UPSC Key: Oscar Awards, India-US Trade Deal and Revised Base Year

Key Points to Ponder:

• Oscar Awards-know in detail

• Why Oscar Awards are also called as Academy Awards?

• How did the Academy Awards started?

• Why Oscar Awards are considered prestigious?

• Have the Oscars really become diverse?

• Past criticisms over inclusivity-Know in brief

• What is the global significance of the Academy Awards?

• The contribution of cinema as a medium of cultural diplomacy-Analyse

• ‘Cinema is often seen as a reflection of society’-what is your opinion?

• ‘Indian cinema’s cultural influence for the first few decades after Independence was outsized compared to its economic and political might’-Do you agree?

Key Takeaways:

• While One Battle After Another bagged the Oscar for Best Picture in a category that witnessed fierce competition. The film’s director Paul Thomas Anderson won Best Director award, beating fellow nominees like Ryan Coogler (Sinners), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Chloé Zhao (Hamnet), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), and Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value).

• Michael B Jordan won Best Actor for Sinners, beating Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Michael B Jordan (Sinners), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent). Meanwhile, in the Best Actress category, which saw a neck-and-neck battle, Jessie Buckley was named the winner for Hamnet, defeating Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia).

• Sinners, which entered this year’s ceremony with a record 16 nominations, won 4 Oscars, while One Battle After Another, which followed closely behind with 13 nods, won 6 Oscars.

Do You Know:

• The Academy Awards may be the official title, but the world knows them as the Oscars. This nickname—now more iconic than the award itself—is steeped in Hollywood lore.

• According to Wikipedia, the formal name is the Academy Awards of Merit, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The word “Oscar” was never part of the original title when the awards began in 1929. It started as an informal nickname for the gold statuette and only later became widely adopted.

• According to Wikipedia, Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky is often credited with bringing the term into print. In 1934, he used the word “Oscar” in a newspaper column while covering the awards. Once it appeared in media coverage, the nickname spread quickly among the public and the film industry.

• There are alternative claims too. Actress Bette Davis once said she named the statuette Oscar because its backside reminded her of her husband, whose nickname was Oscar. Others claimed Academy members used the term casually even earlier. None of these stories are fully proven, but they add to the legend.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Doing the revolution, doing the dishes: ‘One Battle After Another’ is the Oscar winner a divided world needs

UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:
(1) The Oscar statuette is officially known as:
a) Golden Globe
b) Academy Trophy of Merit
c) Palme d’Or
d) Silver Bear

FRONT PAGE

India seeks safeguards as US works on new tariff structure

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story: The India-US framework trade agreement, which was agreed just days before the US Supreme Court declared the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs illegal, would be signed after Washington puts in place a new tariff architecture which safeguards India’s comparative advantage in the US market, a senior government official said on Monday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• India-US Trade Deal-What you know so far?

• What is reciprocal tariff?

• The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs-know its key highlights.

• Why US Supreme Court declared the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs illegal?

• Section 301 tariffs-what you understand by the same?

• What you know about ‘Non-tariff barriers’ and ‘Section 232 tariffs’?

• Why US targeted India over “structural excess capacity and production”?

• India-US tariff -know the background

• How the Supreme Court judgment on IEEPA tariffs impacted India-US trade deal?

• Know the impact of tariff disputes on bilateral trade relations.

Key Takeaways:

• This comes after a number of US trade partners have begun expressing doubt over the trade deal after the IEEPA ruling. While Malaysia on Monday declared its trade deal with the US null and void, citing the collapse of the legal basis for the tariffs that supported it, the European Union had also put the EU-US trade deal on hold following the Court ruling.

• “The US deal was to be signed in March. When we had said this, the Supreme Court judgment on IEEPA tariffs had not come. Now with the Supreme Court order, the [reciprocal tariffs] per se do not exist. Now, we have [US] tariffs under the balance of payments (BoP) under Section 122, which have been in place for five months. So any deal that we sign has to be around a tariff structure or comparative advantage that India gets in the US market. The US is working on trying to recreate a tariff architecture. When they can create the pathway, that juncture will be right to sign a deal,” the official said.

