UPSC Key: VB-GRAMG, Invasive Alien Species and AI-Enabled Protein Engineering
Why Bankers Books Evidence Bill, 2026 is relevant to the UPSC exam? What is the significance of topics such as the number of Typhoon Dolphin, Raygun and gene therapy on both the preliminary and main exams? You can learn more by reading the Indian Express UPSC Key for August 10, 2026.
UPSC Key August 2026: Here's what you should be reading from the August 10, 2026 edition of The Indian Express. (Suckermouth catfish, Express photo) Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for August 10, 2026. If you missed the August 9, 2026 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here
FRONT PAGE
In its first month, VB-G RAM G sees almost 50% y-o-y dip in rural jobs
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
What’s the ongoing story: Employment generation under the government’s revamped rural job guarantee programme saw a sharp decline, registering a fall of 49.94 per cent year-on-year in July, as per official data. The drop came as the government transitioned from the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to the newly-launched Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, from July 1 this year.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB—G RAM G 2025-Know its key features
• What is the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005?
• How Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) is different from Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005?
• How Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) is funded? How the funding is different from Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005?
• How VB – G RAM G Act will affect state exchequer?
• What is centrally sponsored scheme?
• What is the difference between centrally sponsored and central scheme?
• Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) is centrally sponsored or central scheme?
Key Takeaways:
• Official data as on August 9 shows that only 7.67 crore person-days were generated under the VB-G RAM G scheme in July 2026 — which is 49.94 per cent lower as compared to 15.33 crore person-days generated under the MG-NREGS in the same month last year.
• Person-day is a unit of measurement based on an ideal amount of work done by a person in one working day.
• While the VB-G RAM G dashboard shows 7.67 crore person-days in July, the Ministry of Rural Development said that around 9 crore person-days were generated during the first month of implementation of the scheme.
• The number of households who availed the rural job guarantee scheme came down by 51.45 per cent, to 68.94 lakh, in July this year under the VB-G RAM G scheme. Under MGNREGS, the figure stood at 1.42 crore in the same month last year.
• The number of households and person-days under the rural jobs scheme have actually been the lowest in the last five years. At 0.68 crore, the average number of households that availed of the VB-G RAM G scheme is less than 40% of the average 1.72 crore households over the previous four years. Similarly, this July’s person-days are also just 35% of 21.56 crore average person-days over the previous four years.
• According to the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, area coverage under kharif crop was reported at 894.22 lakh hectare as on July 31, 2026 — which was 26.50 lakh hectare as compared to 920.72 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year.
Sources said that one of the reasons for drop in employment generation may be because of a pause in the scheme during the Kharif sowing season. However, there is no data available about pauses in the sowing season.
Do You Know:
• The government enacted the VB-G RAM G Act 2025 in December last year. VB G RAM G aims to provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work, with the “objective to promote empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation for a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat”.
• Unlike the MGNREGS, where the Centre paid 100 per cent of the wage bill, VB G RAM G is a centrally sponsored scheme with a fund-sharing ratio of 60-40 between the Centre and states for all states, 90-10 for Northeast states, Himalayan states, and Union Territories with a legislature, and 100 per cent central share for UTs without a legislature.
• Departing from the MGNREGA, the VB-G RAM G Act proposes a higher share of states in funding the rural job programme. As per section 22(1) of the Act, the fund-sharing pattern between the central government and the state governments shall be 90:10 for the 11 states, while it will be 60:40 for all other states. Under the MGNREGA, the Centre paid the entire wage bill and shared 75 per cent of the material and administrative costs of the scheme.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍How VB – G RAM G Act, which replaces MGNREGA, affects states’ finances
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
1) Among the following who are eligible to benefit from the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act”? (UPSC CSE, 2011)
(a) Adult members of only the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households
(b) Adult members of below poverty line (BPL) households
(c) Adult members of households of all backward communities
(d) Adult members of any household
Nation
Invasive species spawns India’s first fishermen-driven removal initiative
Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialisation
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
What’s the ongoing story: The Ujani reservoir, once famous for its high-quality freshwater fish, is now battling an ecological crisis triggered by invasive alien species – the suckermouth catfish, Tilapia, and African catfish. These foreign fish have decimated native biodiversity, collapsed local fish populations, and put the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen at risk.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What are invasive alien species?
• What are some examples of invasive wildlife in India?
• How do invasive alien species (IAS) impact native flora and fauna?
• What are invasive alien species (IAS) economic impact?
