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Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for November 28, 2025. If you missed the November 27, 2025, UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here.
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
What’s the ongoing story: India and Indonesia Thursday discussed the finer details related to BrahMos supersonic cruise missile procurement, during the third India-Indonesia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue co-chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin. This marks further progress towards the sale of the weapon system to Jakarta.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is the speciality of the BrahMos Missile?
— Which type of missile is BrahMos?
— What is the difference between a cruise missile and ballistic missile?
— What is BrahMos-NG?
— What are the steps taken by the government to boost the credibility of India as a defense exporter?
— What is the significance of BrahMos export?
— Understand India and Indonesia relationship
— What are the areas of cooperation and conflict between India and Indonesia?
— What is the significance of India-Indonesia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue?
Key Takeaways:
— As both sides reaffirmed long-standing strategic partnership and deepening bilateral defence cooperation, Singh also gifted a model of the missile to Sjamsoeddin.
— If the BrahMos deal goes through, Indonesia will be the second country to procure the weapon system from India, after the Philippines which has procured three batteries of weapon systems in 2022. The missiles procured by the Philippines have a range of around 290 km.
— New Delhi has been in talks with Jakarta over the sale of the missile system, made under a joint venture between the DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
— The supersonic cruise missile has been operationalised in all three defence services and played a key role in attacking set targets inside Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
— Brahmos Aerospace Private Ltd is looking to export the missile system and its compact next-gen version BrahMos NG to at least 10 countries, including South Africa and West Asian countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt.
— The range of the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, which has been operational in all three defence services and played a key role in attacking set targets inside Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, is expected to be upgraded from 290 km to 500 km for land attacks and 400 km for ship attacks.
Do You Know:
— BrahMos is an extremely versatile stand-off range ‘fire-and-forget’ type supersonic cruise missile that has proved its capabilities in land-based, ship-based, air launched and submarine-based versions.
— The versions of the BrahMos that are currently being tested at an extended range can hit targets at upto 350 kilometres, as compared to its original range of 290 kilometres. Even higher ranges of upto 800 kilometres, and hypersonic speed or five times the speed of sound, are said to be on the cards.
— These supersonic cruise missiles are operationalised in all three defence services. It is built by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
— Cruise missiles, like the BrahMos, come under the category known as the “stand-off range weapons”, which are fired from a range sufficient to allow the attacker to evade defensive fire from the adversary. These weapons are in the arsenal of most major militaries in the world.
— Ballistic missiles use projectile motion to deliver warheads to a target. They are powered for a relatively brief time, after which they let the laws of physics take them to their target.
— The cruise missiles fly at a low distance from the ground while the ballistic missiles follow a parabolic trajectory. Ballistic missiles are easier to track since they have a standard parabolic trajectory, as compared to cruise missiles which can fox air defence systems due to their manoeuvrability.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Story of BrahMos: the ‘fire and forget’, stealthy cruise missile India likely used against Pakistan
📍Sukhoi-30-launched Brahmos was the primary offensive weapon in Op Sindoor: DRDO chief
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(1) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2023)
1. Ballistic missiles are jet-propelled at subsonic speeds throughout their fights, while cruise missiles are rocket-powered only in the initial phase of fight.
2. Agni-V is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile, while BrahMos is a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile.
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
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Constitution of India —historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
What’s the ongoing story: Ahead of its scheduled briefing before the Joint Committee of Parliament on the simultaneous elections Bills on December 4, the 23rd Law Commission is learnt to have firmed up its view that the Bills do not disturb the basic structure of the Constitution, when it comes to federalism and the right of the voter.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is the basic structure of the constitution?
— Which Supreme Court ruling established the Basic structure doctrine?
— What is the objective of the Law Commission?
— What is One Nation One Election?
— What are the pros and cons of simultaneous elections?
— What is the Model code of conduct?
— What is the One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment Bill?
Key Takeaways:
— The commission’s view, it is learnt, is that the Bills, which will enable simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State and Union Territory Assemblies, do not need ratification by states as they do not propose to make any changes to the subjects under Article 368 (2), clauses (a) to (e), relating to subjects that require ratification by states.
— In response to a query by the committee, which is chaired by BJP MP P P Chaudhary, the commission is also learnt to have found that there is no requirement to give the Model Code of Conduct statutory recognition.