• The official clarified that there is no standoff between India and the US on the trade deal, adding that trade partners who have declared the US deal null and void would be those who have “signed” the agreement and not partners with whom the US have “agreed to” a framework agreement.

• “There are two kinds of countries. One set of countries is those which have announced the agreement and signed the legal agreement, and one set that has not signed the legal agreement. So countries which have signed the legal agreement, like Malaysia, will need to recalibrate the deal because the agreement is based on the IPEEPA tariffs. But from India’s perspective, we are in the other bucket, where we have announced the deal like Europe, but have not signed the legal agreement. So we have to wait to see how the global tariff architecture pans out,” the official said.

• The official said that the trade deal, whenever signed, will take care of Section 301 tariffs and that India and the US are negotiating several issues, including non-tariff barriers and Section 232 tariffs.

• The US last week launched two Section 301 investigations on several countries including India. One cites structural excess capacity and overproduction in certain manufacturing sectors, and the second cites failure to prohibit imports of goods produced using ‘forced’ labour. The fast-tracked nature of the investigation could mean that new US tariffs would be in place from May.

• Targeting India over “structural excess capacity and production”, USTR said, in 2025, India had a bilateral trade surplus with the United States of $58 billion, and that India’s global goods trade surplus sectors include textiles, health, construction goods, and automotive goods.

Do You Know:

• India and the US announced a trade deal on February 2, and a joint statement for the same was released on February 7. The 25% additional
ad-valorem tariffs imposed by the US on certain Indian exports, citing India’s imports of Russian oil, were removed on February 7.

• The US Supreme Court on Friday (February 20) ruled that President Donald Trump did not have the authority to impose sweeping import tariffs on its trade partners under a national economic emergency law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

• After the US Supreme Court judgement on February 20, invalidating reciprocal tariffs, the reciprocal tariffs are no longer in force. The US government has issued Executive Orders imposing 10% tariffs pursuant to section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 on certain products from all countries.

• US President Jimmy Carter enacted IEEPA in 1977 to replace the outgoing Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 (TWEA), whose sweeping powers were used by President Richard Nixon in 1971 to impose a 10% tariff on all imports, even as the US struggled to resolve a balance-of-payments crisis amidst the collapse of the fixed exchange-rate system.

• Under IEEPA, the US President has the power “to deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States, if the President declares a national emergency with respect to such threat.”

• Before Trump, the Act was used to impose sanctions on other nations, with Carter declaring a national emergency in the wake of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis to freeze all Iranian government assets in the US. This emergency has been renewed annually by eight successive presidents over 40 years, leaving the US in a virtual state of emergency ever since. George W Bush did something similar in 2001 following the September 11 attacks. As of September 1, 2025, 77 national emergencies have been declared under IEEPA, of which 46 are ongoing, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

• However, no US President before Trump had interpreted IEEPA to impose tariffs. The executive order announcing the sweeping ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs of April 2, 2025, said the US is facing a “national emergency” due to the “foreign trade and economic practices” and the
“absence of reciprocity” in trade relationships.

• Hours after the Supreme Court ruling, Trump issued a proclamation to impose a 10% global tariff on almost all imports to the US under Section 122. This Section allows the temporary imposition of 15% tariffs for up to 150 days in response to “fundamental international payments problems”.

• Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 gives the President the authority to impose tariffs of up to 50% on imports from countries that have “discriminatory” provisions for US trade. “In extreme cases, imports from these countries can be completely banned,” Commerzbank economists Bernd Weidensteiner and Christoph Balz said in a note on Friday.

• The second set of options is “narrow and sectoral” and requires time, MUFG said, although they have a strong legal footing. These options include Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows an investigation into whether certain imports are detrimental to US national security. If confirmed, Trump will have “almost unlimited powers to restrict these imports”, Commerzbank said. This route is already in use by the US for steel and aluminium.
Another “narrow and sectoral” option is Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which gives the President authority to act against unfair or excessive foreign regulations that may burden American trade.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍US Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s tariffs: Could refunds to countries be on the table?

