UPSC Key: Meta’s Addictive Design, Ebola Outbreak and Lar Gibbon

WHO says Congo’s Ebola outbreak is on track to surpass the deadliest in history

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

What’s the ongoing story: The ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo is on track to surpass the deadliest one in history, which erupted over a decade ago and killed over 11,000 people, the head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Bundibugyo strain?

• Why did WHO issue a global alert?

• How dangerous is Ebola?

• What is being done now?

• Is this a pandemic like Covid-19?

• What is Public Health Emergency of International Concern?

• Why WHO declares any outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern?

• Why early pathogen surveillance is critical in preventing pandemics?

• Why should pandemics be treated as disasters requiring whole-of-government preparedness?

• What is Pandemic? How it is different from endemic and epidemic?

• How does globalization lead to epidemics and pandemics?

Key Takeaways:

• “At its current pace, it’s on track to eclipse the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014 to 2016,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. That outbreak horrified the world and jolted efforts to develop a vaccine.

• The outbreak in eastern Congo, considered the fastest-growing one yet, has killed over 2,000 people out of more than 4,300 cases. The outbreak was declared on May 15, but health authorities now say sequencing showed it began months earlier, in February.

• It is unlike recent Ebola outbreaks because the rare Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved vaccines or treatments, though efforts to address that are underway.

Do You Know:

• A rare but severe and often fatal illness in humans, Ebola is caused by viruses belonging to the Orthoebolavirus genus of the filoviridae family. Of the six Orthoebolavirus species identified to date, three strains have been known to cause major outbreaks: the Ebola virus causing Ebola virus disease (also known as the Zaire strain), the Sudan virus causing Sudan virus disease, and the Bundibugyo virus causing Bundibugyo virus disease. WHO confirmed that the Bundibugyo strain has caused the current outbreak.

• Ebola is a zoonotic disease: that is, it originates in animals and can spill over to infect humans. According to a WHO fact sheet, fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are presumed to be natural hosts of the Orthoebolavirus, which can get transmitted to humans when people come into close contact with the “blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals… found ill or dead”.

• The first Ebola outbreak was identified in 1976 after two successive outbreaks caused by the Sudan strain in what is now South Sudan and DRC. Since then, major outbreaks have occurred in Uganda (2000-01), West Africa (2013-16), DRC and Uganda (2018-20), and most recently in Uganda (2025).

• The one in West Africa (caused by the Zaire strain) remains the deadliest outbreak, which recorded over 28,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths as it spread widely in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and their neighbouring countries. Some cases were also reported in the US and Europe, which was linked to travellers and health workers travelling from Africa. According to WHO, the average fatality rate for Ebola is around 50%. This has varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks.

• The Bundibugyo ebolavirus causes the current outbreak; a rarer strain of Ebola first identified in Uganda in 2007. Unlike the more common Zaire strain, there are currently no approved vaccines or targeted treatments specifically designed for Bundibugyo Ebola.

• Health experts say the absence of vaccines and the spread into densely populated areas such as Kampala and Goma have heightened fears of wider regional transmission.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What is Ebola virus? WHO declares emergency amid DR Congo-Uganda outbreak

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
1) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE, 2025)
I. No virus can survive in ocean water.
II. No virus can infect bacteria.
III. No virus can change the cellular transcriptional activity in host cells.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All the three
(d) None

Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme:
📍What is the basic principle behind vaccine development? How do vaccines work? What approaches were adopted by the Indian vaccine manufacturers to produce COVID-19 vaccines? (2022)

Explained

UPI’s dramatic growth, and its next challenge

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

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

What’s the ongoing story: Back in October 2012, in its payment systems “vision document” for 2012-15, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made an observation that seems unimaginable in 2026: an average Indian was making only six non-cash transactions in a year.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?

• Who Operates UPI?

• Control of NPCI and RBI over UPI-know in detail

• NPCI operates the UPI infrastructure, while RBI regulates and supervises the payment ecosystem within its statutory mandate-True or false?

• “From Queues to QR Codes” How has been India’s journey in democratizing technology?

• Why has UPI been so successful?

• What is Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)?

• Why is MDR being discussed for UPI?

• Who pays for UPI infrastructure?

• What is does the term ‘public goods dilemma’ is all about?