— The committee on the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment), known as the One Nation One Election Bills, is set to meet on December 4.
— The two Bills were introduced by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in December last year and referred to the committee. The Bills provide for synchronising the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections by curtailing the terms of state assemblies that are elected after a particular Lok Sabha to end with the term of that Lok Sabha. Once the terms of the legislatures align, the next general election will be held simultaneously.
— In the commission’s view, it is learnt, the Bills affect the duration or frequency of voting and not the right to vote, which does not violate the basic structure.
— The commission is also of the opinion that the Bills do not take away the people’s right to periodic, free and fair elections. The curtailment of the term of the state assemblies also cannot be seen as a violation of the basic structure, the commission is learnt to have found.
— On the other hand, the commission views the idea of simultaneous elections positively, in that they would lead to the saving of time and money.
— On questions about whether a constructive no-confidence vote and statutory backing for the MCC should be enacted, the commission is learnt to be against the ideas. In the case of the constructive vote of no-confidence, which is in place in Germany, in order to bring a no-confidence vote against a government, there needs to be a vote of confidence in another grouping.
Do You Know:
— The Doctrine of Basic Structure is a form of judicial review that is used to test the legality of any legislation by the courts. It restricts the power of Parliament to alter the fundamental features of the Constitution. The origins of this doctrine are found in the post-war German Constitution law which, after the Nazi regime, was amended to protect some basic laws.
— Simultaneous elections, popularly referred to as “One Nation, One Election”, means holding elections to Lok Sabha, all state Legislative Assemblies, and urban and rural local bodies (municipalities and panchayats) at the same time.
— A high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind recommended holding simultaneous elections. The committee had recommended 15 amendments to the Constitution of India — in the form of both new provisions and changes to existing provisions — to be carried out through two Constitution Amendment Bills.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Knowledge Nugget: Why the Basic Structure Doctrine matters for your UPSC exam
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(2) 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:
Parliament’s power to amend the constitution is limited power and it cannot be enlarged into absolute power”. In light of this statement, explain whether parliament under article 368 of the constitution can destroy the basic structure of the constitution by expanding its amending power? (UPSC CSE 2018)
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: Observing that “self-styled” mechanisms “will not be effective” in regulating online content, the Supreme Court Thursday suggested that an autonomous body “free from influence” oversee social media platforms while ensuring protection of free speech. It also suggested using the Aadhaar number or income tax PAN to verify the age of the user.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What are the challenges in regulating online content?
— What are Information Technology Rules, 2021?
— How is Obscene Digital Content defined?
— What are reasonable restrictions on Fundamental Rights?
— How have Supreme Court rulings defined public morality?
Key Takeaways:
— These suggestions were made by the bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi while hearing pleas by YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia and others challenging the FIRs against them over alleged obscene comments in Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent show.
— The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in a note to the court, said it is planning to amend the Code of Ethics published with the Information Technology Rules, 2021 to incorporate guidelines on obscenity for all digital content, on accessibility for online curated content and on AI and deep fakes.
— The proposals include rating of online content for different age groups and a bar on anti-national digital content. It said this was being proposed “in accordance with Article 19(1)(a) and the reasonable restrictions imposed under Article 19(2).”
— The note said an insertion will be made in Rule 2 – “obscene digital content” means any digital content shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect, or (where it comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items, is, if taken as a whole, tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.
— It also proposed to amend the Rules to rate content for different age groups. “All content transmitted or published or exhibited by a publisher of online curated content shall be classified, based on the nature and type of content.
Do You Know:
— The law on obscenity has evolved with the advent of the Internet and social media. Under Section 67 of the IT Act, anyone who publishes or transmits obscene material in electronic form can be punished.
— Section 67 imposes a stricter penalty, which can include imprisonment for up to three years and a fine of up to Rs. 5 lakh for a first-time offense.
— With no clear definition in the laws, what can be considered as obscene as per the Indian courts has changed and evolved over the years. Until 2014, the judiciary used the Hicklin test to determine if something is obscene or not.
