is shaping domestic policies in India and in Bangladesh?

• Know in detail about India’s Water Disputes or rather India’s water issues with Bangladesh

Key Takeaways:

• As the treaty’s lapse approaches, Bihar’s ruling National Democratic Alliance is pushing against its renewal — a development that could put the BJP-led Centre in a bind.

• In the latest push against the pact, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, who handles the state’s water resources portfolio and who had accompanied Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary during a recent meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Delhi, told reporters that the state had “expressed our concerns regarding the Farakka treaty and how it has proved detrimental to Bihar’s interest”. This comes after JD(U) national working president and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha also urged the Centre not to renew the pact.

• “The Farakka treaty has done enormous harm to Bihar. It is also surprising that the treaty was never reviewed in the last 30 years,” Sanjay K Jha told The Indian Express. “Bihar suffers floods, heavy siltation and also paucity of water because of it. Now that we are in the phase of industrialisation, we need rational use of water. During summers, when we need water for ourselves, we have to concede water to Bangladesh as per the treaty.”

Do You Know:

• The Farakka Water Treaty (officially called the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty) is a bilateral agreement signed on December 12, 1996, between India and Bangladesh that regulates the sharing of the Ganga waters at the Farakka Barrage in West Bengal, India, primarily during the dry season from January 1 to May 31. The treaty expires in December.

• The barrage was built in 1975 to divert water from the Ganga into the Hooghly River to flush out silt and to keep Kolkata Port navigable. However, this reduced downstream river flow into Bangladesh, causing severe water shortages, increased soil salinity, and ecological stress in southern Bangladesh.

• The 1996 treaty established a 30-year binding framework (1996–2026) to replace earlier short-term stopgap arrangements and ensure predictable water distribution.

• Unlike the earlier 1977 temporary agreement, the 1996 treaty lacks a “minimum flow guarantee clause”. If total flow falls drastically below 50,000 cusecs, the treaty only calls for immediate emergency consultations between both governments. Siltation, reduced groundwater discharge, upstream water withdrawal, and erratic rainfall patterns have altered the river’s actual availability in Bihar compared to 1996 baseline levels.

• For two decades, the Bihar government has been flagging concerns over the barrage with the Centre — first under Nitish Kumar and now under Samrat Choudhary.

• The Bihar government argues that the structure has created a severe “flood-and-parch” dynamic upstream, and that the heavy silt trapped behind the barrage has drastically elevated the Ganges riverbed, destroying its natural water storage capacity and driving severe seasonal floods into surrounding districts like Bhagalpur and Munger during the monsoons.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Ganga Water Sharing Treaty: Why renegotiating pact tops new Bangladesh government’s list of priorities

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
3) Consider the following statements about river bridges connecting India with neighbouring countries: (UPSC CSE, 2026)
1. ‘Maitri Setu’, built over Feni river, connects Ramgarh in India with Sabroom in Bangladesh.
2. Jhulaghat suspension bridge connects India with Myanmar.
3. Mechi bridge and its approaches connect Panitanki Bypass in India with Kakarvitta in Nepal.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 only
(d) 3 only

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍The protests in Shahbag Square in Dhaka in Bangladesh reveal a fundamental split in society between the nationalists and Islamic forces. What is its significance for India? (UPSC GS2, 2013)

The Editorial Page

It is wrong to cancel Telangana Cm’s US visit

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: 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

What’s the ongoing story: The denial of permission to CM Reddy can be seen as part of a dismal pattern of antagonism, and the near breakdown of dialogue, between government and Opposition.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is political clearance?

• What clearances do Chief Ministers require to travel abroad?

• How often have CMs’ requests for political clearance been denied?

• What do you understand by the term Paradiplomacy?

• Can a State have its own foreign policy?

• “The denial of permission to CM Reddy can be seen as Union control over foreign policy vs State autonomy in development diplomacy”-Comment

• Cooperative federalism and Competitive federalism and Constitutional federalism and Comparative federalism -compare and contrast

• Why political clearance is not necessarily “anti-federal”?

• Do you think that the Cooperative federalism must extend to India’s external economic engagement?

• “The increasing role of States in attracting foreign investment does not dilute India’s unified foreign policy; rather, it can strengthen it”—What is your take?

