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Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for April 21, 2025. If you missed the April 20, 2025 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here
FRONT PAGE
Jal Shakti wants `2.79 lakh cr more for flagship water scheme, panel clears half
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development
Main Examination:
• General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes
• General Studies II: Important aspects of governance
What’s the ongoing story: Sharply higher costs amid concerns that some states may have approved inflated work contracts to provide tap water connections to rural households under the Jal Jeevan Mission have led an Expenditure Secretary-led panel to propose a 46 per cent cut in the Centre’s funding assistance to the Jal Shakti Ministry’s demand for four years ending December 2028.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the Jal Jeevan Mission?
• Jal Jeevan Mission comes under which Ministry?
• What is the issue highlighted by Expenditure Secretary-led panel?
• Why Expenditure Secretary-led panel proposed a 46 per cent cut in the Centre’s funding assistance to the Jal Shakti Ministry’s demand for four years ending December 2028?
• What is the funding pattern of Jal Jeevan Mission?
• Is the Jal Jeevan Mission a centrally sponsored scheme?
• What are the factors which lead to the increment of per tap connection cost under the Jal Jeevan Mission from ₹30,000 to ₹1,37,500?
• How does Jal Jeevan Mission work?
• How Jal Jeevan Mission helps in empowering women?
• Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) and Jal Jeevan Mission (Rural)-Compare and Contrast
• How important is the Jal Jeevan mission?
• What is Expenditure Finance Committee?
• What are the factors which constrains utilisation of Funds in Social Sector Schemes?
• What Steps/measures are needed for improving fund utilization capacity especially in schemes like Jal Jeevan Mission?
• How Funds are Allocated for Social Sector Schemes?
Key Takeaways:
• Over a little more than five years, till December 2024, only 12.17 crore (about 75% of the target) tap connections could be installed. The Jal Shakti Ministry proposed finishing the job of providing the remaining 3.96 crore households with connections over the next four years till December 31, 2028. The Finance Minister has already provided Rs 67,000 crore for the mission in 2025-26.
• In a fresh concept note circulated to various ministries and departments on February 13, 2025, the Jal Shakti Ministry projected the revised outlay for the mission at Rs 9.10 lakh crore, substantially higher than Rs 3.60 lakh crore when it was originally conceived in 2019.
• At first glance, it was the cost estimate of providing the remaining 3.96 crore tap connections that caught the attention of the Department of Expenditure and the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance.
• The Jal Shakti Ministry denied there were any time and cost overruns in its response to the justifications sought by the Finance Ministry.
Do You Know:
• The Jal Jeevan Mission, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2019, aimed to provide tap connections to about 16 crore rural households to achieve saturation coverage by December end 2024. But only 75 per cent of the target could be achieved over five years, and the remaining 4 crore tap connections are now proposed to be installed by extending the mission by four years till December 31, 2028.
• In 2019 when the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ programme was launched, the EFC had fixed the Jal Jeevan Mission’s outlay at Rs 3.6 lakh crore against the Jal Shakti Ministry’s demand of Rs 7.89 lakh crore. Information available on the mission dashboard, however, shows states approved schemes worth Rs 8.07 lakh crore during the five years (2019-2024).
• This sharp escalation in costs probably led the EFC to curtail the outlay and reduce the Central share to the mission. Sources said the Jal Shakti Ministry justified the proposed cost of Rs 8.07 lakh crore for the approved scheme (which includes Rs 7.68 lakh crore of works awarded and Rs 38,940 crore of works at award stage) during the EFC meeting.
• According to the DEA, nearly 12 crore rural households were provided tap connections since 2019. The Centre and states spent Rs 3.60 lakh crore (Centre — Rs 2.08 lakh crore and states — Rs 1.52 lakh crore) for this. Now, the DDWS has projected the mission to cost an additional Rs 5.5 lakh crore (Centre — Rs 2.79 lakh crore, states — Rs 2.71 lakh crore) for providing tap connections to 4 crore households.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Justify increase in cost of tap to `1,37,500 from `30,000, says Finance
Previous year UPSC mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍What is water stress? How and why does it differ regionally in India? (2019)
Human detection radars, seismic sensors to track tunnels: MHA’s hi-tech security at Pak border
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Main Examination: General Studies III: Security challenges and their management in border areas
What’s the ongoing story: Amid a spike in encounters with foreign terrorists in Jammu, where over 50 Army personnel have died in the last couple of years, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said earlier this month that the government was deploying an electronic surveillance system along its border with Pakistan to thwart infiltrations.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is an electronic surveillance system?
• What are the four types of surveillance systems?
• What is Comprehensive Integrated Border Management system (CIBMS)?