📍UPSC Issue at a Glance | India-US Interim Trade Deal: Backdrop, key highlights, gains, and concerns

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(2) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE, 2023)
Statements-I: Recently, the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU) have launched the ‘Trade and Technology Council’.
Statement-II: The USA and the EU claim that through this they are trying to bring technological progress and physical productivity under their control.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
(c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
(d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍‘What introduces friction into the ties between India and the United States is that Washington is still unable to find for India a position in its global strategy, which would satisfy India’s National self-esteem and ambitions’. Explain with suitable examples. (UPSC CSE, GS2, 2019)

THE SECOND PAGE

Markets shut in Leh, Kargil as protesters demand statehood

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Constitution of India-historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure, functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure.

What’s the ongoing story: Thousands poured onto the streets in Ladakh on Monday as the region’s political leadership called for a total shutdown amid an impasse in dialogue with the Centre.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Map Work-Ladakh, Leh and Kargil

• What spurred the protests in Ladakh?

• What you know about the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019?

• What is the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution?

• How States in India are declared and formed?

• What Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitution says?

• Why Ladakh wants Sixth Schedule status?

• What is the demand for the Sixth Schedule in Ladakh?

• Who is Sonam Wangchuk?

• What is Wangchuk’s role in the protests?

• Is this the first time protests have broken out?

Key Takeaways:

• Ladakh’s two representative bodies, the Apex Body Leh (ABL) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which have been in talks with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs as part of a 15-member High Powered Committee (HPC), called for the shutdown in Leh and Kargil.

• Markets remained shut in both Leh and Kargil as people carrying banners demanding statehood and safeguards under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution walked through the main markets. The remote parts of Zanskar also joined in the strike called by the KDA and ABL.

• This was the first major protest in the region since the sit-in protests in September last year. Four people had died in police firing on September 24, and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was detained under the National Security Act. On Saturday, Wangchuk was released from Jodhpur jail as the Centre revoked his detention.

• Ladakh has been in conversation with the MHA over a four-point agenda. This includes statehood for Ladakh, safeguards under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, reservation in jobs for the youth of Ladakh, and the creation of separate parliamentary constituencies for the two parts of the region.

• Of the two Autonomous Hill Councils in the region, the five-year term of the council in Leh concluded on November 1, 2025, and fresh elections to the council have not been announced. Since Ladakh was carved out of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory without a legislature, there has been some anxiety around the lack of adequate democratic representation for the people, barring one MP from the region. The Hill Council in Kargil is currently in the third year of its term.

Do You Know:

• The issue dates back to 2019, since Article 370 was repealed and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 was passed. The result was the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature, and Ladakh without one.

• The political and legal status of Ladakh has remained contentious since, with the people of the UT finding themselves under direct central administration.

• Given that over 90% of Ladakh’s population belongs to the Scheduled Tribes, there has been a consistent demand to include the region under the Sixth Schedule.

• The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 of the Indian Constitution provides for the formation of autonomous administrative regions called Autonomous District Councils (ADCs), which govern tribal-majority areas in certain northeastern states.
ADCs have up to 30 members with a term of five years and can make laws, rules and regulations on land, forest, water, agriculture, village councils, health, sanitation, village- and town-level policing, etc. Currently, there are 10 ADCs in the North East, with three each in Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram, and one in Tripura.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍As Centre revokes Sonam Wangchuk’s NSA detention, revisiting why Ladakh is seeking Sixth Schedule protections

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(3) The provisions in Fifth Schedule and Sixth Schedule in the Constitution of India are
made in order to (UPSC CSE, 2015)
a) protect the interests of Scheduled Tribes
b) determine the boundaries between States
c) determine the powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats
d) protect the interests of all the border States

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

In war on Iran, Israel knows what it wants — US does not

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

What’s the ongoing story: Hussein Banai Writes: Widening of the war and restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz by the Islamic Republic are the actions of a regime deploying the leverage it has accumulated over decades, not the desperate thrashing of a system on the verge of collapse

Key Points to Ponder:

• Why did US and Israel attack Iran?