Key Takeaways:

• Instead of heading to Boston as planned on Sunday, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy abruptly flew back to India from London — he was denied permission by the Ministry of External Affairs for the US tour, which led to the cancellation of the second leg of his foreign trip.

• Undoubtedly, denying permission lay in the MEA’s remit. Before it accords political clearance, the visits of chief ministers and other dignitaries are assessed by the ministry for criteria such as the “purpose” and “level” of scheduled meetings.

• And yet, it is unseemly that the MEA should weaponise the rulebook’s small print to cut short CM Reddy’s trip. Apparently, the CM’s itinerary included possible meetings with New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani and US Vice President J D Vance — while the NYC mayor is seen at some levels below the Telangana CM, a meeting with the US Vice President did not fit the trip’s stated purpose, which was to attract investment into Telangana, including educational partnerships. This is a narrow-minded approach that does not behove the external affairs ministry of a country like India, which prides itself on its growing confidence on the world stage, and on building global knowledge hubs like Hyderabad.

• The denial of permission to CM Reddy can be seen as part of a dismal pattern of antagonism, and the near breakdown of dialogue, between government and Opposition at home. This is so even as Reddy, the second CM of a newly carved out state, who began his career in the ABVP, has been seen to tweak the script — in the past, he has struck a note of pragmatism and cordiality vis-à-vis the government of Narendra Modi.

• After Operation Sindoor in May 2025, the Modi government dispatched seven multi-party delegations, which included prominent leaders of the Opposition, to foreign capitals. They were tasked with making India’s case to the world while projecting national unity. The subject, then, was terror, but the message was more generally heartening: That whatever be the political differences within, India’s ruling establishment trusted and included the Opposition in its dealings with the world. CM Reddy’s abbreviated trip now points to an unfortunate and unflattering backsliding.

Do You Know:

• Political clearance is granted by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). This is required not only for public servants but any government servant for a foreign trip. The MEA gets hundreds of requests for political clearance every month from ministries, secretaries, bureaucrats and other officials.

• The decision to grant or deny clearance is based on multiple factors, such as the nature of the event, the level of participation from other countries, the kind of invitation that has been extended, and also India’s relations with the host country.

• The system is meant to ensure that official foreign visits do not have diplomatic or foreign-policy implications that have not been assessed by the government. Since 2016, political clearance applications can be made on the MEA website epolclearance.gov.in. These are processed and clearance is issued after coordination among various ministry divisions, which is done through a dedicated ‘Coordination Division’.

• Chief Ministers, as well as state and Union Territory ministers, are required to inform the Cabinet Secretariat as well as the MEA about any foreign visit, be it official or private.
According to a Cabinet Secretariat circular on May 6, 2015, “… prior political clearance and FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) clearance are mandatory.”

• Chief Ministers, ministers of state governments and other state officials also need clearance from the Department of Economic Affairs, and must send a copy of the application to the DEA Secretary.
The DEA and the ministry concerned will entertain an application only if political clearance from the MEA is attached with the request. Without this clearance, no public servant can go abroad.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What is ‘political clearance’ and why do chief ministers need it for foreign trips?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
4) Consider the following statements: (UPSC, CSE, 2020)
1. The Constitution of India defines its ‘basic structure’ in terms of federalism, secularism, fundamental rights and democracy.
2. The Constitution of India provides for ‘judicial review’ to safeguard the citizens’ liberties and to preserve the ideals on which the Constitution is based.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍What changes has the Union Government recently introduced in the domain of Centre-State relations? Suggest measures to be adopted to build the trust between the Centre and the States and for strengthening federalism. (UPSC, GS2, 2024)
📍The concept of cooperative federalism has been increasingly emphasised in recent years. Highlight the drawbacks in the existing structure and the extent to which cooperative federalism would answer the shortcomings. (UPSC, GS2, 2015)

Explained

The other ‘NEET’ that India needs to address

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: Youth protests that forced the resignation of India’s Union Education Minister almost exactly a month ago have not only brought the issue of education into sharp focus, but also highlighted concerns related to unemployment, especially among the youth.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Unemployment Rate (UER)?

• What is “Not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEET)”?

• What is Educated unemployment?

• Why can unemployment fall without a proportional improvement in livelihoods?

• What is Female labour force participation?

• Why has expansion of formal education not translated proportionately into employment outcomes in India?

• What explains the coexistence of educated unemployment and skill shortages in India?