• What are the components of Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS)?
• Why India need high-tech border surveillance?
• What is Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique (BOLD-QIT)?
Key Takeaways:
• Sources said this surveillance system includes an integrated network of human-detection radars, thermal imaging and high-resolution cameras, comprehensive floodlighting along the fences, tech-enabled vigil of riverine stretches and seismic sensors to detect tunnels.
• Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said some of these systems have already been installed in certain stretches while some new high-tech equipment and security systems are being experimented with to deal with some of the vulnerabilities on the border with Pakistan.
• According to officials engaged in the project, human-detection radars integrated with cameras and a command and control system are proving to be effective.
Do You Know:
• All of this is supplemented by the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS), which the government fast-tracked after
the 2016 Pathankot Air Base attack. According to the MHA, two pilot projects covering about 71 kms on India-Pakistan border (10 kms) and India-Bangladesh border (61 kms) of the CIBMS have already been completed.
• According to the MHA, CIBMS involves deployment of a range of state-of-the-art surveillance technologies — thermal imagers, infra-red and laser-based intruder alarms, aerostats for aerial surveillance, unattended ground sensors that can help detect intrusion bids, radars, sonar systems to secure riverine borders, fibre-optic sensors and a command and control system that can receive data from all surveillance devices in real time.
• The government also launched BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique) under CIBMS on India-Bangladesh border in Dhubri district of Assam, along the riverine border as it was not feasible to construct border fencing. This, sources said, has been operationalised.
• “The implementation of these projects will help in integration of manpower, sensors, networks, intelligence and command and control solutions to improve situational awareness at different levels of hierarchy to facilitate prompt and informed decision-making and quick reaction to emerging situations,” an MHA official said.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Work on hi-tech border surveillance project in progress: BSF
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
1. In addition to fingerprint scanning, which of the following can be used in the biometric identification of a person? (2014)
1. Iris scanning
2. Retinal scanning
3. Voice recognition
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
GOVT & POLITICS
Now, Dubey calls ex-CEC ‘Muslim Commissioner’
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Main Examination: General Studies II: Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary
What’s the ongoing story: Hours after his party distanced itself from his statement that Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna was responsible for “grih yuddhas” (civil wars) in the country, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday morning attacked former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi over his criticism of the Waqf Act, labelling him a “Muslim Commissioner”.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is Contempt of Court?
• What are the Types of Contempt of Court?
• What is the role of the Supreme Court in contempt of court?
• What Articles 129 and 142 of the Constitution says?
• Prashant Bhushan Case (2020) and Contempt of Court—Connect the dots
• What is the Criticism of Contempt of Court Proceedings?
• What are the Mulgaonkar principles?
• Who is Nishikant Dubey?
• What Nishikant Dubey said which can invite Contempt of Court?
• What is Judicial encroachment?
• Judicial encroachment and Judicial overreach—Compare and Contrast
• ‘The recent Supreme Court orders involving the Tamil Nadu Governor and the Waqf law is an example of Judicial encroachment’—How far you agree?
Key Takeaways:
• Dubey targeted the Supreme Court, blaming Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna for “all civil wars in the country”.
• Born in Deoghar in Bihar and the nephew of a Jana Sangh leader, the 56-year-old Dubey moved into the RSS orbit early, starting with its shakhas. After a stint in the corporate world, he joined active politics in 2009 and has been elected to the Lok Sabha from Godda in Jharkhand four straight times.
• Dubey has also been one of the loudest voices calling for a National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Jharkhand, alleging that uncontrolled entry of undocumented migrants from Bangladesh was leading to demographic changes in the state. Last year, he said during a session of the Lok Sabha that the Malda and Murshidabad districts of neighbouring West Bengal, which border Bangladesh, should be made Union Territories to clamp down on undocumented immigration.
Do You Know:
• S Mulgaonkar v Unknown (1978) is a case that led to a landmark ruling on the subject of contempt. By a 2:1 majority, the court held Mulgaonkar, then editor of The Indian Express, not guilty of contempt although the same Bench had initiated the proceedings. Justices P Kailasam and Krishna Iyer formed the majority going against then Chief Justice of India M H Beg. Justice Iyer’s counsel of caution in
exercising the contempt jurisdiction came to be called the Mulgaonkar principles.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Supreme Court pulls up two from NCLAT, issues contempt notice: ‘Shows the rot there’
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
2. Consider the following statements: (2022)
1. Pursuant to the report of H.N. Sanyal Committee, the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 was passed.
2. The Constitution of India empowers the Supreme Court and the High Courts to punish for contempt of themselves.
3. The Constitution of India defines Civil Contempt and Criminal Contempt.
4. In India, the Parliament is vested with the powers to make laws on Contempt of Court.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 4
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 3 only
EXPRESS NETWORK
3 killed as flash floods, landslides wreak havoc in J&K’s Ramban dist
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
Mains Examination:
• General Studies I: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
• General Studies III: Disaster and disaster management.