• With the ongoing conflict in West Asia, what are the main objectives of the USA and Israel?

• What happened in the 1979 Iranian Revolution?

• Map Work-Iran, USA military bases in West Asia, Israel. Locate near by water bodies and also look physical map of Iran.

• What are the major takeaways from widening conflict?

• What is the role of ideology and regime survival in shaping Iran’s foreign policy?

• Where has Iran attacked?

• How is the war affecting the economy and energy prices?

Key Takeaways:
Hussein Banai Writes:

• The Islamic Republic of Iran cannot win the current war with Israel and the United States. It only wishes to survive it. This distinction, seemingly small, is in fact the key to understanding everything Tehran has done since the start of the war on February 28, and everything it is likely to do next.

• Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini built the survival imperative into the constitutional architecture of the state from the beginning. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), established within months of the revolution, was given a mandate distinct from that of the conventional armed forces: Where the regular army was tasked with defending Iran’s borders, the IRGC was charged with preserving the revolution itself. This was a deliberate and consequential choice.

• The Islamic Republic would always maintain a military force whose primary loyalty was to the political order, not the nation-state, and whose purpose was to guarantee that the system endured regardless of what the Iranian people, the clerical establishment, or the outside world demanded of it.

• The Islamic Republic’s founding injunction, that preserving the system is the highest duty, has outlasted reformists, moderates, economic ruin, sanctions, street protests, and now the killing of the Supreme Leader, who held power for 37 years. It will not be dissolved by a military campaign whose two principals cannot agree on what they are trying to achieve. A coherent strategy requires beginning from an accurate understanding of the adversary.

Do You Know:

• According to Daniel Shapiro, an Atlantic Council fellow who was US ambassador to Israel, Israel and the US have a number of overlapping objectives, but there is some divergence, and probably an increasing divergence of those objectives as time passes. both countries are clearly focused on degrading Iran’s ability to project power and threaten its neighbours. They have focused on degrading Iran’s air defense capabilities, its ballistic missile stocks and launchers and production capability, same for its drones, its navy and what remains of any kind of air force assets.

• Defence analyst, author, and director of the Force Institute, Pravin Sawhney, examines the rapidly escalating war in West Asia following US–Israel strikes on Iran, and Iran’s retaliatory attacks across the region. He argues that the conflict is fundamentally a “war of survival” for Iran and contends that it is unlikely to lose so long as it preserves its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

• Shubhajit Roy writes that India has been in a precarious position since the US and Israel began the war by attacking Iran on February 28. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel, barely 40 hours before the attacks began, has sparked criticism from domestic political quarters that New Delhi is in Tel Aviv’s corner. India also has not condemned the US and Israel’s attacks, but did so for Iran’s retaliation against Gulf countries, where American assets and personnel are stationed. These countries are India’s key strategic and trade partners. About one crore Indians live and work in West Asia. About 60% of India’s energy imports also come from this region (roughly 50% oil and 70% natural gas).

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Iran survives, Bibi gains, India’s dilemma: 5 takeaways after two weeks of war

UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:
(4) The Strait of Hormuz is significant because:
a) It connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean
b) It is a major chokepoint for global oil trade
c) It is the largest freshwater lake in the world
d) It is controlled by NATO

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍“India’s relations with Israel have, of late, acquired a depth and diversity, which cannot be rolled back.” Discuss. (2018)
UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:

THE IDEAS PAGE

The move to impeach the CEC, though symbolic, matters

Main Examination: General Studies II: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

What’s the ongoing story: Yogendra Yadav Writes- The more serious point about his ‘misconduct’ is his partisanship. All you need to recall is his press conference on ‘vote chori’ where he exhorted the Leader of the Opposition to file an affidavit or offer an apology to the nation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Impeachment?

