Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for June 25, 2025. If you missed the June 24, 2025 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here FRONT PAGE Durga, dictator, democrat. How the 3 veins ran parallel in Indira Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: History of India Main Examination: General Studies II: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues. What’s the ongoing story: Neerja Chowdhury Writes: Fifty years after the Emergency, as fresh material and new books throw more light on a dark chapter in India’s history, it is still tantalising how Indira Gandhi, the central character around whom the events of the 1970s revolved, could be a “Durga” in 1971, a dictator in 1975 – and even as a dictator, call for elections in 1977, displaying a democratic streak in her — all within a timespan of five-six years. Key Points to Ponder: • What is an Emergency? • Emergency 1975-what you know so far? • What are the emergency provisions in the Constitution of India? • Which type of Emergency was imposed in 1975? • Reason behind Emergency 1975-know in detail • Which constitutional amendment empowered Parliament during the Emergency? • Who was the judge who delivered the verdict against Indira Gandhi in the 1975 election case? • Who famously wrote: “Where fear is, justice cannot be”? • Who was the President of India during the declaration of Emergency in 1975? • Which fundamental rights was most curtailed during the Emergency? • What was the role of the judiciary during the Emergency, particularly in the ADM Jabalpur case? • Do you agree that the 44th Amendment Act was a corrective measure to restore constitutional balance post-Emergency? • “Indira Gandhi represented the paradox of democracy and dictatorship”-Discuss • How JP Narayan's call for Sampoorna Kranti transformed a student's movement in Bihar into a nationwide anti-corruption agitation? • How Raj Narain’s political journey illustrates the tension between principle-driven politics and party loyalty? • "The Constitution was not merely amended, it was mutilated." Comment with reference to the 42nd Constitutional Amendment during the Emergency. • How did the Emergency affect democratic institutions and public trust in governance? • What were the Impacts of imposing National Emergency in 1975? • How the Emergency of 1975 reshaped Indian democracy and public perception of constitutional rights? Key Takeaways: Neerja Chowdhury Writes: • Mrs Gandhi’s opponent Atal Bihari Vajpayee had hailed her as “Durga” after she helped split Pakistan to create Bangladesh, changing geo-political realities. In a preemptive move, she signed a Treaty of Friendship with the then Soviet Union (now Russia), to counter the new Pakistan-China-America axis that was being formed. Displaying her steely side, she did not wilt when then US President Richard Nixon sent the Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal in a show of strength. • In 1975 again, Mrs Gandhi chose so-called “order” over democracy in imposing the Emergency on the night of June 25-26. This was 13 days after Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court unseated her as MP, holding her guilty of electoral malpractices. She toyed briefly with the idea of resigning while hoping for reprieve from the Supreme Court, and appointing someone of her choice as PM. But very quickly she abandoned the idea – it was too risky and might jeopardise her kursi. • Ultimately, Mrs Gandhi imposed the Emergency even without calling a meeting of the Union Cabinet (which was informed at 6.30 the next morning – and not consulted). A compliant President, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, just signed on the dotted line. The Congress government then went about arresting leading Opposition figures – including JP, Vajpayee, L K Advani, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Chandra Shekhar – as well as thousands others opposed to her politics. Do You Know: • The Emergency refers to the period from June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977, during which the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used special provisions in the Constitution to impose sweeping executive and legislative consequences on the country. • The declaration of Emergency converts the federal structure into a de facto unitary one, as the Union acquires the right to give any direction to state governments, which, though not suspended, come under the complete control of the Centre. • Parliament may by law extend the (five-year) term of Lok Sabha one year at a time, make laws on subjects in the State List, and extend the Union’s executive powers to the states. The President can modify, with parliamentary approval, constitutional provisions on the allocation of financial resources between the Union and states. • Under Article 352 of the Constitution, the President may, on the advice of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister, issue a proclamation of emergency if the security of India or any part of the country is threatened by “war or external aggression or armed rebellion”. • In 1975, instead of armed rebellion, the ground of “internal disturbance” was available to the government to proclaim an emergency. In its press note, the government said certain persons were inciting the police and armed forces to not discharge their duties — an apparent reference to Jayaprakash Narayan’s call to police not to follow orders that were “immoral”. • This was the only instance of proclamation of emergency due to “internal disturbance”. The two occasions in which an emergency was proclaimed earlier, on October 26, 1962, and December 3, 1971, were both on grounds of war. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Explained: The story of the Emergency 📍How a semi-retired Jayaprakash Narayan stirred student protests into a storm 📍‘Where fear is, justice cannot be’: The intrepid Mr H R Khanna 📍Raj Narain: The unlikely hero who couldn’t stop fighting, including own 📍EMERGENCY & ITS LESSONS 📍How Indira used the Constitution to subvert democracy 📍When we remember Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme: 📍Under what circumstances can the Financial Emergency be proclaimed by the President of India? What consequences follow when such a declaration remains in force? (2018) Starting with Bihar, fresh electoral rolls: Proof of birth date for those not in 2003 list Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act What’s the ongoing story: Paving the way for a nationwide exercise, the Election Commission announced Tuesday a “special intensive revision” of the electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar, where all existing electors who were not on the rolls in 2003 will have to again provide documentation proving their eligibility. Key Points to Ponder: • Under which Article of the Constitution is the Election Commission of India constituted? • ‘The Election Commission announced a “special intensive revision” of the electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar’-know the special intensive revision by ECI • Know the rationale and implications of using 2003 as a benchmark year for verifying age proof in India’s electoral rolls. • What are the challenges and opportunities in digitizing and cleansing India’s electoral database with focus on Bihar's pilot? • How can updating electoral rolls with mandatory age proof impact the integrity of elections in India? • What are the legal and constitutional safeguards available to ensure fairness in the voter enrolment process? Key Takeaways: • The enumeration form will require those electors born before July 1, 1987 to provide a document establishing date and/or place of birth. • Apart from that, for those born between July 1, 1987 and December 2, 2004, a date of birth and/or place proof of the mother or father will be required and for those born after December 2, 2004, date of birth proof and/or place of both parents will be needed. These categories, EC sources said, have been devised in line with the Citizenship Act, 1955. • In its order issued Tuesday, the EC said it was empowered by the Representation of the People Act, 1950 to direct a special intensive revision of the electoral rolls “including preparation of electoral rolls afresh”. As per the order, the EC had exercised this power 13 times before – from 1952-56 to 2004. • The EC order said the last intensive revision in Bihar was in 2003, with the qualifying date of January 1, 2003. For the upcoming exercise, the Electoral Registration Officers in Bihar would take that as “probative evidence of eligibility, including presumption of citizenship unless they receive any other input otherwise. Any person whose name is not recorded in the 2003 Electoral Roll for the purpose of registration in the electoral roll is required to submit from amongst a wide range of eligible government documents as prescribed for establishing their eligibility to be an elector.” • As per the instructions issued by the EC to the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer, the process will start from Wednesday, ending with the publication of the draft roll on August 1, followed by a month for filing claims and objections till September 1. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on September 30. Do You Know: • According to the EC, all electors will be required to submit a pre-filled enumeration form with required documents either to the respective Booth Level Officers or upload the same onto the EC’s app. • The EC issued the instructions to Bihar authorities Tuesday, with the objective that all eligible citizens are enrolled in the electoral roll, no ineligible person is included and there is complete transparency in the deletion and addition of electors, the EC said in a statement. • It said the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) do verify that the electors being enrolled are eligible as per Section 23 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. But, now the EC was introducing a new measure – uploading the documents submitted by the electors, for instance as address proof, on the ECI’s app ECINET. • As per the instructions issued by the EC, the EROs will print out pre-filled enumeration forms for all existing electors as on the date of the order. The BLOs will then take these forms and distribute them to the electors through home visits. The forms will also be available on the ECI website and ECINET app. The BLOs will help the electors fill the forms and collect the completed forms, along with required documents, it said. The electors can also upload the filled forms and documents online. “Draft Electoral Roll to be prepared of all electors whose EF (enumeration form) have been received,” it said. • As of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Bihar had 7.72 crore registered electors. The EC instructions state that the BLO will have to make at least three visits to collect the filled forms and that any deletion should not be done without conducting the statutory inquiry. • EC sources, however, said that the electors whose forms are not received in the prescribed time frame will be deleted from the draft roll. They will have the opportunity to file an appeal. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Ahead of Bihar polls, Election Commission makes webcasting must for all polling stations GOVT & POLITICS Loitering munitions, counter-drone systems: MoD signs 13 contracts Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. What’s the ongoing story: From a range of Remotely Piloted Aerial Vehicles (RPAVs), loitering munitions, drones and counter-drone systems to Very Short Range Air Defence Systems (VSHORADs) and radars, the Ministry of Defence has signed 13 contracts worth Rs 1,981.90 crore under the Emergency Procurement (EP) mechanism to “enhance situational awareness, lethality, mobility, and protection for troops deployed in CT environments”. Key Points to Ponder: • What are loitering munitions? • What are VSHORADS? • VSHORADS are primarily designed for what? • How do loitering munitions differ from conventional UAVs and cruise missiles? • What is a key advantage of loitering munitions over conventional missiles? • ‘India’s shift towards indigenous defence manufacturing in light of recent defence contracts worth Rs 1,981 crore’-discuss • Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020-what you know about the same? • The DAP 2020 emphasizes ‘Make in India’ by promoting what? • What are the advantages and limitations of using simulations in defence procurement? • What are the recent steps taken by the Ministry of Defence to streamline procurement timelines? Key Takeaways: • The development is significant. India had launched Operation Sindoor against terror targets inside Pakistan last month, leading to both countries launching retaliatory strikes at each other for three days before a ceasefire was reached. • Aimed at enhancing the Indian Army’s operational preparedness in counter-terrorism operations, the EP mechanism would enable deliveries under fast-track procedures, as against the longer procurement processes applied for other planned defence capital and revenue procurements. This will be the sixth phase of emergency procurements. • According to the Defence Ministry, some of the key equipment and systems being procured under the EP mechanism include Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction Systems (IDDIS), Low Level Lightweight Radars (LLLR) and VSHORADs – Launchers and Missiles. • The list also includes loitering munitions, including Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) systems, bulletproof jackets (BPJs), ballistic helmets, Quick Reaction Fighting Vehicles (QRFVs) – Heavy and Medium Night Sights for Rifles. • In a statement issued Tuesday, the Defence Ministry said it has concluded 13 contracts under the EP mechanism. “These contracts, amounting to Rs 1,981.90 crore, have been finalised against an overall sanctioned outlay of Rs 2,000 crore for the Indian Army,” the statement mentioned. • Defence officials told The Indian Express that fast-track acquisitions of a range of modern platforms, weapons, ammunition, and other accessories in the last five years have significantly upped the Indian military’s capabilities by bolstering its inventory. Do You Know: • Emergency powers for procurements were granted to the Armed Forces when the Ladakh standoff with China began in 2020, and also after the Balakot airstrike in February 2019 and the 2016 surgical strikes. • However, a majority of defence procurements, which were fast-tracked, began in 2020 and continued over the next four years with repeated extensions on emergency powers granted to the military, in the backdrop of a military standoff between the two countries along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. • Hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles, loitering munitions, swarm drones, and counter-UAV systems have been procured by the Armed Forces over the last four years, from both foreign and domestic manufacturers, for attack, surveillance, and logistics purposes. The three services also individually procured a range of anti-drone systems from Indian firms. • A range of weapon systems, such as the HAMMER air-to-ground precision-guided weapon system for the Rafale fighter jets, Spice Bombs, and Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPADS) and armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) ammunition for the Army’s T-72 and T-90 main battle tank,s have been bought under emergency powers. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍MoD moves to shrink time for procurement, replace trials with simulation EXPRESS NETWORK DGCA finds lapses, safety deficiencies at major airports Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance What’s the ongoing story: Comprehensive surveillance conducted at major airports including Delhi and Mumbai by aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have revealed a number of concerning findings and inadequacies, including instances of reappearance of reported defects on aircraft, non-adherence to proper work order and safety precautions during aircraft maintenance, and defect reports not being recorded in aircraft log books, among others. Key Points to Ponder: • The DGCA’s comprehensive surveillance findings primarily focus on what? • What does the term ‘ramp inspection’ in civil aviation refer to? • The DGCA surveillance report raised concerns over what? • The DGCA's recent airport surveillance has revealed significant safety lapses-know in detail • Discuss the role of DGCA in maintaining air safety in India. • How does the ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) impact India's civil aviation policies? Key Takeaways: • In one instance, a domestic flight was held up by the DGCA team as the operating aircraft had worn tyres, and was allowed to depart only once the necessary rectification was done by the airline. Among other shortcomings, the regulator also observed that the central line marking of a runway at one of the airports was faded. • Following its June 19 order on launch of a new framework for comprehensive special audits to assess the aviation ecosystem and strengthen aviation safety architecture, the DGCA initiated a focused assessment