What’s the ongoing story: A cloudburst triggered flash floods and landslides in Jammu & Kashmir’s Ramban district on Sunday, killing three people, blocking the Jammu-Srinagar national highway at several points, and disrupting power and water supply, officials said.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is a cloudburst?
• What is the reason of cloudburst?
• How common are cloudbursts?
• Why do cloudbursts occur in hilly areas?
• Can we predict cloudbursts?
• What is a ‘Highly local cloud’?
• What is flash flooding?
• Why is Himalayan ecosystem fragile?
• What are the ecological problems faced by the Himalayan States?
• How disaster management is done in the landslide and subsidence-hit zone?
• Run-of-the-river (RoR) hydropower projects in the Himalayan states-what are the issues and challenges?
• What Ravi Chopra committee which was constituted by the Supreme Court says about the developmental project in Himalayan States?
• What are the major steps to be undertaken for safeguarding the fragile ecosystem of the Himalayan States?
Key Takeaways:
• Several parts of the Union Territory have been hammered by torrential rain, high-velocity wind, lightning and hail since Saturday evening. Scores of houses, commercial establishments and vehicles have been damaged.
• Three people were killed after torrential rainfall and hail in the Ramban tehsil of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday (April 20) morning. Buildings collapsed, transport was disrupted and hundreds of people had to be relocated due to the heavy rain.
• The landslides buried a large number of vehicles along the national highway, as well as in Ramban town and its outskirts. Many people were left stranded along the national highway.
• Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said his government was in touch with local officials to coordinate the operations.
• “Extremely anguished by the tragic landslide and flash flood in Ramban, which have caused considerable damage to life and property. My thoughts are with the affected families in this difficult hour. We are in touch with the local administration to ensure immediate rescue efforts wherever needed. Later today, I will be reviewing restoration, relief, and repair plans,” Abdullah said in a post on X.
Do You Know:
• While episodes of heavy rain are often termed “cloudburst”, a cloudburst has a specific technical definition — rainfall of 10 cm or more in an hour, over a roughly 10 km x 10 km area.
• Cloudbursts are more common in hilly areas because of a phenomenon called ‘orographic lift’, which basically means warm air rising up the side of a mountain. As warm air ‘climbs’ a mountain, it expands because of the low pressure above. The expanding air cools, releasing the moisture it was holding as rain. But if more and more warm air keeps rising, it prevents that rain, till a large amount of rain builds up and bursts out in a massive shower all at once.
• Because cloudbursts happen in localised areas ( over a roughly 10 km x 10 km area), they are difficult to capture accurately.
• As the name suggests, a flash flood happens quickly, when a lot of rain suddenly enters into the drainage systems (waterbodies, drains), and water overflows. Flash floods are again more common in hills, because rocky terrain does not absorb water very well. While river floods, the kind normally seen in plains, last longer and cause more damage to property, the sudden flash floods are more likely to lead to loss of life.
• In India, flash floods are often associated with cloudbursts – sudden, intense rainfall in a short period of time. Himalayan states further face the challenge of overflowing glacial lakes, formed due to the melting of glaciers, and their numbers have been increasing in the last few years.
• Landslide is a portion of ‘land’ coming loose and sliding — rocks and soil slipping down a mountain, for example. As the British Geological Survey’s website says, “When the force of gravity acting on a slope exceeds the resisting forces of a slope, the slope will fail and a landslide occurs…adding water to the material on a slope makes a landslide more likely to happen. This is because water adds weight, lowers the strength of the material and reduces friction, making it easier for material to move downslope.”
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Ramban rain causes destruction: Understanding the weather events affecting the region
📍Cloudbursts & heavy localised rainfall — why hills are at risk
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍Describe the various causes and the effects of landslides. Mention the important components of the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy. (2021, GS3)
📍Discuss the recent measures initiated in disaster management by the Government of India departing from the earlier reactive approach. (2020, GS3)
📍Disaster preparedness is the first step in any disaster management process. Explain how hazard zonation mapping will help disaster mitigation in the case of landslides. (2019, GS3)
THE EDITORIAL PAGE
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Main Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
What’s the ongoing story: Aditya Vishwanath and Lakshmi Narayanan writes: To give every student agency to shape their path, schools and colleges need to cultivate broad-based tech and data literacy.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What exactly is the central concern raised in the article regarding AI and automation?