• How invasive alien species affects local’s livelihood?
• What initiative and measures Government has taken for invasive alien species?
Key Takeaways:
• In response, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has launched an active removal and native-restocking programme, marking India’s first such community-driven initiative.
• Speaking to The Indian Express, Dr Unmesh Katwate, ichthyologist (Scientist B) at BNHS, said the suckermouth catfish is native to the Amazon River in South America and entered India through the global aquarium trade. “As this fish is put to clean aquariums, and when they grow in size and become a menace to other fishes, instead of killing them, they are usually dumped into canals, streams or rivers,” he said.
• Once in the wild, the species, locally nicknamed the Helicopter fish’ for its unusual appearance, proved highly destructive. “It feeds on fish eggs, burrows into river banks and earthen check dams, while outcompeting native bottom-feeders,” Katwate said, adding that since the fish is not fit for human consumption, fishermen would simply throw it back into the reservoir or discard it as waste.
• The scale of the takeover is stark. “Over two decades ago, one used to find only native fish in Ujani, but now around 97 per cent found are alien fish that include suckermouth catfish, Tilapia, and African catfish, and the rest, just 3 per cent, are native fish,” Katwate said. Of that 97 per cent alien population, suckermouth catfish alone accounts for roughly 30-40 per cent.
• The species’ burrowing habit, used for breeding, is also weakening the reservoir’s infrastructure. “For breeding, these fish had to create burrows along the river bank, which eventually is eroding the Bhima river bank, and has the potential to create structural damage to earthen dam walls,” Katwate said. He noted that the fish is remarkably adaptable to adverse conditions, having been found as far as the origin of the Bhima river in Bhimashankar.
Do You Know:
• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines invasive alien species (IAS) as “species whose introduction
and/or spread outside their natural past or present distribution threatens biological diversity”. These include animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms, and can influence all kinds of ecosystems.
• The CBD, the United Nations’ global treaty on safeguarding biological diversity, sums up characteristics of IAS as follows: “arrive, survive and thrive.” This means that these species need an introduction either through natural or human intervention, survive on native food resources, reproduce at a fast rate, and edge out native species in the competition over resources.
• In India, the legal definition of IAS under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (amended in 2022), is narrower. They are defined as “species of animal or plant which is not native to India, and whose introduction or spread may threaten or adversely impact wildlife or its habitat.” Crucially, this leaves out species within India which might be invasive to a particular region — like the chital in Andamans, which are protected in mainland India, but have become a menace in the island chain.
• The list of invasive wildlife in India is dominated by certain species of fish such as the African catfish, Nile tilapia, red-bellied piranha, and alligator gar, and turtle species such as the red-eared slider.
• K Sivakumar, a professor in the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, said that invasive species act as disruptors in the food chain and disturb the balance of the ecosystem. In habitats where there is no competition, invasive species can dominate the entire ecosystem, he added.
• In September 2023, the UN-founded Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) brought out an exhaustive report on invasive species. The report showed that around 37,000 established alien species were introduced worldwide, with roughly 200 new alien species introduced each year.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍How invasive species threaten natural ecosystems
Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme:
📍How does biodiversity vary in India? How is the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 helpful in conservation of flora and fauna? (2018)
Explained
Bill on financial evidence: Critical overhaul, but concerns remain
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
What’s the ongoing story: Lok Sabha on Tuesday cleared the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026, which aims to overhaul the colonial-era Bankers’ Books Evidence Act of 1891 and bring the legal framework governing financial evidence in line with modern, digital banking systems.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What are the key provisions of Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026?
• Why the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act of 1891 is being replaced?
• How the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026 will modernise India’s evidentiary framework for the digital banking age?
• Why is banking data particularly sensitive?
• Financial privacy is an important component of informational privacy-discuss
Key Takeaways:
• While legal experts have welcomed the much-needed technological update, they have expressed concerns regarding data privacy and the missed opportunity to introduce robust digital safeguards.
• The primary purpose of the 135-year-old law was to allow certified copies of bank records to be used as evidence in legal proceedings. This would save bank officials the hassle of physically producing original ledgers in court every time.
• As the Bill’s Statement of Objects and Reasons notes, the old law was enacted when “banking records were predominantly maintained in physical form”. But today, with “the advancement of technology and growth of digital banking”, bank records are “increasingly created, stored and maintained using contemporary technology.” Due to this, the government felt it necessary to “modernise and strengthen the existing legal framework”.