• What are the steps and initiatives taken by the GOI to bridge the skill–employment gap?

Key Takeaways:

• Until now, the government has often cited data on the Unemployment Rate (UER) to suggest that Indians are doing well on the jobs front. The UER is calculated as the number of unemployed people within the total labour force (those currently working or looking for work). To be sure, as Chart 1 shows, official data collected through the Periodic Labour Force Surveys (PLFS) says that the UER has fallen steadily from 6.1% in 2017-18 — hitting a 45-year high — to just 3.1% in 2025.

Chart 1

• This shows UER for those aged 15 years and above, suggesting that broadly, the Indian economy has been creating jobs and bringing about all-round well-being. However, at least three immediate problems arise if one looks only at the UER, and that too for this age group.

• The first problem is that the unemployment for the young Indians — those between the ages of 15 and 29 years — is still quite high even though this number has also been coming down. As Chart 2 shows, it has fallen from almost 18% in 2017-18 to around 10% in 2022-23 but has since stayed at this high level.

Chart 2

• In fact, not only is the unemployment rate highest among the youth as a cohort, it rises with educational
attainment. As Table 1 shows, graduates aged 25 face the highest unemployment rate — as high as almost 40%. It means that on average, 4 out of 10 graduates aged 25 years looking for work fail to get it.

Table 1

• The data in this explainer is sourced from the State of Working India (SWI) 2026 report by researchers at the Azim Premji University and the PLFS. They also calculated that the UER among young Indians with education up to graduation or more was actually higher in 2023 than in 1983.

• While graduates being unemployed is not a new phenomenon in India, so much so that even movies of yesteryears capture this routine, though crushing reality, the situation seems to be worsening over time.

Do You Know:

• The second problem is that while it is true that more and more jobs have been created since 2017-18, there is a big question mark on the quality of those jobs. Table 2 shows the size of the Indian workforce — the total number of people with a job — over the years. It has increased from 43.3 crore (or 433 million) in 2017-18 to around 61 crore as of December 2025.

Table 2

• The SWI 2026 pointed out the following: “In the post-Covid period India’s employed population has increased from
490 million to 572 million, with employment rates rising from 71 to 74 percent for men and from 26 to 34 percent for women, between 2021-22 and 2023-24. But the majority of employment creation has been in agriculture. Of the 83 million jobs added between 2021-22 and 2023-24, 40 million have been in agriculture, with women accounting for a large share (38 million).”

• Similarly, while women have increasingly joined India’s workforce — rising from 94 million in 2017-18 to 186 million in 2023-24 — as Chart 1 shows, most are involved in work that pays very little. “The number of women in own-account self-employment has seen a nearly four-fold increase since 2017. Self-employment earnings among women and salaried earnings (for men and women) have largely stagnated,” states the report.

Chart 1

• Instead of the UER, another metric better captures how the Indian economy is failing its youth. It is called NEET — an acronym for “Not in Employment, Education, or Training”.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Youth protests: How Indian states’ expenditure on education has declined over 12 years

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
5) Increase in absolute and per capita real GNP do not connote a higher level of economic development, if (UPSC CSE, 2018)
(a) industrial output fails to keep pace with agricultural output.
(b) agricultural output fails to keep pace with industrial output.
(c) poverty and unemployment increase.
(d) imports grow faster than exports.

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍Most of the unemployment in India is structural in nature. Examine the methodology adopted to compute unemployment in the country and suggest improvements.(UPSC, GS3, 2023)

Tracing Ashoka in Ujjain: What new dig at vaishya tekri can reveal

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

What’s the ongoing story: Madhya Pradesh has begun a push to excavate monuments linked to Mauryan-era emperor Ashoka, beginning with Vaishya Tekri.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Why is Vaishya Tekri in the news?

• Why stupa was built?

• What is the historical importance of Ujjain?

• What was Ashoka’s Dhamma?

• What do understand by edicts of Ashoka?

• What are the edicts and inscriptions of Ashoka?

• Who first deciphered Ashoka edicts?

• What is the significance of Ujjain in ancient India’s political, commercial and cultural history?

• Map Work- Major stupa sites

• Map Work-Sketch Mauryan Empire

• Which empire did Ashoka, often known as Ashoka the Great, belong to?

• What you know about Mauryan architecture?

• Historians categorises Mauryan architecture into Court Art and Popular Art-what are these?