• What are the constitutional provisions and procedures governing the impeachment of the CEC?

• What are the Grounds of Impeachment?

• What role do parliamentary Houses and presiding officers play in the impeachment of the CEC?

• What are the constitutional provisions related to the independence of the Election Commission of India?

• What is the difference between impeachment and removal?

Key Takeaways:
Yogendra Yadav Writes

• Article 324 (5) lays down that the CEC can only be removed on the same ground and by following the same procedure as established for the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court. The procedure involves impeachment by Parliament on the ground of proven “misbehaviour or incapacity”. The Constitution does not tell us what kind of behaviour is expected of the Election Commissioners.

• Gyanesh Kumar’s conduct as CEC must be judged against these norms of what constitutes proven “misconduct and incapacity”. Now, misconduct cannot just be about how he conducts himself in public. Waving fingers at elected political leaders, waving his hands towards a non-existent public, political rhetoric at press conferences — all this is comic and outrageous.

• The more serious point about Gyanesh Kumar’s “misconduct” is his blatant political partisanship. All you need to recall is his now-infamous press conference on “vote chori” where he exhorted the Leader of the Opposition to file an affidavit or offer an apology to the nation.

Do You Know:

• As per Article 324 (5) of the Constitution, the “Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.”
It also says that Election Commissioners can only be removed on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
The article also states that this process is “subject to provisions of any law made by Parliament” on the matter. Following from that, Parliament passed the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 in December 2023. Section 11 of the Act provides for the resignation and removal process. It sticks to the same process as mentioned in the Constitution.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Knowledge Nugget | Impeachment notice against CEC Gyanesh Kumar: What to read in Article 324

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(5) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2017)
1. The Election Commission of India is a five-member body.
2. Union Ministry of Home Affairs decides the election schedule for the conduct of both general elections and bye-elections.
3. Election Commission resolves the disputes relating to splits/mergers of recognised political parties.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 3 only

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍Discuss the role of the Election Commission of India in the light of the evolution of the Model Code of Conduct. (UPSC GS2, 2022)

NATION

Maharashtra House passes Freedom of Religion Bill amid Opposition protest

Main 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: Exposing a rare dissonance within the Opposition parties, the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026 was passed in the state Assembly on Monday, backed by the ruling Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partner Shiv Sena (UBT). The Congress, NCP (SP), Samajwadi Party and CPI (M) opposed the Bill.

Key Points to Ponder:

• The Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026-know the key highlights

• What is forced religious conversions?

• Forced conversion in religion and religious conversion-what is the difference?

• Force vs Will (Choice)-How forced conversion in religion is defined in India?

• Article 25 of the Indian Constitution guarantees what?

• Is religious conversion part of Article 25 of the Indian Constitution?

• What is the procedure in India for religious conversion?

• What is the Union or State Government’s policy on religious conversion?

• What are the societal repercussions of religious conversion?

• Anti-conversion law in other States-Know in detail

• Why many states are introducing Anti-Conversion Laws?

• Know the Landmark Judgements of Supreme Court and High Courts on Conversion

• What Supreme Court of India, said in the Lily Thomas and Sarla Mudgal cases regarding religious conversion?

Key Takeaways:

• Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis introduced the Bill in the Assembly, saying the proposed law seeks to prevent religious conversions carried out through coercion, inducement, fraud or deception and is not directed against any particular religion.

• Introducing the Bill, Fadnavis said Maharashtra was not the first state to enact such a legislation, noting that similar laws are already in force in 12 states, including Odisha, Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan and Arunachal Pradesh. “This Bill is not against any particular religion. It applies to all religions. It is meant to prevent religious conversions carried out through coercion, inducement, fraud or deception,” he said, adding that the legislation was “100 per cent constitutional”.

• Explaining the rationale behind the Bill, Fadnavis said disputes around religious conversions — particularly those linked to interfaith marriages — often lead to law and order situations. “In cases of interfaith marriages involving individuals from different religious backgrounds, disputes often arise and sometimes lead to law and order situations. Once such a situation emerges, effective action must be taken to address it,” he said.