• The rapid expansion of India’s digital payment ecosystem has created both unprecedented financial inclusion and new systemic cybersecurity risks-discuss

Key Takeaways:

• “If the efforts of financial inclusion bear fruit and if each citizen of the country undertakes a minimum of one transaction in a month, the total transactions in the country would reach an astronomical 12 billion transactions (1,200 crore) per annum,” the central bank said.

• Almost a decade-and-a-half later, in 2025-26, the number of digital transactions was an astonishing 28,174 crore. And 86% of these payments were from a system that didn’t even exist until a decade ago — Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

• More than 55 crore people use UPI now and 703 entities — from banks to payment service providers — are involved in facilitating its transactions. Having completed 10 years this month — it was launched as a pilot in April 2016 before becoming fully operational in August that year — it is now at a crossroads of sorts. An amendment to the Payments and Settlement Systems Act of 2007 has now removed the barrier to merchants being charged a fee for receiving payments via UPI.

• More than 55 crore people use UPI now and 703 entities — from banks to payment service providers — are involved in facilitating its transactions. Having completed 10 years this month — it was launched as a pilot in April 2016 before becoming fully operational in August that year — it is now at a crossroads of sorts. An amendment to the Payments and Settlement Systems Act of 2007 has now removed the barrier to merchants being charged a fee for receiving payments via UPI.

Do You Know:

• UPI was developed by RBI-regulated National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). Work on it started as long back as 2012-13, with the payment systems “vision document” for 2012-15 making several noteworthy points, including how despite attempts to move towards a less-cash society, nearly a third of e-commerce purchases were being paid via cash-on-delivery.

• The possibilities were spelt out further in the RBI committee report on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income Households. Submitted in late 2013, the committee said the emergence of Immediate Payments Service — or IMPS — meant “there is the very real and very welcome possibility that there will be rapid and spontaneous proliferation in the network of individuals and merchants that are willing to participate in ‘money services businesses’ allowing purchase and sale of goods as well as cash-in-cash-out and remittance services using mobile based transactions to grow rapidly”.

• As it turns out, that possibility became reality in 2016. While the government’s demonetisation decision in November 2016 helped spur activity for a short while, movement was still slow. Until December 2017, monthly transaction value was under Rs 10,000 crore and it took another year for that figure to cross Rs 1 lakh crore. As such, it was felt that more was needed for digital payments to truly take off. And a key hindrance was the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR).

UPI payments vs ATM withdrawals

• Led by Nandan Nilekani, the High-Level Committee on Deepening of Digital Payments said in May 2019 that customers and small merchants not be charged by their banks for digital transactions and the government must subsidise MDR on transactions of up to Rs 2,000.

• This was seemingly accepted and the government in 2020 began subsidising UPI and RuPay debit card payments of up to Rs 2,000 to small merchants through its ‘Incentive scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M)’. Capped at 0.15% of the transaction value, the subsidy was shared between banks, payment service providers and third-party app providers.

• What followed was an incredible rise in the use of UPI, with no small role played by the coronavirus pandemic, as people looked to avoid any potential human contact that may occur in the process of transferring cash.

• This next wave of UPI growth, according to the government, will come from the rural and semi-urban areas. Already, UPI is operational in as many as nine countries — Bhutan, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, UAE, Qatar, and Cambodia — to varying degrees. Efforts are on to increase acceptance further in countries that are hotspots for Indian tourists and migrant workers — people who would want to send money back home or use that one mobile app they are comfortable with to spend while travelling abroad.

• Leading the charge is the partnership with Singapore, whose PayNow fast-payment system has been linked with UPI for more than three years now. And this is the future. Why? Because international bank transfers can take several days to settle, with the costs being as high as 7% of the amount that must be transferred.

• So, is MDR the answer? The payments industry thinks so: the Payments Council of India says on its website it has made several representations to allow the MDR to be decided by “market forces”. The Nandan Nilekani-led High-Level Committee on Deepening of Digital Payments said so, too. The problem, it noted, was “that does not appear to be working”.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍UPI free for citizens, merchants may face ‘nominal’ fee: Government

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
2) Which of the following is a most likely consequence of implementing the ‘Unified Payments Interface (UPI)’? (UPSC CSE, 2017)
(a) Mobile wallets will not be necessary for online payments.
(b) Digital currency will totally replace the physical currency in about two decades.
(c) FDI inflows will drastically increase.
(d) Direct transfer of subsidies to poor people will become very effective.

3) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE, 2017)
1. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) helps in promoting the financial inclusion in the country.
2. NPCI has launched RuPay, a card payment scheme.
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

4) Consider the following countries: (UPSC CSE, 2025)
I. United Arab Emirates
II. France
III. Germany
IV. Singapore
V. Bangladesh
How many countries amongst the above are there other than India where international merchant payments are accepted under UPI?
(a) Only two
(b) Only three
(c) Only four
(d) All the five

5) Which one of the following best describes the term “Merchant Discount Rate” sometimes seen in news? (UPSC CSE, 2018)
1. The incentive given by a bank to a merchant for accepting payments through debit cards pertaining to that bank.
2. The amount paid back by banks to their customers when they use debit cards for financial transactions for purchasing goods or services.
3. The charge to a merchant by a bank for accepting payments from his customers through the bank’s debit cards.
4. The incentive given by the Government to merchants for promoting digital payments by their customers through Point of Sale (PoS) machines and debit cards.

Previous year UPSC main Question Covering similar theme:
📍How can the ‘Digital India’ programme help farmers to improve farm productivity and income? What steps has the Government taken in this regard? (2015)

Harming youth: Why Meta must pay nearly $1 bn

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests and Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

What’s the ongoing story: A state court in New Mexico has ordered Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to pay $567 million into an abatement fund to address harms to children and adolescents, after declaring that its platforms contributed substantially to a public nuisance in the state.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What exactly the New Mexico litigation has alleged?

• How Meta used the “polluting factory” analogy?

• Why intermediary immunity did not shield Meta?

• What must Meta now do?

• How did the platform itself design its product and algorithm?

• Should platform be responsible for consequences of its design?

• ‘Social media platforms compete for attention economy’-what you understand by the same?

• What is addictive design?

• When does persuasive design become Dark patterns?

• Why children are particularly vulnerable?

• Data collection, Behavioural profiling, algorithmic recommendation, engagement and monetisation-how they manipulate viewership?

• Should companies be permitted to extensively profile children for commercial purposes?

• What are the legal framework governing social media platforms in India?

• What are the issues and challenges in regulating social media platforms in India?

• How Social media addiction trial in New Mexico will impact India?

Key Takeaways:

• The order, dated August 6, comes on top of a $375 million civil penalty imposed after a jury found that Meta violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act. Together, the two orders mean that Meta’s financial exposure in the case amounts to $942 million.

• Judge Bryan Biedscheid of the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico’s Sante Fe county also ordered a series of changes to how Meta operates Facebook and Instagram for users under 18 in New Mexico.

• According to a press release by the New Mexico Department of Justice, this “is the first time a court has held that a social media company can be sued, tried, and held financially and structurally accountable for building products that endanger children.”

Do You Know:

• Unlike the Indian legal system, in which judges decide both the facts and the law, the American system employs juries – panels of ordinary citizens – to determine matters of fact. Phase 1 was a jury trial under the state’s Unfair Practices Act. The jury was asked to determine whether Meta had misled adolescents about the safety and risks of its platforms. It found 75,000 statutory violations, with the maximum $5,000 penalty applied to each, resulting in a $375 million civil penalty.
Phase 2 was a bench trial – meaning Judge Biedscheid decided the case without a jury – which concerned the state’s claim that Meta’s platforms constituted a public nuisance and its request for an order requiring Meta to “abate” that nuisance.

• New Mexico law defines a public nuisance to include conduct that affects citizens and is injurious to public health, safety, morals or welfare, or interferes with public rights. The judge concluded that Meta’s platforms were a cause of, and substantially contributed to, the nuisance of a severe youth mental health crisis in the state.

• The court found that major depressive episodes among young people had more than doubled between 2013-14 and 2022-23; suicide was the second-leading cause of death among adolescents in 2019-23 and indicators of disordered eating had also increased.

• It accepted expert evidence that social media was a significant contributing factor to this crisis. One analysis found that one in 10 New Mexico children aged 11-17 had at least one mental-health concern that would not have existed but for their social-media exposure. The court also found significant effects on sleep, anxiety, depression, suicide risk and disordered eating.