• Court Art and Popular Art-Compare and Contrast

• What are the reasons for the formulation of policy of dhamma by the emperor Ashoka?

Key Takeaways:

• The Madhya Pradesh government has begun restoring Buddhist monuments linked to the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, starting with a fresh excavation at Vaishya Tekri in Ujjain. In his 2011 paper, Aśoka and Buddhist Nuns: Early Buddhism in Ujjain and Malwa, academic Peter Skilling wrote: “The largest stupa, popularly called Vaisya Tekri, is about 350 feet at its base and 100 feet high. Nearby is a smaller stupa, called Kumbhar (or Kumhar) Tekri. Both are relatively undisturbed, except for the unfortunate fact that a power line runs between them, and a giant pylon squats rudely on Kumbhar Tekri’s shoulder.”

• But academic Himanshu Prabha Ray, in an interview with The Indian Express, urged caution, noting that the excavation report is decades old and that its interpretation was shaped by earlier accounts, particularly Alexander Cunningham’s writings on Ashoka. While acknowledging the mound’s impressive size and its reported comparison with the Great Stupa at Sanchi, Ray said, “I think we are jumping the gun. We need to investigate further beyond the 1938-39 excavation.”

Do You Know:

• Ujjayini (modern Ujjain), on the banks of the Sipra, a tributary of the Chambal, was the capital of Avanti and an important commercial centre. Historian Romila Thapar, in Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, notes that Ujjain was a major crossroads, linking trade routes to western coastal ports such as Broach and Sopirà, as well as to Pataliputra. “Ptolemy refers to it as Ozone.”

• Ashoka was sent to Avanti as viceroy by his father, Bindusara. Unlike his brief sojourn in Taxila, he is believed to have spent about a decade in Avanti, with Ujjain as his headquarters. Thapar adds, “We feel that he was sent to Taxila for a special purpose and after having completed his work there, he was then appointed to the viceroyalty at Ujjain in recognition of his work.”

• Historian Nayanjot Lahiri describes Ujjain as the “Greenwich of India” in Ashoka in Ancient India (2015), because Hindu astronomers reckoned the prime meridian of longitude from the city. She suggests that Ashoka arrived there around 282 BCE, roughly a decade before the death of his father, Bindusara. “By the time Ashoka got there, it was an urban centre of respectable antiquity, having flourished along the Sipra river for 300 years or more before it became the Magadhan prince’s place of functioning,” she notes.

• On his way to Ujjain, Ashoka stopped in Vidisha, where he met Vedisadevi, the daughter of a merchant. “Her name was Devi and the romance began in the city of Vidisha, where her father was a prominent merchant. Soon enough, Ashoka married Devi and moved on to Ujjayini,” writes Lahiri. Thapar, however, believes Devi was ‘not legally married’ to Ashoka, since historical records do not mention it. The couple later had a son, Mahinda, and a daughter, Samghamitta.

• Interestingly, local traditions in Sri Lanka connect Vaishya Tekri with Devi. According to Lahiri, “It is locally known as the Vaishya Tekri (‘Vaishya caste’s mound’) since Devi was the daughter of a merchant, this being a characteristically Vaishya occupation.”

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Ashoka-era stupa, bigger than Sanchi’: 90 years on, Ujjain mound comes under renewed focus

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
6) Who among the following rulers advised his subjects through this inscription?
“Whosoever praises his religious sect or blames other sects out of excessive devotion to his own sect, with the view of glorifying his own sect, he rather injures his own sect very severely.” (UPSC, CSE, 2020)
(a) Ashoka
(b) Samudragupta
(c) Harshavardhana
(a) Krishnadeva Raya

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍The rock-cut architecture represents one of the most important sources of our knowledge of early Indian art and history. Discuss. (UPSC, GS1, 2020)
📍Indian Philosophy and tradition played a significant role in conceiving and shaping the monuments and their art in India. Discuss. (UPSC, GS1, 2020)

Why Indian cities flood after heavy rain and overheat in summer every year

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Urbanisation, their problems and their remedies.

What’s the ongoing story: In May, temperatures in parts of Gurugram crossed 44 degrees Celsius, and the India Meteorological Department issued heat alerts for Haryana. On August 6, heavy rain inundated arterial roads and low-lying sectors across the city. Authorities advised offices to let employees work from home so that fewer vehicles would add to the congestion.