• According to the Chief Minister, the legislation clearly defines illegal religious conversion, including conversions carried out through allurement, coercion, fraud, misrepresentation or undue influence, as well as cases involving minors.

• Persons or organisations facilitating such conversions would be liable for punishment under the proposed law. The Bill also empowers the police to take suo motu action in cases of alleged illegal conversion.

• Defending the legislation, Fadnavis said similar laws have existed in several states since 1968 and that the Bill is consistent with the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.

Do You Know:

• The proposed Maharashtra law describes “unlawful conversion as conversion from one religion to another using allurement, coercion, deceit, force, misrepresentation, threat, undue influence or any other fraudulent step, including “brainwashing through the medium of education”. Mass conversion is defined as the forced conversion of two or more persons at the same time.

• The concept of “allurement” under the Bill includes any temptation such as gifts, gratification, easy money or material benefit in cash or kind, employment, free education in institutions run by religious bodies, promise of marriage, better lifestyle and divine healing.

• In contrast to other states, the proposed Maharashtra law expands the scope of “allurement” to include glorification of one religion over another and the portrayal of customs, rituals, ceremonies or any part of a religion in a harmful manner compared with another.

• Coercion under the Bill includes compelling an individual, family or group to act against their will through psychological pressure or physical force, causing bodily injury or threats. Such threats include those against life, or property of related persons, as well as “divine displeasure” and “social ex-communication” or boycott.

• The Bill provides that any marriage undertaken solely for unlawful religious conversion shall be declared null and void by a competent court. A plea may be made by either party to the marriage alleging unlawful conversion by the other.

• Section 5 of the proposed law stipulates a unique provision that a child born out of a marriage due to unlawful conversion shall be deemed to belong to the religion followed by the mother before such a marriage or relationship in the nature of marriage.

• The child will also be entitled to maintenance under Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the child’s custody shall remain with the mother unless the court directs otherwise.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍How Maharashtra’s Dharma Swatantrya Bill seeks to curb unlawful religious conversions

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(6) Assertion (A): The Supreme Court has declared that conversions without genuine belief, aimed at securing reservation benefits, are unconstitutional.
Reason (R): Article 25 of the Indian Constitution permits conversions for socio-economic advantages.
Select the correct option:
a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
c) A is true, but R is false.
d) A is false, but R is true.

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍What are the challenges to our cultural practices in the name of Secularism? (GS1, 2019)

Sahitya Akademi Award: Navtej Sarna, Mamta Kalia among 24 winners

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

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

What’s the ongoing story: The Sahitya Akademi announced its 2025 annual awards on Monday, ending an unusual three-month suspension that had drawn attention to the relationship between India’s premier literary institution and the Union Ministry of Culture.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Know about Sahitya Akademi Award.

• The Sahitya Akademi Award is awarded by whom?

• The Sahitya Akademi Award can be awarded posthumously-true or false?

• How Sahitya Akademi Award promotes literary excellence and linguistic diversity in India?

• Know the contribution of institutions like the Sahitya Akademi in strengthening India’s cultural unity.

Key Takeaways:

• Twenty-four winners were named across the languages recognised by the Akademi, including eight in poetry, six in short fiction, four in the novel, two in the essay form, one each in literary criticism and autobiography, and two in memoir.

• Among the more prominent recipients is former diplomat Navtej Sarna, honoured in English for his novel Crimson Spring. Hindi writer Mamta Kalia received the award for her memoir Jeete Jee Allahabad, and Tamil scholar Sa Tamilselvan was recognised in the literary criticism category for Thamiz Sirukathaiyyin Thadangal.

• Winners will be presented with an engraved copper plaque, a shawl, and ₹1 lakh at a ceremony scheduled for March 31.

• The announcement closes a chapter that began on December 18, 2025, when the Akademi abruptly cancelled its awards press conference following a last-minute directive from the Culture Ministry.