of the aviation ecosystem to strengthen safety measures across the sector. • The framework was announced by the regulator a week after the deadly crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft in Ahmedabad, in which 241 of the 242 people on board perished. There were a number of casualties on the ground as well. The crash is being investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). • The surveillance findings included multiple cases where the reported defects re-appeared many times on the Aircraft, indicating ineffective monitoring and inadequate rectification action on the defects, the regulator said. • The regulator, however, did not name the concerned airports, airlines, and other aviation ecosystem players. As per the framework announced for the comprehensive special audits, the DGCA is supposed to protect safety information, commercial data, and personal details during such exercises to foster open reporting and a positive safety culture. Do You Know: • According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1.19 million people die annually in road accidents, and between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries. In comparison, the number of annual air crash fatalities has mostly been in the hundreds since 2005, according to the UN body International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). • Of course, almost every human today travels on roads compared to a tiny fraction of the global population using aircraft. But even if one were to take these numbers into account, air travel is still much safer than road travel. • Between 2012 and 2022, there were only 0.001 passenger deaths per 100,000,000 miles onboard airlines, compared to 0.54 deaths on passenger vehicles, according to data compiled by the US-based non-profit National Safety Council (NSC). “Over the last 10 years, the passenger vehicle death rate per 100,000,000 passenger miles was… 1,000 times higher than for scheduled airlines,” NSC said. • Accidents per million departures in commercial flights went down from 4.9 in 2005 to 1.9 in 2023 (the year for which the ICAO last published data). Notably, the ICAO’s definition of an aircraft accident is fairly broad, including even minor events where the aircraft is damaged and needs repairs, or temporarily goes missing. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍On airworthiness: UN’s ICAO rated India above global average, US aviation regulator gave Category 1 status Climate finance: India takes lead in cornering developed nations Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. What’s the ongoing story: In a small but important victory in climate negotiations, developing countries led by India have managed to force a reopening of discussions on the obligations of developed nations to “provide” finance, and not just make efforts towards “mobilising” financial resources, for climate action. Key Points to Ponder: • What is the meaning of climate finance? • Which international agreements laid the foundation for climate finance commitments by developed countries? • What is the financial mechanism? What are the other funds? • In accordance with the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities” set out in the Convention, developed country Parties are to provide financial resources to assist developing country Parties in implementing the objectives of the UNFCCC- discuss the objective behind this step? • What is the Standing Committee on Finance? What is the long-term finance process? • Green finance and climate finance-Compare • What is India's position on climate finance in the context of global climate negotiations? • India has consistently highlighted the failure of developed nations to meet climate finance goals-know in detail • How can India balance its development needs with its increasing global leadership on climate finance and climate action? Key Takeaways: • The issue of climate finance was sought to be settled last year at the COP29 meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, where developed nations had agreed to mobilise a sum of at least USD 300 billion per year from 2035. The figure is three times the amount that developed countries are currently obligated to raise, but well short of the USD 1.3 trillion a year that is the assessed minimum requirement of the developing countries. • At the ongoing annual climate talks in Bonn, Germany, a formal ‘consultation’ was held on the issue Monday after developing countries made a united pushback, seeking inclusion of a dedicated agenda item to discuss the obligation of the developed countries under the 2015 Paris Agreement to provide financial resources to the developing countries. • The Paris Agreement obligates the developed nations to both “provide” finance (Article 9.1) as well as “take the lead in mobilising climate finance” (Article 9.3). The two are related but independent obligations. One does not replace, or take precedence over, the other. • The promise to mobilise USD 300 billion a year from 2035 sidesteps the obligation under Article 9.1. The developing countries had been extremely dissatisfied with last year’s outcome in Baku, with India calling the USD 300 billion amount “abysmally poor”. Later, India had also said that it would be forced to temper the ambition of its future climate action if adequate amounts of climate finance was not provided for. • In the run-up to the Bonn climate talks, which began last week, India enlisted the support of other developing countries in demanding that a separate agenda item be opened to discuss the implementation of Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement. The demand has been met with strong opposition from the developed nations who argued that the matter was already being addressed