• India is facing a multidimensional employment crisis—What are they?
• Why the AI era is different?
• What is a significant challenge workers face in the age of automation?
• What is the concept of the ‘invisible crisis’ mentioned in the article?
• What can be the potential socioeconomic impacts of widespread AI?
• What are the ethical considerations surrounding the replacement of human labour with machines?
Key Takeaways:
Aditya Vishwanath and Lakshmi Narayanan writes:
• Historically, waves of innovation — like steam engines or assembly lines — disrupted primarily low-skill, blue-collar jobs. Later, the digital revolution upended white-collar roles through software and outsourcing. But the AI era is different.
• Today, technology affects everyone, from low-wage workers to high-skilled programmers, architects, designers, and even artists. The impact is top to bottom. With generative AI and automation, even highly creative and analytical professions are being reshaped.
• Low-skill, low-replaceability jobs may remain safe — for now. But both high-skill, high-replaceability and low-skill, high-replaceability roles are at growing risk. The only durable edge will come from the ability to learn new skills quickly and continuously.
• When we talk about the role of AI in the future of work, we are really referring to a set of foundational capabilities — technology literacy and data literacy — that enable people to understand, work with, and adapt to intelligent systems. These are the real, tangible competencies that underlie “AI literacy” in a workforce context.
Do You Know:
Aditya Vishwanath and Lakshmi Narayanan writes:
• In envisioning how education must respond, Joseph Aoun, President of Northeastern University, offers a powerful framework called Humanics. He asks, what do we do when the machines do everything.
• Aoun argues that future-ready education must rest on three pillars. One, technical ability or understanding how machines work and how to work with them. As AI and robotics take over more tasks, workers who can interact with and augment these systems will become more productive and indispensable. Two, data discipline that pertains to the ability to read, analyse, and act on data. In a world of algorithmic decision-making, navigating vast streams of information is essential for strategic thinking and problem-solving. Three, human discipline is primarily about skills that machines cannot (yet) replicate: Empathy, creativity, cultural agility, and contextual reasoning. These are what allow people to transfer insights across domains, innovate meaningfully, and lead with purpose.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
3. With the present state of development, Artificial Intelligence can effectively do which of the following? (2020)
1. Bring down electricity consumption in industrial units
2. Create meaningful short stories and songs
3. Disease diagnosis
4. Text-to-Speech Conversion
5. Wireless transmission of electrical energy
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2, 4 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
ECONOMY
A good monsoon: Despite shrinking share, agri could buttress growth projections
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development
Main Examination: General Studies II: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
What’s the ongoing story: Amid the uncertainties and disruptions resulting from the ongoing global tariff war, India’s growth prospects seem to be at risk. Concerns have been raised over the future trajectory of capital expenditure and private sector investment for India, as the impact of a slowing global economy will make its way to domestic shores, sooner or later.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What percentage of India’s GDP is agriculture?
• Why agriculture in India is highly important?
• Is India an agrarian economy?
• Why is India called an agrarian?
• How has the agricultural sector’s growth trend been in the last five years?
• What is the impact of monsoon variability on India’s agricultural output and food security?
Key Takeaways:
• Agriculture, which accounts for around 16 per cent share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and supports over 46 per cent of the population, has shown resilience over the last few years, especially in the post-Covid phase.
• The agricultural sector’s annual growth has remained consistently above 4 per cent (except 2.7 per cent in 2023-24) in the last five years starting from the pandemic year 2020-21. This year, too, it is expected to gain with an above-normal rainfall forecast for the four-month long monsoon season in India.
• The monsoon season is likely to bring rainfall at 105 per cent of the long-period average, the India Meteorological Department said in its forecast released Tuesday. This would mark the second consecutive year of ‘above normal’ rainfall for India and the country would receive 100 per cent or more rainfall this season for the fifth time in the last seven years since 2019.
Do You Know:
• An above-normal monsoon is expected to spur consumption demand, especially in rural areas. Coupled with lower inflation and softer crude oil prices, it is seen supporting growth. Estimates of agricultural production also suggest a positive outlook for food inflation, as per the latest economic review of the Ministry of Finance.
• As per the second advance estimates, kharif and rabi food grain output is expected to rise by 6.8 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively. Among cereals, kharif rice production is projected to grow by 6.6 per cent, while wheat output is expected to reach a record 1,154.3 lakh tonnes.
• However, headwinds from global trade disruptions continue to pose downward risks for India, as was noted by the Reserve Bank of India in its latest monetary policy review on April 9. The real GDP growth for 2025-26, as per the RBI, is projected at 6.5 per cent lower than earlier projection of 6.7 per cent, with Q1 growth seen at 6.5 per cent; Q2 at 6.7 per cent; Q3 at 6.6 per cent; and Q4 at 6.3 per cent.