Do You Know:

• According to the official website of the Sahitya Akademi, it gives 24 awards annually to literary works in the languages it has recognized and an equal number of awards to literary translations from and into the languages of India, both after a year long process of scrutiny, discussion and selection. It also gives special awards called Bhasha Samman to significant contribution to the languages not formally recognized by the Akademi as also for contribution to classical and medieval literature. It has also system of electing eminent writers as Fellows and Honorary Fellows and has also established fellowship in the names of Dr. Anand Coomaraswamy and Premchand.

• According to the wikipedia, the Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 24 languages of the 8th Schedule to the Indian constitution as well as in English and Rajasthani language.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Seeking veto over Sahitya Akademi awards, government targets one of the last bastions of intellectual freedom

UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:
(7)Which of the following languages are covered under the Sahitya Akademi Award?
1. Hindi
2. English
3. Sanskrit
4. Bodo
Select the correct answer:
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 1, 2 and 3 only
c) 1, 3 and 4 only
d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

EXPLAINED

The ‘discrepancies’ in India’s new GDP data

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

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

What’s the ongoing story: On February 27, India’s Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) brought out a new series of data for the country’s economic output. Any country’s economic output is most broadly mapped by a measure called the Gross Domestic Product or GDP.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?

• What is Net Domestic Product (NDP)?

• ‘Nominal’ GDP and ‘Real’ GDP-What is the difference?

• Which organizations is responsible for compiling GDP data in India?

• What are the methodology used in estimating GDP in India?

• What is contributing to India’s growth?

• What is the base year?

• What is the base year for the GDP, IIP and CPI?

• Reasons for revising the base year-know in detail

• What are the considerations for the new base year?

• How is a base year chosen?

• What are ‘discrepancies’ in GDP data?

• How have things changed in the new GDP series?

• What does this say about GDP data?

Key Takeaways:

• The GDP gives the market value of all final (as opposed to intermediate) goods and services produced within the geographical boundaries in a year. This is one of the most significant updates because the GDP data — both its level and its growth rate from one year to another — forms the basis of all policymaking in the country.

• While there were many new technicalities in the new GDP series, the main change was the change in “Base Year”. The base year, as the name suggests, forms the base for comparison in the coming years. Before the new series, 2011-12 was being used as the base year. This meant the goods and services produced in 2011-12 and the prices at which they were sold and bought in that year formed the basis for all future analysis.

• The outgoing GDP series, which was adopted in January 2015, created a lot of controversy. For many critics, the GDP series with the base year of 2011-12 overstated India’s GDP growth. Those who had worked on this series countered by claiming that it was no worse than any previous GDP series; indeed, much better than any in the past.

Do You Know:

• A base year is the first of a series of years in an economic or financial index. In this context, it is typically set to an arbitrary level of 100. New, up-to-date base years are periodically introduced to keep data current in a particular index. Base years are also used to measure the growth of a company. Any year can serve as a base year, but analysts typically choose recent years.

• A base year is used for comparison in the measure of business activity or economic or financial index. For example, to find the rate of inflation between 2016 and 2024, 2016 is the base year or the first year in the time set. The base year can also describe the starting point from a point of growth or a baseline for calculating same-store sales.

• There are two main ways to calculate India’s economic output.
One way is to look at everything India produces in a year and add up all the monetary “value” created in a year. This is typically captured by a measure called the Gross Value Added (GVA), and it looks at what value was produced in different sectors of the economy.
The other way to look at the same economy is to add up all the money spent by different people or entities (be it individuals, governments, or business houses) in the economy. This is typically called the Gross Domestic Product or GDP.
The two variables are connected thus:
GDP = GVA + Net Indirect Taxes*
*Tax govt levies on different goods minus the subsidies govt provides for the production of different goods
In theory, the two calculations should yield the same economic output. “But,” as MoSPI states in its FAQs, “often these two numbers don’t match exactly. This small difference is called the ‘statistical discrepancy’. It happens because some data, especially on the spending side, is not available, or reported late.”