• The Bill’s most significant change is its expanded definition of “bankers’ books”. In the old law, bankers’ books are defined only as records “kept in written form or stored in a micro film, magnetic tape or in any other form of mechanical or electronic data retrieval mechanism.” The 2026 Bill recognises records stored in “electronic or digital form, or otherwise, either onsite or at any offsite or virtual or cloud location”.
• To standardise how these digital records are presented in court, the Bill introduces specific certificate formats and conditions. Advocate on Record at the Supreme Court and Chartered Accountant Deepak Joshi called this a major improvement, comparing it to the Section 63 certificate required for electronic evidence under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — the general evidence law that governs what counts as proof. “They have provided a certain format and undertakings to be given alongside the certified copies so that the court can be assured and satisfied of the genuineness of the copy,” Joshi said.
• Under the 1891 Act, bank officers could not be compelled to produce records or appear as witnesses in cases where the bank was not a party, unless a court ordered it for a “special cause”. However, the Act never defined this term.
• The Bill brings clarity to the concept, defining “special cause” as instances where the accuracy of the record is doubtful, where regular record-keeping has been interrupted or where the bank disobeys an inspection order.
• Anshul Gupta, also an Advocate on Record at the Supreme Court, pointed out that these changes will significantly streamline commercial litigation, such as cheque bounce cases. “Bank officials will not be dragged in court to produce originals or appear as witnesses where banks are not direct parties,” he said. “Electronic records can be produced directly and will be admissible,” he said, adding that this will reduce the lifespan of such cases.
Do You Know:
• A major talking point surrounding the Bill has been Section 11, which states that court orders compelling the production of bank records for investigations can be construed as orders made by an officer “not below the rank of a Superintendent of Police”
• However, this is not a new power. Section 8 of the old Act contained the exact same provision, allowing an SP-rank officer to demand records for police investigations. “There is no reason to worry because these are usual powers granted in the need of investigation,” Joshi said, calling the concern over this provision a “red herring”.
But Gupta pointed out that because records are now electronic, they can be obtained and shared easily on a phone, increasing the risk of data leaks and privacy concerns, whereas with physical books, it is difficult to share and make copies off. “It should be the court which can allow it,” Gupta said.
• While the Bill modernises the law, experts feel it misses the mark on procedural safeguards. Joshi said that lawyers and judges currently struggle to prove or disprove digital documents. He suggested the Bill could have incorporated modern safeguards such as hash values — a unique digital fingerprint used to verify that an electronic file has not been tampered with — to ensure the sanctity of the evidence.
• The wholesale replacement of the Act might cause interpretation issues and multiplied litigation, as parties debate whether the new rules and definitions can be applied to ongoing trials, said Joshi. “The first casualty is always the pending matters,” he said.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Lok Sabha clears Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill with voice vote amid Opposition din
Scientists can now shrink and rewrite proteins with AI. Here’s what that unlocks
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: From Gulliver’s Travels to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, we have long been fascinated by the idea of shrinking ourselves or growing to giant size.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What are proteins?
• What is Protein Engineering?
• Why would anyone want a smaller protein?
• What does artificial intelligence (AI) system termed Raygun do?
• Why does miniaturising a protein matter?
• What is gene therapy?
• How genetic material is delivered to the correct cells?
• What are the major opportunities and challenges associated with gene therapy?
• How can AI-enabled protein engineering address gene challenges?
• How can India leverage AI-driven biotechnology?
Key Takeaways:
• Scientists at Duke University, North Carolina, have now given a version of that power to proteins. The team has come up with an artificial intelligence (AI) system termed Raygun which can miniaturise, enlarge and extensively rewrite proteins. Their work was published in the journal Nature on July 29.
• Protein language models supply the grammar. Raygun supplies the second half: how to take the gist of a protein and re-express it, sometimes in considerably fewer words.
• Doing that turns out to be harder than it sounds. A language model describes each amino acid with a long list of numbers capturing its chemistry and its context, so a 100-residue protein arrives as 100 such lists and a 2,500-residue protein as 2,500. Two proteins of different lengths are therefore described in formats that cannot be lined up against each other, let alone converted into one another, which is precisely what changing a protein’s length would demand.
• Raygun’s answer is to summarise every protein at a fixed resolution. Dr. Kapil Devkota, postdoctoral research and lead computational author of the study, thought of dividing each sequence into the same number of blocks whatever its length, so a short protein gets a few residues per block and a long one gets many, then averages within each block. Every protein then carries a summary of identical size, a little like insisting that every book, whether novella or epic, be reduced to the same number of chapter notes. Much of Raygun’s machine learning goes into working out how to pack enough information into those notes that the protein can be written back out from them.