• Most forecasts by economists have slashed India’s growth projections for the ongoing financial year 2025-26 by at least 20 basis points. However, a likely pickup in rural demand with softening food inflation and crude prices have been underlined as the positive factors.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍How agriculture can be an engine for growth
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
4. In India, which of the following can be considered as public investment in agriculture? (2020)
1. Fixing Minimum Support Price for agricultural produce of all crops
2. Computerization of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies
3. Social Capital development
4. Free electricity supply to farmers
5. Waiver of agricultural loans by the banking system
6. Setting up of cold storage facilities by the governments
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 5 only
(b) 1, 3, 4 and 5 only
(c) 2, 3 and 6 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍Explain various types of revolutions, took place in Agriculture after Independence in India. How these revolutions have helped in poverty alleviation and food security in India? (2017)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Main Examination: General Studies III: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
What’s the ongoing story: India’s dependence on imported crude oil and natural gas grew further in 2024-25 (FY25) as the gap between consumption growth and subdued domestic hydrocarbon production continued to widen.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What percentage of India’s imports are oil imports?
• What is the domestic oil production of India?
• What are the reasons for the increase in oil imports?
• How has India’s demand for oil and natural gas changed in recent years?
• Why has domestic production of oil and natural gas not kept pace with demand?
• How does reliance on imports impact India’s energy security?
• What are the key challenges hindering domestic oil and gas production?
Key Takeaways:
• The country’s oil import dependency for the full financial year touched yet another record high, while reliance on imported natural gas was at a four-year high, per latest data from the petroleum ministry.
• India’s oil import dependency for the financial year ended March was 88.2 per cent, up from 87.8 per cent in the previous fiscal (FY24), per provisional data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC). Import dependency in the case of natural gas was at 50.8 per cent in FY25, up from 47.1 per cent in FY24.
• India’s energy demand has been growing swiftly, resulting in rising crude oil and natural gas imports. This is fuelled by factors like growing energy-intensive industries, increased vehicle sales, a rapidly expanding aviation sector, growing consumption of petrochemicals, and a rising population.
• Reliance on imported oil has been growing continuously over the past few years, except in FY21, when demand was suppressed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The country’s oil import dependency stood at 87.8 per cent in FY24, 87.4 per cent in FY23, 85.5 per cent in FY22, 84.4 per cent in FY21, 85 per cent in FY20, and 83.8 per cent in FY19.
• India is the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil and high import dependency makes the Indian economy vulnerable to global oil price fluctuations. It also has a bearing on the country’s trade deficit, foreign exchange reserves, the rupee’s exchange rate, and inflation rate, among others.
• The government wants to reduce India’s reliance on imported crude oil but sluggish domestic oil output in the face of incessantly growing demand for petroleum products has been the biggest impediment.
• As for natural gas, the government wants to increase its consumption and share in the country’s primary energy mix to 15 per cent by 2030 from over 6 per cent at present. The rationale behind the push for natural gas, even though it would lead to higher imports of the fuel, is rather simple.
Do You Know:
• India’s crude oil imports rose to 242.4 million tonnes in FY25 from 234.3 million in FY24, while domestic production declined slightly to 28.7 million tonnes from 29.4 million tonnes, per PPAC data. The country’s gross oil import bill for the financial year rose nearly 3 per cent year-on-year to $137 billion.
• Natural gas is far less polluting than conventional hydrocarbons like crude oil and coal, and is usually cheaper than oil. It is also seen as a key transition fuel. To be sure though, the government has also been pushing India’s oil and gas companies to increase domestic production of natural gas in a bid to keep import dependency levels under check.
• Natural gas imports rose 15.4 per cent year-on-year to 36.7 billion cubic metres (bcm) in FY25, and cost $15.2 billion against $13.4 billion a year ago. Domestic natural gas output in FY25 was 35.6 bcm, slightly lower than 35.7 bcm in FY24.
• Total domestic consumption of petroleum products in FY25 was 239.2 million tonnes, of which just 28.2 million tonnes came from domestically produced crude oil, resulting in a self-sufficiency level of 11.8 per cent, per PPAC data. As for natural gas, the total domestic consumption in FY25 was 72.3 bcm, while imports stood at 36.7 bcm.
• In early 2015, the government had set a target to reduce reliance on oil imports to 67 per cent by 2022 from 77 per cent in 2013-14, but the dependency has only grown since. Cutting costly oil imports continues to be a key focus area for the government, which has taken a number of policy measures to incentivise investments in India’s oil and gas exploration and production sector.