— The Hicklin Test was established in English Law after the case of Regina vs Hicklin (1868). According to it, a work can be considered obscene if any portion of it is found to “deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such influences”.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Were Ranveer Allahbadia’s comments ‘obscene’ under the law?
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
Examine the scope of Fundamental Rights in the light of the latest judgement of the Supreme Court on Right to Privacy. (UPSC CSE 2017)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies- II, III: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and
developing new technology
What’s the ongoing story: Cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in India has not progressed beyond cotton. Even there, no new technology has been approved for commercialisation since Monsanto’s Bollgard-II Bt cotton in May 2006.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What are GM crops?
— What are GE crops?
— What is the current status of GM crop cultivation in India, and how is it regulated?
— What are the benefits of GM crops? What are the major concerns associated with GM crops?
— Compare and contrast GM crops with GE crops
— What is the status of GE crops in India?
— What are Cas9 and Cas12a proteins?
— Understand the working of genome editing in crops
— What is the purpose of cytokinin plant hormone?
Key Takeaways:
— But this isn’t so with genome edited (GE) crops.
— In May, two GE rice lines were identified for release, after two years of multilocation advanced varietal trials to evaluate their field performance in the 2023 and 2024 kharif seasons under an All-India Coordinated Research Project.
— The two lines were improved GE mutants of the popular Samba Mahsuri and MTU-1010 varieties, with the first one claimed to have demonstrated an average 19% yield increase over the former and the second making the latter amenable to grow well in saline and alkaline soils.
— There is also a third GE line, in mustard, undergoing the second year of trials in 16 locations across North and Central India in the current 2025-26 rabi crop season. If the results are good, this variety – a canola-quality low-pungent mustard that is simultaneously resistant to major fungal pathogens and pests – would be ready for release by around August 2026.
— GM crops contain foreign genes from unrelated species – say the Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt soil bacterium that code for the production of proteins toxic to various insect pests in cotton.
— GE, on the other hand, entails mere “editing” of genes naturally present in the host plant, leading to mutation or changes in their DNA sequence.
— The editing is done by protein enzymes that act like “molecular scissors” to cut and modify the DNA of the targeted native gene. Such editing is aimed to bring forth desirable alterations in that gene’s expression and function.
— The enzyme is directed to the specific location/address in the plant genome by a “navigator” guide-RNA, which is a custom-designed molecule having a sequence matching that of the target DNA.
— For developing the GE rice and mustard varieties, scientists used so-called CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins.
— To understand the objective behind editing, take the Gn1a gene: It codes for an enzyme that degrades cytokinin, a plant hormone stimulating the formation of rice spikelets or flowers. The more the cytokinin accumulation, the greater the number of spikelets that develop into grains.
— By reducing the expression of the Gn1a gene, the degradation of cytokinin is lowered, leading to an increased number of grains per panicle (flower cluster) and thereby yields.
— While Cas proteins are sourced from streptococcus and other bacteria, they are, however, present only in the first-generation GE plants. The underlying gene is segregated out in the offspring. The mutated plant selected from subsequent generations has no Cas protein. It is transgene-free, unlike GM crops that have foreign genes artificially inserted from alien plants or microbes.
— GE plants, being “free from exogenous introduced DNA”, have been exempted from the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change’s (MoEFCC) stringent biosafety assessment regulations.
— These regulations apply only to GM crops, whose “environmental release”, not just for commercial cultivation but even field trials and seed production, is contingent upon clearance from a Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee under the MoEFCC.
— The above exemption – as per an MoEFCC office memorandum, dated March 30, 2022 – limits approvals for GE crops only at the level of an Institutional Biosafety Committee.
— The less stringent regulations – treating them virtually on par with conventional plant varieties – apart, the Narendra Modi government has provided funding support for GE crop research and breeding.
— In February 2025, 10 scientists from the Innovative Genomics Institute – founded by the American biochemist Jennifer Doudna, who won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for co-development of CRISPR-Cas9 GE technology with the French microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier – conducted training sessions for the faculty and students at IARI.
— Doudna’s institute has also supplied the newer-developed GeoCas9 and CasLambda proteins, “which we can use for genome editing in addition to Cas9 and Cas12a,” noted Viswanathan.
— Besides, a team led by Kutubuddin Ali Molla, senior scientist at the Central Rice Research Institute in Cuttack (Odisha), has patented an indigenous “miniature alternative” GE tool to precisely cut and tweak the DNA of plants.