Do You Know:
• Proteins are polymers, long chains assembled from a small set of repeating units, in their case 20 amino acids. The order of those units determines the shape the chain folds into, and the shape determines the job: motor, scaffold, transporter, switch. Genes, which encode proteins, are polymers too, written in an alphabet of four nucleotides.
• The comparison to language is a natural one. A protein can be read as a sentence in a 20-letter alphabet, a gene as a sentence in a four-letter one.
• Evolution encodes the language that governs how a protein’s amino acid sequence gives rise to its shape and function, but scientists don’t fully understand that language. Protein language models act as a kind of translator, learning patterns from millions of protein sequences and linking those patterns to biological structure and function.
• Large language models such as ChatGPT can summarise or expand a passage because vast exposure to writing teaches them two things: grammar, meaning what a valid sentence looks like, and gist, meaning what a passage is actually saying, so that it can be rewritten in different words.
• Evolution has handed biology a comparable corpus. Haemoglobin, the oxygen carrier in our blood, turns up in thousands of species, from whales to earthworms, always recognisable but never quite identical. Comparing enough of those variants shows which parts are untouchable and which tolerate change. Train a protein language model on hundreds of millions of such sequences and it learns a grammar that generalises across proteins.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Can quantum computing make AI better at designing cancer vaccines? A scientist explains
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
2) ‘RNA interference (RNAi)’ technology has gained popularity in the last few years. Why? (UPSC CSE, 2019)
1. It is used in developing gene silencing therapies.
2. It can be used in developing therapies for the treatment of cancer.
3. It can be used to develop hormone replacement therapies.
4. It can be used to produce crop plants that are resistant to viral pathogens.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1, 2 and 4
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 1 and 4
Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme:
📍What do you understand about nanotechnology and how is it helping in the health sector? (2020)
📍Stem cell therapy is gaining popularity in India to treat a wide variety of medical conditions including Leukaemia, Thalassemia, damaged cornea and several burns. Describe briefly what stem cell therapy is and what advantages it has over other treatments? (2017)
The Editorial Page
EC’s real test: Winning the confidence of the Opposition
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Main Examination: General Studies II: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
What’s the ongoing story: S Y Quraishi Writes- Every EC is judged twice: First by how efficiently it conducts elections, and then by the confidence it inspires among those who lose them. The first test is statistical. The second is constitutional
Key Points to Ponder:
• Why is the Opposition important to electoral credibility?
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established under which Article of the Indian Constitution?
• Who selects the Election Commissioners?
• In Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023), the Supreme Court addressed the appointment mechanism for the CEC and ECs-what you know about the same?
• Why does the appointment mechanism matter?
• How can an electoral referee remain independent from the political players it regulates?
• What does institutional trust mean?
• Why does trust matter in elections?
• ‘The independence of the Election Commission is central to the integrity of India’s electoral democracy’-what is your opinion?
• Discuss the appointment mechanism of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners in India in the context of institutional independence.
Key Takeaways:
S Y Quraishi Writes-
• Barely two weeks after the publication of my memoir India and I, interviewers and readers have repeatedly asked why I believed the Opposition deserved preferential treatment by the Election Commission (EC).
• The answer lies at the heart of what I believe is the constitutional philosophy of election management: The ruling party needs regulation. The Opposition needs reassurance. The EC must provide both.
• The framers of our Constitution deliberately placed the EC beyond the reach of the executive. Elections could not command public confidence if the referee was perceived to be close to one of the contestants, especially the ruling party. The Commission was therefore created as an independent constitutional authority, entrusted with protecting the integrity of the electoral process.
Do You Know:
S Y Quraishi Writes-
• A serving civil servant appointed as Election Commissioner relinquishes his service and assumes a constitutional office. In my case, I resigned from the Indian Administrative Service a year before retirement. That separation reflects a profound constitutional principle. Once appointed, an Election Commissioner no longer serves the government of the day. His allegiance belongs exclusively to the Constitution.
• The Supreme Court has repeatedly reaffirmed this constitutional vision. In TN Seshan v. Union of India and, more recently, in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India, it underscored that an independent EC is indispensable to free and fair elections, which form part of the Constitution’s basic structure.