• Reducing oil imports is also one of the fundamental objectives of the government’s push for electric mobility, biofuels, and other alternative fuels for transportation as well as industries. While there has been a pick-up in electric mobility adoption and blending of biofuels with conventional fuels, it is not enough to offset petroleum demand growth.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
5. The term ‘West Texas Intermediate’, sometimes found in news, refers to a grade of (2020)
(a) Crude oil
(b) Bullion
(c) Rare earth elements
(d) Uranium
How India is looking to deepen local value addition in electronics manufacturing
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change
Main Examination:
• General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• General Studies III: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
What’s the ongoing story: A large talent pool, government subsidies, and geopolitical headwinds that forced several companies to diversify from China – these are some crucial elements that came together for global smartphone companies, like Apple and Samsung to set up production bases in India.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is Semiconductor?
• What is the India Semiconductor Mission?
• What is the most basic component of a semiconductor chip?
• Semiconductors are the foundation of nearly every modern electronic gadget. Where does India stand in the semiconductor industry?
• The Government of India has undertaken several initiatives to promote electronics manufacturing-Know the important schemes
• What are the current challenges of the semiconductor industry in India?
• “Local value addition in India’s electronics manufacturing sector”—What you understand by the same?
• How electronics manufacturing scheme will impact on employment generation and skill development in India?
• Why is India focusing on semiconductor manufacturing?
• What factors may contribute to potential challenges in the domestic semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem?
• What makes Semiconductors the most important commodities in the global market right now?
• What is the supply chain for semiconductors?
• What are the steps in the semiconductor supply chain?
• Which nation holds the distinction of being the primary source of semiconductors on a global scale?
Key Takeaways:
• After successfully being able to localise smartphone assembly in the country for domestic consumption and some exports, the government has shifted its focus to deepening local value addition in the sector.
• The result: subsidy schemes that look at incentives on the components level – through the Rs 76,000 crore India Semiconductor Mission for chip fabrication and packaging, and the recently notified Rs 23,000 crore scheme for passive electronic components.
• Alongside the production linked incentive (PLI) schemes for smartphone and laptop assembly, the government has now launched support for practically all layers of electronics manufacturing, making the sector a crucial growth driver for the Indian economy.
• The key target: driving up local value addition in the sector, reducing India’s import dependence on countries like China, and creating good quality jobs. Currently, the domestic value addition stands at around 15-20 per cent, with the government hoping to double that in the coming years (China’s current value addition in the sector is around 38 per cent). Worryingly, India’s trade deficit with China reached an all-time high in 2024-25, nearing $100 billion.
Do You Know:
• Earlier this month, the IT Ministry notified the Rs 22,919 crore incentive scheme for electronics components, which takes the baton forward from its two PLI schemes, which largely focus on the relatively easy assembly of electronics items like smartphones and computers.
• Under the new scheme, spread over six years, the government is targeting localising manufacturing of components like display modules, sub assembly camera modules, printed circuit board assemblies, lithium cell enclosures, resistors, capacitors, and ferrites, among others. These are used in gadgets like smartphones and laptops, and appliances like microwave ovens, refrigerators and toasters, among others. So far, as smartphone and laptop assembly has grown in the country, so has the country’s dependence on China from where companies sourced internal components. The government wants to plug that gap.
• It is hoping that at least 91,600 direct jobs will be created as part of the scheme, and has tied participating entities’ yearly subsidies to the number of jobs they create. The scheme is expected to generate production of Rs 4.56 lakh crore and bring in incremental investment of Rs 59,350 crore.
• The smartphone PLI scheme has been among the most successful of the 14 such programmes launched in 2020 for several sectors. The IT hardware PLI, initially a laggard, got a booster shot from the government in 2023, with increased allocation of Rs 17,000 crore. Under these schemes, the government offers an incentive, which is linked to incremental sales.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Big leap for chip mission: 3 plants, Rs 1.26 lakh crore investment get Govt nod
EXPLAINED
Why Trump cannot fire Fed chair Powell — at least not yet
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Main Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.
What’s the ongoing story: After publicly lashing out at Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, for not lowering interest rates, President Donald Trump is said to be exploring options to force the Fed chair’s exit.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Who is Jerome Powell?
• What is the U.S. Federal Reserve?
• What does the Fed do?
• Why Donald Trump lashed out at Jerome Powell?
• The U.S. Federal Reserve and Reserve Bank of India—Compare and Contrast
• Indian government vs RBI—any instances of friction?
• Politics of governments and tenures of RBI Governors—Know in detail
• What do you understand by the term ‘Federal Tapering’?