• The harms were not confined to mental health. The judgment records evidence of technology-facilitated sexual abuse and sextortion, including cases in which Meta’s recommendation systems connected minors with adult predators, facilitating crimes like sextortion, where predators coerce minors for financial gain by threatening to expose intimate images. Schools told the court that Instagram and other social-media use disrupted classrooms, worsened bullying and created a constant “battle for attention”.

• Meta used the analogy of a polluting factory, arguing that if a factory caused pollution, a court should require it to stop the harmful emissions and remedy the resulting harm, rather than shut down the factory or make it pay for unrelated problems.

• Dark patterns (or deceptive design patterns) are hidden user interface tricks used by websites and apps to manipulate you into doing things you did not plan to do. These sneaky tactics make it easy to spend money or share personal data, but very hard to opt out or cancel. You can learn more about these practices on Deceptive Patterns.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: How India is trying to regulate children’s social media use — and why gaps remain

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
📍Social media and encrypting messaging services pose a serious security challenge. What measures have been adopted at various levels to address the security implications of social media? Also suggest any other remedies to address the problem (2024)
📍Child cuddling is now being replaced by mobile phones. Discuss its impact on the socialization of children. (2023)
📍What are social networking sites and what security implications do these sites present? (2013)

Total solar eclipse: the best time to study Sun’s ‘invisible’ part

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

What’s the ongoing story: Europe is witnessing its first total solar eclipse in 27 years on Wednesday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the atmosphere of the Sun?

• What are the chromosphere, photosphere, and corona of the Sun?

• What is the difference between the chromosphere and the photosphere?

• Do you know these terms—solar corona, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)?

• What do you understand by the terms—Umbra, Penumbra and Antumbra and Aurora?

• Why is the Corona Called the “Invisible” Part?

• What are the types of Solar Eclipse?

• What is the solar activity cycle?

• How variations in solar activity influence Earth’s technological systems?

Key Takeaways:

• A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, blocking out some or all of the star’s light. The latter phenomenon happens during a total solar eclipse. It is a rare occurrence, requiring the Sun, the Moon and the Earth to line-up perfectly in space.

• While not all of Europe will experience “totality” — the phase when the Moon completely covers the Sun’s surface — large parts of the continent will still experience near night-like conditions.

• A solar eclipse also happens to be the best time for scientists to study the Sun. Here’s what they study at that time — and how they do it.

• The total eclipse can be seen along the north of Russia, Greenland, west Iceland, northern Spain and a small area along northeast Portugal. Together, these locations form the “path of totality” — the narrow strip on the Earth’s surface where the Moon can be seen completely blocking the Sun.

• For scientists, observing the Sun’s corona and the inner corona is crucial. The corona’s magnetic field triggers solar flares and “coronal mass ejections”, which can disrupt satellites, GPS and other communication systems on Earth.

• During the eclipse, an Indian group of researchers at Centre of Excellence for Space Science India (CESSI), IISER-Kolkata, has predicted the possibility of spotting multiple large-scale streamers, which are petal-like structures.

Do You Know:

• The sun’s atmosphere is made of hot plasma and extends outward from the main body. It has three main layers: the photosphere (the visible surface), the chromosphere (the middle red layer), and the corona (the outer halo).

• The corona is the Sun’s outermost atmosphere, extending millions of kilometres into space. The inner corona is the part of the Sun’s outer atmosphere that is closest to the star’s surface.

• The sun’s magnetic field is a powerful, invisible force generated by the movement of electrically charged plasma inside the star. It drives all major solar activity, including sunspots, solar flares, and the 11-year solar cycle where the magnetic poles completely flip.