Key Points to Ponder:

• The term ‘blue-green infrastructure’ in urban planning refers to what?

• The concept of ‘Sponge Cities’, often discussed in relation to urban flooding, originates from which country?

• There are different types of water logging that happen due to different conditions in an area-What are they?

• What are the causes of urban water-logging?

• Water-logging is a prelude to urban flooding-Do you agree with this?

• Issues related to urban stormwater management

• What do you understand by “Concretisation”?

• ‘Concretisation’ a by-product of urbanisation which has almost engulfed major cities in India-know it’s impact?

• ‘Concretisation’ and water logging-Connect the dots

• ‘Concretisation’ is turning the city into an urban heat island with threats of water logging and urban floods in metro cities”-how far you agree with this statement?

• What is ‘Sponge city technology’?

• Several cities in India have attempted to address issues regarding water logging-Know in detail

Key Takeaways:

• The two episodes were separated by about 11 weeks. One involved extreme heat and the other intense rain, but both exposed the same problem. Weather translates into an urban disaster when it is met with dense construction, weak drainage, loss of open land, unsafe housing and public systems that aren’t ready for those most at risk.

Do You Know:

• A heatwave, cloudburst or cyclone is a hazard. It becomes a disaster when it strikes a place where people, buildings, and public services are exposed and lack the capacity to withstand it. This is the distinction made by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, which describes disaster risk as the interaction between a hazard and the conditions in which it occurs.

• In cities, those conditions are shaped by planning. Heavy rain need not cause severe flooding if water can drain, spread or seep into the ground. But the same rain can bring a city to a halt when natural drains have been narrowed, lakes and floodplains built over, and large areas covered with concrete. The amount of rain matters, but so does the surface on which it falls.

• The same applies to heat. Dense construction, asphalt, poor ventilation and the loss of tree cover cause neighbourhoods to absorb heat during the day and retain it after sunset. The danger is greater for people living in poorly ventilated homes and for those who work outdoors without reliable access to shade, drinking water or healthcare. The hazard may begin with the weather, but the extent of the damage depends on how the city has been built and governed.

• Climate change and unplanned urban growth are increasing the risk together. Heatwaves and periods of intense rainfall are becoming more severe, while cities continue to replace soil, vegetation and water bodies with buildings, roads and other hard surfaces. This raises local temperatures and leaves less ground through which rainwater can drain.

• The World Bank estimates that temperatures in Indian city centres can be three to four degrees Celsius higher than in surrounding areas. The change in land use has been stark in Bengaluru. Research by the Indian Institute of Science found that built-up land increased from about eight per cent in 1973 to nearly 74 per cent in 2013, while vegetation fell from 68 per cent to less than 15 per cent.

• India’s urban population is expected to reach 951 million by 2050, and more than 144 million new homes may be required by 2070. More than half the infrastructure that Indian cities will need by 2050 is yet to be built. Whether this expansion adds to the risk will depend on where construction is permitted, what materials are used, and whether natural drainage systems and open spaces are retained.

• The damage recorded after a flood or heatwave is only part of the cost. Official estimates generally capture deaths and damage to roads, buildings and other public assets. They are less likely to capture wages lost by informal workers, the cost of illness, the disruption of small businesses or the time spent recovering from repeated flooding.

• The Disaster Management Act, 2005 established disaster management authorities at the national, state and district levels. The 2025 amendment created a mechanism for dealing with risks specific to large cities. Section 41A allows state governments to constitute an Urban Disaster Management Authority in every state capital and city with a municipal corporation, except Delhi and Chandigarh.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Gurgaon rain chaos: WFH advised as flooded roads trigger massive jams; MCG Commissioner transferred

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
7) The World Bank warned that India could become one of the first places where wet-bulb temperatures routinely exceed 35 °C. Which of the following statements best reflect(s) the implication of the above-said report? (UPSC, CSE, 2025)
I. Peninsular India will most likely suffer from flooding, tropical cyclones and droughts.
II. The survival of animals including humans will be affected as shedding of their body heat through perspiration becomes difficult.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) I only
(b) II only
(c) Both I and II
(d) Neither I nor II

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍Account for the huge flooding of million cities in India including the smart ones like Hyderabad and Pune. Suggest lasting remedial measures. (UPSC, GS1, 2020)

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

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

  

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