Key Takeaways:
• A landmark 1935 ruling of the Supreme Court effectively limits the power of the White House to dismiss top federal officials. However, in a matter that also involves Trump, this ruling may be overturned in the near future.
• In 1933, President Franklin D Roosevelt launched the so-called “New Deal”, a set of sweeping Keynesian economic reforms instituted to combat the effects of the Great Depression. This marked an official end of “laissez-faire” capitalism — one in which the government largely stayed away from matters of the economy — in the US.
• For implementing such a tectonic shift in the United States’ economic policy, FDR needed top federal officials to toe his line. But not everyone was keen to, including William E Humphrey, one of the five commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission.
• Cut to the present. In February, Trump fired Gwynne Wilcox, a Democrat member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), as well as Cathy Harris, a Democrat member of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).
• They successfully took the matter to the courts, which ordered their reinstatement. However, the Supreme Court on April 10 issued an order that temporarily blocked these lower court rulings. The court will now consider the case, Trump vs Wilcox, as well as the merits of its 1935 ruling which lower courts cited to order the employees’ reinstatement.
Do You Know:
• United States President Donald Trump on Thursday (April 17) repeatedly attacked Jerome H Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, who had cautioned the previous day that the President’s tariffs could pose a challenge for the American central bank’s goals of controlling inflation and keeping the labour market healthy.
• Trump posted on social media that “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”, accused him of “playing politics”, and declared that “If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me.”
More than five years ago, on March 14, 2020, Trump, who was then in his first term in the White House, had said at a news conference that he was “not happy with the Fed because it was “following” and “we should be leading”.
• Powell was nominated to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by President Barack Obama in 2012, and he was elevated to Chairman by President Trump in 2018.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍When governments disagree with the central bank: the Fed in the US and the RBI in India
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
6. Indian Government Bond Yields are influenced by which of the following? (2021)
1. Actions of the United States Federal Reserve
2. Actions of the Reserve Bank of India
3. Inflation and short-term interest rates
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Why food inflation is softening
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development
Main Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
What’s the ongoing story: The last El Niño – from around April 2023 to May 2024 – was not only a long, but also strong event. The long and strong El Niño was responsible for large parts of India not getting adequate rainfall during the 2023-24 monsoon (June-September), post-monsoon (October-December) and winter (January-February) seasons. It was accompanied by the winter’s delayed onset and warmer-than-usual temperatures, culminating in the heat waves from the second half of March through mid-June 2024.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What are the factors primarily contributed to the recent softening of food inflation?
• Which weather phenomena as absent, contributed to favourable agricultural conditions? (Hint: La Nina or El Nino)
• What is the significance of the softening food inflation for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)?
• What is the impact of a favourable monsoon on agricultural production and food inflation?
• Know the significance of core inflation trends in understanding the underlying price pressures in the Indian economy.
Key Takeaways:
• The end-result was 2023-24 turning out to be a not-so-great agricultural year, with subpar kharif (June-August sown and October-December harvested) as well as rabi (October-December sown and March-May harvested) crops.
• Its effects were also felt in food prices. The annual rise in the official consumer food price index averaged over 8.5% between July 2023 and December 2024. That made it one of the country’s longest episodes of food inflation in recent times.
• High food prices, in turn, impacted consumer spending. With households having to allocate a larger portion of their incomes to food, they were left with less money to spend on other things. Hindustan Unilever, India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods company, reported annual sales volume growth of 2% each in the July-September 2023, October-December 2023 and January-March 2024 quarters, 4% in April-June 2024, 3% in July-September 2024 and 0% in October-December 2024.
• Simply put, El Niño – an abnormal warming of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean waters, leading to enhanced evaporation and cloud-formation activity in western Latin America, the Caribbean and the US Gulf Coast, and correspondingly depriving Southeast Asia, Australia and India of convective currents – wreaked havoc on the country’s farm output, pushing up food prices and crimping household spending.
Do You Know:
• Thankfully, those pressures have subsided since the start of this calendar year. Retail food inflation was at 2.7% year-on-year in March, the lowest since November 2021.The reason: An agriculture production recovery in 2024-25 on the back of a good monsoon, sans El Niño or other weather shocks.
• If anything, there was a mild La Niña or a cooling of SSTs in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. La Niña does the opposite of El Niño: As the trade winds blowing west along the equator carry warm water from South America towards northern Australia and Indonesia, they cause increased cloudiness and rainfall over this region – whose effects may percolate to India too.
• The real relief would be in wheat, the stocks of which in government godown – at 7.5 million tonnes (mt) on April 1, 2024 – were the lowest for this date since 2008.