• Solar flares are massive, sudden explosions of electromagnetic radiation and light on the Sun, traveling at the speed of light and originating near complex sunspot active regions. They frequently accompany coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which hurl giant clouds of solar plasma into space over hours or days.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What makes a total solar eclipse so rare?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
6) If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the following are the possible effects on the Earth? (UPSC CSE, 2022)
1. GPS and navigation systems could fail.
2. Tsunamis could occur at equatorial regions.
3. Power grids could be damaged.
4. Intense auroras could occur over much of the Earth.
5. Forest fires could take place over much of the planet.
6. Orbits of the satellites could be disturbed.
7. Shortwave radio communication of the aircraft flying over polar regions could be interrupted.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2, 4 and 5 only
(b) 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 only
(c) 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7

Nation

TN to Manipur to Malaysia: Vikram’s gibbon video leads forest dept down a long trail

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: It began as an affectionate, albeit ill-judged, social-media moment: Actor Vikram playing with a Lar Gibbon, the small ape comfortably clinging to him, fiddling with his hair as the camera rolled. The video appeared on Instagram, travelled rapidly across social media, sparked ‘likes’ and outrage, and was subsequently deleted.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is a Lar Gibbon?

• How Lar Gibbon are different from Western hoolock gibbons?

• Why lar gibbons are classified as apes rather than monkeys?

• What are the basic difference between ape, gorillas, chimpanzees, and monkeys?

• What is the IUCN status of lar gibbon?

• Which ape is only found in India?

• A celebrity publicly displaying a protected exotic animal—why this is not normal?

• What is the role of CITES in controlling international wildlife trade?

• Public figures have immense ethical responsibility not to normalise behaviour that can create demand for endangered
wildlife—What is your opinion?

• Know more about PARIVESH (Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive, Virtuous, and Environmental Single Window Hub

Key Takeaways:

• But the story of the animal did not disappear with the post. The video has now prompted the Tamil Nadu Forest Department to begin tracing the gibbon’s journey into a private home in Chennai, where the video seems to have been filmed. The issue has opened up questions about the possession and transfer of exotic wildlife, and a document trail that, officials say, stretches from Chennai to Erode to Manipur and, according to records, to Malaysia.

• Forest officials have sought ownership and other statutory documents relating to the animal after the video drew criticism from wildlife activists.
After the controversy, the forest department found that the gibbon had since been moved from businessman C K Ranganathan’s residence in Injambakkam to Erode. Ranganathan, founder-chairman of CavinKare, is the father of Manu Ranjith, who is married to Vikram’s daughter Akshita. Reports said the video was filmed at Ranganathan’s property along Chennai’s East Coast Road.

• At the centre of the inquiry is not merely who possessed the animal, but how it even arrived there. Native to Southeast Asia, the Lar Gibbon (Hylobates lar) is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora. The category covers species for which international commercial trade is subject to the strictest restrictions. In India, the species also figures under Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

• Its import and possession, consequently, involve a regulatory chain that can include CITES export and import permissions, Directorate General of Foreign Trade documentation, and permissions and registration requirements involving wildlife authorities. A senior forest department official said they have started examining how the animal reached Tamil Nadu and whether statutory requirements governing its possession and transfer had been complied with.

• The paper trail under examination begins in Manipur. Records cited by officials show that Laikhuram Singh, a Manipur-based stockholder, declared eight Lar Gibbons — four males and as many females —in 2020 under the then mechanism for declaration of stock of exotic live species through PARIVESH (Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive, Virtuous, and Environmental Single Window Hub). Malaysia was recorded as their country of origin.

• A later Form I filed under the Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules, 2024, records the transfer of three gibbons — one male and two females — from Singh to S K Keshavanathan of Perundurai in Erode district. The transaction, dated June 5, 2026, describes the transfer as being for “adoption”. The application is yet to receive the approval of Tamil Nadu’s Chief Wildlife Warden.

Do You Know:

• Lar gibbons and Western hoolock gibbons belong to different taxonomic genera and differ in geographic location, physical appearance, and fur color pattern.

• Lar Gibbon belongs to the genus Hylobates (dwarf gibbons). Found in mainland Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and parts of Myanmar and Laos. —Western Hoolock Gibbon: Belongs to the genus Hoolock. Found in Northeast India, Bangladesh, and Western Myanmar

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍A bridge too far? India’s only ape species gets helping hand, but needs bigger steps

Previous year UPSC Prelims  Question Covering similar theme:
7) Consider the following pairs: (UPSC CSE, 2010)
Protected area Well-known for
1. Bhiterkanika, Orissa Salt Water Crocodile
2. Desert National Park, Rajasthan Great Indian Bustard
3. Eravikulam, Kerala Hoolock Gibbon
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

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

  

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