through various existing strands of negotiations on climate finance which made a new and standalone agenda item unnecessary. Do You Know: • Expressing deep concern at the lack of adequate financial resources being made available, India said the inability of the developed nations to fulfil their obligations was resulting in an erosion of trust. It said Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement was not just a moral imperative, but a legal obligation and a commitment flowing directly from Article 4.3 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). • The 1992 framework convention, the overarching international agreement that sets down the broad principles for global fight against climate change, makes it mandatory for the developed countries, in Article 4.3, to “provide new and additional financial resources” to meet the “agreed full costs” incurred by developing countries in taking climate action. • The formal consultation will result in a ‘report’ that would be placed before a similar meeting during the COP30 climate conference that is scheduled to be held in Belem, Brazil towards the end of the year. • The developing countries are hoping that at Belem they would manage to force the creation of a separate workstream to discuss the implementation of Article 9.1. While that may be some distance away, the developing countries can have the satisfaction of bringing climate finance back under the spotlight, and forcing a discussion that developed nations are generally averse to get into. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍What is climate finance — and why developing countries need it THE WORLD Trump casts doubt on mutual defence clause ahead of NATO summit 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 NATO alliance has crafted a summit in The Hague this week to shore itself up by satisfying US President Donald Trump with a big new defence spending goal – but it now risks being dominated by the repercussions of his military strikes on Iran. Key Points to Ponder: • What is NATO? • What did Trump say about NATO? • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-Know the historical background and current Status • What are the origins of NATO? • How is NATO funded? • How many NATO members meet the defence spending target? • What is important about NATO’s collective defence? • What is Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty (Collective Security)? • What is Article 4 of NATO’s Founding Treaty? Key Takeaways: • The two-day gathering is also intended to signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that NATO is united, despite Trump’s previous criticism of the alliance, and determined to expand and upgrade its defences to deter any attack from Moscow. • The summit and its final statement are meant to be short and focused on heeding Trump’s call to spend 5% of GDP on defence – a big jump from the current 2% goal. It is to be achieved by investing more in both militaries and other security-related spending. • Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, however, upset NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s preparations on Sunday as he declared Madrid did not need to meet the new spending target even as Spain approved the summit statement. • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has had to settle for a seat at the pre-summit dinner on Tuesday evening – rather than a formal session with the leaders when they meet on Wednesday – due to his volatile relationship with Trump. • The US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites at the weekend makes the summit much less predictable than Rutte – a former prime minister of the Netherlands hosting the gathering in his home city – and other NATO member countries would like. • Much will depend on the precise situation in the Middle East when the summit takes place – such as whether Iran has retaliated against the US – and whether other NATO leaders address the strikes with Trump or in comments to reporters. Do You Know: • NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, was set up in 1949 by the US, Canada, and several western European nations to ensure their collective security against the Soviet Union. It was the US’s first peacetime military alliance outside the western hemisphere. Thirty countries are members of NATO currently. NATO is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The headquarters of the Allied Command Operations is near Mons, also in Belgium. • Members of NATO are committed to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. Collective defence lies at the very heart of NATO, “a unique and enduring principle that binds its members together, committing them to protect each other and setting a spirit of solidarity within the Alliance”. This is laid out in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the founding treaty of NATO. • Article 5 reads: “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.” • At the end of WW II, as battered European nations started to rebuild their economies, the US, which believed that an economically strong, re-armed, and integrated Europe was critical to prevent the westward expansion of communist USSR, embarked on a programme to supply economic aid to the continent on a massive scale. • The European Recovery Programme, known as the Marshall Plan after President Harry S Truman’s Secretary of State George C Marshall, promoted the idea of shared interests and cooperation between the US and Europe. The USSR declined to participate in the Marshall Plan, and discouraged eastern European states in its sphere of influence from receiving American economic assistance. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍What is NATO? For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