The 2023-24 crop, harvested and marketed in April-June 2024, wasn’t good in central India, because of the winter’s late arrival followed by foggy weather and lack of sunshine in January. While yields in north and northwest India were above par, the poor harvests in Madhya Pradesh (MP), Gujarat and Maharashtra dragged down overall production.
• The bumper wheat harvests of 2024 and 2025, especially in Punjab and Haryana, have been attributed to moderate weather and also the cultivation of new high-yielding varieties such as HD-3386, DW-327, PBW-826 and PBW-872. “These varieties have bolder grains. The average weight of thousand grains from them is 50-54 grams, as against 40-44 grams for the older varieties,” Singh claimed.
• Last week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast an “above normal” southwest monsoon, with rainfall during the upcoming season (June-September) likely at 105% of the long period average for this four-month period.
If the forecast materialises – the IMD expects ENSO-neutral conditions (i.e. neither El Niño nor La Niña) – that should enable a further cooling of food inflationary pressures.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Everyday Economics: What are WPI and CPI inflation rates?
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
7. Consider the following statements: (2020)
1. The weightage of food in Consumer Price Index (CPI) is higher than that in Wholesale Price Index (WPI).
2. The WPI does not capture changes in the prices of services, which CPI does.
3. The Reserve Bank of India has now adopted WPI as its key measure of inflation and to decide on changing the key policy rates.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Why first confirmed image of the colossal squid in deep sea is significant
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: General Science
Main Examination: General Studies III: Science and Technology—developments
What’s the ongoing story: The cephalopod was first discovered in 1925 when scientists found arm fragments from two squid in the belly of a sperm whale. Until last month, humans had not seen it in the depths of the Southern Ocean, its natural habitat.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Colossal squid—What you know about the same?
• What features distinguishes the colossal squid from other squid species?
• Which oceanic region was the colossal squid filmed in 2025?
• Why is the recent footage of the juvenile colossal squid considered significant for marine biology?
• Why the colossal squid has remained an enigma?
• What explains their huge size?
Key Takeaways:
• In the Age of Sail, when much of the world’s oceans were still uncharted, the mythical Kraken, a gigantic tentacled sea monster with a taste for human flesh, was a sailor’s worst nightmare. “Below the thunders of the upper deep; Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea; His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep; The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee…” wrote Lord Alfred Tennyson in his 1830 poem titled The Kraken.
• But the Kraken was not just a product of superstition. Today, it is well-known that its descriptions were probably based on sightings of real animals, namely the giant squid (Architeuthis dux) and colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni), the largest cephalopods (class of marine animals including octopii and cuttlefish), and possibly the largest invertebrates in the world.
• Despite their size, these deep-sea squid remain elusive. Until very recently, a century after it was first identified and named, there was still no image of the colossal squid in its natural environment.
• This changed last month when a team of scientists, on board a research vessel in the South Atlantic, recorded a juvenile colossal squid, only a foot long, 2,000 feet under the ocean’s surface. The footage taken near the South Sandwich Islands was released on April 15.
Do You Know:
• The colossal squid has long been a creature that stirred imaginations. It’s believed these animals can reach up to 7 metres in length and weigh as much as 500 kilograms — that’s nearly the size of a school bus and heavier than most grand pianos.
• What sets them apart from their more famous cousin, the giant squid, are the rotating hooks that line the middle of their eight arms. It’s no wonder they’ve inspired so many sea monster stories . Until now, the only solid evidence of them came from bits and pieces found inside whales, hinting at deep-sea battles between two massive predators.
• And even now, we know remarkably little about how they live, grow, or reproduce. Young ones, like the squid that was filmed this month, appear almost see-through and delicate. As they age, their bodies become tougher, and their features more alien. Although there have been reports of dying adults being caught accidentally by fishermen, this is the first time we’ve seen one alive — thriving in the deep.
• As exciting as this sighting is, it raises even more questions. The Natural History Museum has often reminded us how hard it is to estimate how many of these creatures exist, or where exactly they live. As recently as 2022, scientists were still calling them “a species that straddles the line between legend and reality.”
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Spotted for the first time in 100 years, this deep sea creature can weigh up to 500 kgs
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
8. With reference to the evolution of living organisms, which one of the following sequences is correct?(2009)
(a) Octopus – Dolphin – Shark
(b) Pangolin – Tortoise – Hawk
(c) Salamander – Python – Kangaroo
(d) Frog – Crab – Prawn
| PRELIMS ANSWER KEY |
| 1. (d) 2.(b) 3.(b) 4.(c) 5.(a) 6.(d) 7.(a) 8.(c) |
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