Do You Know:
— Recently, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has received a patent for genome-edited (GE) technology that deploys the so-called TnpB or Transposon-associated proteins.
— It is a “miniature alternative” to the proprietary CRISPR-Cas proteins-based technology to precisely cut and tweak the DNA of plants.
— Similar to commonly used CRISPR-associated Cas9 and Cas12a proteins, TnpB act as “molecular scissors” to cleave the DNA of a gene at a predetermined target site and change its sequence.
— TnpB is only 408 amino acids long and sourced from an extreme environment-surviving bacterium called Deinococcus radiodurans.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Now, desi gene editing technology to aid cheaper, commercial GE crop breeding
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(3) Other than resistance to pests, what are the prospects for which genetically engineered plants have been created? (UPSC CSE 2012)
1. To enable them to withstand drought
2. To increase the nutritive value of the produce
3. To enable them to grow and do photosynthesis in spaceships and space stations
4. To increase their shelf life
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
What’s the ongoing story: Sanjaya Baru writes: The writing on the wall for the Group of Twenty was clear in Indonesia in 2022. The failure to craft a joint statement due to differences on the Russian invasion of Ukraine alerted the next year’s host, India, to camouflage that uncomfortable reality by focusing on the “Global South”.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is G20?
— Who are the members of G20?
— What are the key highlights of this year’s G20 declaration?
— What is the significance of the G20 for India?
— What are the challenges associated with the G20?
— What is Global South?
— Why is the absence of big powers from the G20 creating a question on its relevance?
— Know about the history and function of QUAD summit, East Asia Summit (EAS) , and G7
— Understand the significance of these groupings for India?
Key Takeaways:
— This month at Johannesburg, the G20 was reduced to a gathering of “middle powers” with the Big Three — the US, China and Russia — staying away.
— It is instructive to recall how and why the G20 summit came into being. It was in the autumn of 2008, just weeks after Lehman Brothers imploded, that French President Nikolas Sarkozy and the President of the European Commission rushed to Camp David for a meeting with US President George Bush. They sought a joint response to a financial crisis that had enveloped both the US and western Europe.
— The then existing Group of Eight (G7 plus Russia) would normally have been considered an adequate platform for a consultation among major economies. However, by 2008, China had emerged as a major economy that had the financial resources to deal with the fiscal challenge the crisis posed.
— Expanding the G8 to G9, inducting China, would have been an option. However, the US was not yet willing to give China that status.
— Sarkozy reportedly told Bush that there was a plurilateral group of finance ministers that included several middle powers, including China, India, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, so why not elevate that group to a summit level? That is how the G20 finance ministers group became a G20 heads of government summit.
— India enthusiastically welcomed the elevation of the G20 since it was for the first time that it had been admitted to a heads of government summit of such importance. Frustrated with the lack of progress in the reform of the United Nations and India’s induction into the UN Security Council, it viewed the G20 as a substitute.
— However, after the first few summits, G20 gatherings essentially became talking shops. They have not been able to meaningfully address other global challenges like climate change and global trade.
— The absence of Trump, Xi and Putin at the Johannesburg summit has made the G20 meeting a gathering of what may be termed “middle powers”. Trump is largely responsible for this for three reasons.
— First, his unilateralism. By declaring a tariff war against the rest of the world and asserting US primacy on a range of geopolitical and geo-economic fronts, he has sought to downgrade the relevance of plurilateral platforms.
— Second, by suggesting a “G2” condominium with China, he has elevated a country that the US was not ready to admit into the G8 in 2008.
— Finally, by recommending the re-induction of Russia into the G8, from which it was evicted in 2014 after its repossession of Crimea, Trump has reduced the relevance of the G20 to Russia.
— If the Big Three have no interest in the G20, this group will wither away, with patchy attendance at future summits.
— Trump’s new geopolitics in Asia and global geo-economics have forced India to re-examine its own approach to China.
— While Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to stay away from the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Malaysia, seemingly to avoid bumping into an unpredictable and Twitter-happy Trump, this group remains an important platform for India.