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍How GDP data misread the economy, complicated policy

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(8) With reference to Indian economy, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE, 2015)
1. The rate of growth of Real Gross Domestic Product has steadily increased in the last decade.
2. The Gross Domestic Product at market prices (in rupees) has steadily increased in the last decade.
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:
📍Explain the difference between computing methodology of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) before the year 2015 and after the year 2015. (UPSC CSE 2021)
📍Define potential GDP and explain its determinants. What are the factors that have been inhibiting India from realizing its potential GDP? (UPSC GS3, 2020)

As NavIC loses atomic clock, India’s own GPS remains a challenge

Preliminary Examination: Current events of National importance, General Science.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life, Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology. Awareness in the fields of IT, Space.

What’s the ongoing story: Ever since its inception, India’s regional navigation system has been plagued by problems affecting its positioning data. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday (March 13) informed that the atomic clock of one of the five remaining satellites that were still providing this data stopped working — meaning positioning data from the satellite IRNSS-1F was also lost. 

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the NavIC system?

• NavIC system-know its features

• What is the significance of NavIC?

• What is Atomic clock?

• Atomic clocks are key for satellites-why?

• How has the satellite navigation system fared so far?

• How many satellites in the constellation continue to provide positioning data?

• What happened to NVS-02?

• What have been the advancements made to the new-generation satellites?

• Which other countries in the world have such systems?

Key Takeaways:

• The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) — also referred to with the operational name of Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) — was planned to be a seven-satellite system to provide positioning data over the Indian subcontinent and 1500 km around it.

• Atomic clocks are key for satellites being able to provide positioning data that is used for applications such as navigation of vehicles, mapping and surveying, and even planning large constructions with accuracy. Importantly, the NVS-02 — launched in January 2025 to replace one of the older satellites in the constellation — was also not able to reach its final orbit and thus provide positioning data.

• It was designed to be a regional system similar to the American GPS. With all its satellites functioning, the system was designed to provide location accuracy of around 10 metres over the Indian landmass and surrounding countries.

• The NavIC system is designed to be more accurate over India, with the satellites placed directly above the region. This ensures better availability of signals even in difficult geographical locations than GPS, whose signals are received in India at an angle making it difficult to access in certain areas like valleys and forests.

Do You Know:

• After the successful 2023 launch, the constellation had five satellites that could provide the positioning data: IRNSS-1B, 1C, 1F, 1I, and NVS-01, which is the new generation of NavIC satellites. Now, the atomic clock on board the IRNSS-1F has also been lost.

• Atomic clocks on board some of the initial satellites started failing early on, with replacement satellites planned to keep the system running. Besides the failing atomic clocks, some of the initial satellites are also aging out. IRNSS-1A was launched into orbit on July 1, 2013, and the 1B and 1C satellites were launched in the following year. 1A is almost defunct — the failed 1H mission of 2018 was intended to replace this satellite — and the other two are also past their 10-year mission lives.

• The last of the first-generation IRNSS satellites was 1I — a replacement for the failed 1H launch — which was launched in 2018. IRNSS-1H was launched in 2017 but did not reach orbit after the heat shield protecting the payload failed to open.

• There are four satellite systems in the world that provide global navigation data — the US Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian GLONASS (GLObalnaya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema), the European Galileo, and the Chinese Beidou. Japan has a four-satellite system called Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) that can augment GPS signals over the country.

• GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo all have over 20 satellites placed in medium-earth orbit at a distance of around 20,000 km from the Earth. Beidou has over 40 satellites in a mix of medium-earth orbit and higher geosynchronous orbits of over 35,000 km. India and Japan’s systems, on the other hand, have fewer satellites — seven and four — all placed in higher geosynchronous orbits.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Story of NavIC: crucial indigenous SatNav system, a few hurdles in development path

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(9) Which one of the following countries has its own Satellite Navigation System? (2023)
a. Australia
b. Canada
c. Israel
d. Japan

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1.(b) 2.(c) 3.(a) 4.(b) 5.(d) 6.(c) 7.(d) 8.(b) 9.(d)

  

For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com

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