— It is unfortunate that the G20 has been unwilling to address the major global economic challenges of climate change, the rise of mercantilism in international trade and restrictions on migration. Each of these geo-economic challenges can only be addressed through a global consensus that the G20 could have crafted.
— However, by failing to meaningfully focus on them and seek solutions that address both developmental aspirations and economic security concerns, the G20 has made itself increasingly irrelevant.
Do You Know:
— The G20, or the Group of Twenty, is an informal grouping of 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States), European Union, and African Union.
— This year’s G20 summit was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 122-paragraph G20 declaration was adopted by world leaders, including PM Narendra Modi, who have gathered in South Africa, for the first time in the African region.
— Officials said India managed to echo the key outcomes of the Indian G20 presidency in the G20 South African Summit, where the leaders declaration ensured that the issues and priorities of the Global South are reflected.
— PM Modi proposed formation of a G20 Global Healthcare Response Team, creation of a Global Traditional Knowledge Repository, an Open Satellite Data Partnership and a Critical Minerals Circularity Initiative. In all, the Prime Minister, elaborating India’s approach to growth, development and well-being for all, proposed six ideas for the G20 to consider.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Knowledge Nugget: What happened at G20 Summit in South Africa? Here are the key takeaways
📍Drug-terror nexus a global threat, act now: PM to G20
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(4) In which one of the following groups are all the four countries members of G20? (UPSC CSE 2020)
(a) Argentina, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey
(b) Australia, Canada, Malaysia and New Zealand
(c) Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam
(d) Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea
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: Ajay Srivastava writes: After spending the past eight years erecting one of the world’s most expansive regimes of mandatory product standards, the government has now begun dismantling a significant portion of it almost overnight. More than 20 quality control orders (QCOs) covering key textile, plastic and metal inputs have been withdrawn, with more rollbacks expected.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What are QCOs?
— What is the purpose of introducing QCOs?
— What are the reasons for the roll back of QCOs?
— What is anti-dumping?
— What is the role and function of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)?
— What is the significance of a credible quality regime?
Key Takeaways:
— This reset was overdue. But the way it is being done risks repeating the very errors that created the problem. India made haste in imposing nearly 700 QCOs with little preparation after 2017. It is now making haste in removing a quarter of them overnight, without consultation or transition time for the industries affected. What was once regulatory overreach may now become regulatory whiplash.
— Until 2014, QCOs were marginal in India’s import system. The country relied mainly on tariffs, anti-dumping and safeguard duties to manage import flows. The 2017 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act changed this dramatically, giving ministries broad discretion to impose mandatory Indian standards. Since then, QCOs have proliferated across consumer goods, industrial materials and capital equipment.
— MSMEs were hit by a double-certification trap: Both final products and every upstream input needed BIS approval. A June 2025 steel ministry order required every supplier to a BIS-certified foreign mill to be certified, too.
— For example, if a Thai company sold steel coils to an Indonesian mill, the Thai firm also needed BIS approval — otherwise, the Indonesian exporter, who is BIS-certified, couldn’t sell steel to India.
— In the plastics industry, QCOs disrupted entire supply chains. India produces only a small share of the specialised polymer grades exporters need, yet foreign suppliers were still required to undergo expensive factory audits.
— Textiles saw the same fate. QCOs on inputs, fibre, and yarns introduced in 2023 choked imports, raising Indian fibre prices above world prices. Synthetics account for 70 per cent of global apparel trade, but India’s exporters found they could not obtain the exact blends required by international buyers.
— Implementation failures worsened the problems. The steel ministry’s no-objection certificate (NOC) regime became the worst example of licence raj.
— Meanwhile, the BIS’s foreign-factory audit system developed a reputation for inconsistency and opacity. Audits were slow, cancellations were frequent, and approvals were uneven.
— The result was predictable: Shortages, higher costs, unpredictable sourcing, and widespread anger from MSMEs. International criticism also grew. The government appointed a committee chaired by former Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba.
— Reportedly, the Committee’s October 2025 report recommended action on 208 QCOs relating to raw materials, intermediates, and capital goods — revoking 27, suspending 112 and deferring 69. It is said to have called for scrapping the steel NOC regime.
— This review triggered the withdrawals of QCOs in many sectors — a necessary correction. But did India err in the process? The Gauba report was not made public. There was no industry consultation on it. Large domestic producers were given no transition period. Even though most QCO withdrawals were justified, India has again shifted policy too abruptly.
— The risk now is the opposite of the earlier problem: A surge of dumped raw materials, particularly from China. With QCO barriers gone, suppliers with excess inventory may offload stock in India at cut-rate prices. Industrial raw materials are capital-intensive; sudden exposure can trigger closures.
— India must now rebuild a credible quality regime around three priorities. First, limit QCOs to genuinely safety-critical or consumer-facing products, and review the remaining that the Gauba Committee did not examine.
— Second, overhaul BIS processes: Make inspections time-bound, rules uniform, foreign-factory audits rare, and ensure more accredited labs, global standards and mandatory impact assessments, with clear transition periods. Third, monitor imports closely. India needs real-time customs tracking and DGTR alerts to flag price crashes.
— The broader lesson is clear. Industrial policy cannot be built on abrupt shifts or opaque implementation. QCOs were misused and needed reform, but their sudden withdrawal without guardrails risks new vulnerabilities.
Do You Know:
— In India, BIS formulates Indian Standards for different products. While the BIS certification scheme is voluntary in nature, for a number of products, compliance to Indian Standards is made compulsory by the Central Government under various considerations viz. public interest, protection of human, animal or plant health, safety of environment, prevention of unfair trade practices and national security.
— The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 2016, empowers the government to mandate standardisation through compulsory certification.
— The aim of QCOs is to uplift the national quality ecosystem and curb substandard cheap imports of goods in the country, said the sources.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(5) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2017)
1. The Standard Mark of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is mandatory for automotive tyres and tubes.
2. AGMARK is a quality Certification Mark issued by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
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
| ALSO IN NEWS | |
| Before SC stepped in, Ministry was told to let Law Commission decide future of green committee | A fortnight before the November 19 direction of the Supreme Court that the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which advises it on environmental issues, can only be disbanded with its approval, the Cabinet Secretariat had asked the Environment Ministry to refer the matter of the CEC’s future to the Law Commission, The Indian Express has learnt.
The CEC, a statutory body since 2023, was originally formed in 2002 on the Supreme Court’s order. It advises the court on writ petitions related to environment and forest matters, and assists in monitoring and compliance of its orders. |
| INS Mahe commissioned: Features, strategic significance of ships | This week, the Indian Navy commissioned INS Mahe, an Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC). On its crest is Urumi, a flexible sword from the martial art form of Kalaripayattu.
The Mahe-class has been designed and constructed as per the classification rules of Det Norske Veritas (DNV) — a leading global classification society that sets technical standards for ships and offshore structures. The ships in this class are the largest Indian Naval warships propelled by a diesel engine–waterjet combination. They are designed for underwater surveillance, search and rescue operations, and Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO). The ship is capable of undertaking ASW operations in coastal waters, along with advanced mine-laying capabilities. The vessels are designed to fit indigenously developed, state-of-the-art SONARS for underwater surveillance. Fitted with advanced weapons, sensors, and communication systems enabling it to detect, track, and neutralise sub-surface threats with precision, the ship can sustain prolonged operations in shallow waters and features technologically advanced machinery and control systems. |
| What is the Nellie Massacre, on which Assam govt has tabled inquiry report | In February 1983, at the peak of the Assam Agitation and ahead of a contentious state election, entire villages of Bengali-speaking Muslims in central Assam became the sites of a massacre in the span of a single day. It remains one of the country’s worst episodes of communal violence. The silence that followed was deafening. Hundreds of FIRs notwithstanding, no one was ever convicted of the Nellie massacre.
Forty-two years later, the tabling of the official inquiry report, led by IAS officer Tribhuvan Prasad Tewary, and the non-official judicial inquiry, helmed by the former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh, T U Mehta, come as a grim reminder of a brutish identity politics and congealed institutional inertia. Despite the contradiction in their findings — the Tewary commission holds that the “decision to hold the elections cannot be blamed for the outbreak of the violence” while the Mehta commission report underlines it as the “main and immediate cause” — what emerges is the same cautionary tale. |
| PRELIMS ANSWER KEY |
| 1. (d) 2. (d) 3. (c) 4. (a) 5. (a) |
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