• But constitutional independence cannot be measured only by legal safeguards. It must also be reflected in institutional behaviour. The EC must consciously maintain an arm’s-length relationship with the executive. Any perception of a cosy relationship between the executive and the EC is antithetical to the constitutional scheme and corrosive of public confidence.
• That constitutional distance has an important implication. The party in power commands the administrative machinery, public visibility and official resources. The Opposition has only its voice and its confidence that an impartial constitutional authority will hear it fairly.
• When I became Chief Election Commissioner, I gave my officers a simple instruction. If Opposition parties sought an appointment, they should receive one at the earliest. Sometimes requests came with barely 15 minutes’ notice. We did our best to accommodate them. Not because they deserved favours, but because they were entitled to confidence that they would always receive a patient hearing.
• In my experience, most defeated candidates can accept defeat. What they find difficult to accept is the feeling that nobody listened to them before they lost.
• Every EC is judged twice: First by how efficiently it conducts elections, and then by the confidence it inspires among those who lose them. The first test is statistical. The second is constitutional. Together, they determine the health of our democracy. That conviction shaped my own philosophy as Chief Election Commissioner.
The ruling party needs regulation. The Opposition needs reassurance. The EC must provide both
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Previous year UPSC Main 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. (2022)
The World
Typhoon Dolphin hits China; 1mn evacuated, 1,500 flights cancelled
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 and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
What’s the ongoing story: Typhoon Dolphin, the strongest tropical cyclone to hit China this year, has forced the evacuation of more than one million people after making landfall on the country’s eastern coast, bringing torrential rain, strong winds and widespread transport disruptions.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Typhoon Dolphin-know in detail
• What is typhoons?
• How do typhoons form?
• How is the typhoon presently moving?
• What is Typhoon, Cyclone, Hurricanes and Tornado?
• Cyclone, Tornado, Hurricane and Typhoon-How they are different from each other?
• How Are Cyclone, Tornado, Hurricane and Typhoon Named?
• Typhoon and Super Typhoon -Compare and Contrast
• Types of Typhoon and Super Typhoon or Classification of Typhoon and Super Typhoon -Know in detail
• What are the Stages of Formation of Typhoon and Super Typhoon?
• What are Air Masses and Fronts? How they are related with typhoons?
Key Takeaways:
• The storm made landfall near Yuhuan in eastern Zhejiang province at around 5:30 pm on Sunday, according to China’s meteorological authorities. It later made a second landfall in Wenzhou about an hour later. Dolphin was packing maximum wind speeds of around 150 kmph when it first struck Zhejiang.
• Although authorities have since downgraded Dolphin to a tropical storm, warnings remain in place over torrential rain, flooding and landslides as the system moves north and gradually weakens.
• In Zhejiang, Wenzhou authorities relocated more than 900,000 residents and opened over 1,000 emergency shelters, according to Reuters.
• About 390,000 people were also evacuated from their homes in Taizhou, the BBC reported. Parts of Zhejiang could receive between 250 mm and 500 mm of rainfall over the next few days, according to forecasts.
• Authorities have warned of a high risk of geological disasters in parts of the province, while the Qiantang, Yong, Jiao and Shuiyang rivers could experience major flooding.
• In Hangzhou, the provincial capital, authorities waived parking fees in public spaces for motorists seeking shelter from strong winds and floodwaters.
Do You Know:
• Typhoon Dolphin travelled around 6,000 km before making landfall in China, suggesting a lifespan more than three times that of an average typhoon. The storm had earlier brought torrential rain to the Philippines, northern Taiwan and Japan’s Okinawa island.
• Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones are the exact same weather phenomenon—large tropical storms—but they are named differently based on where they form, while tornadoes are entirely different, smaller, and vastly more intense storms that form over land.
—Hurricanes: Form over the North Atlantic and the Central or Northeast Pacific oceans. They typically impact North America and the Caribbean
—Typhoons: Form over the Northwest Pacific Ocean. They typically strike East Asia, including nations like Japan, China, and the Philippines.
—Cyclones: Form over the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean. They impact areas like India, Australia, and East Africa. Because they form in the Southern Hemisphere, their winds rotate clockwise, whereas hurricanes and typhoons rotate counterclockwise
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍China evacuates over one million people as Typhoon Dolphin makes landfall
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
3) In the South Atlantic and South-Eastern Pacific regions in tropical latitudes, cyclones do not originate. What is the reason? (UPSC CSE, 2015)
(a) Sea surface temperatures are low
(b) Inter-tropical Convergence Zone seldom occurs
(c) Coriolis force is too weak
(d) Absence of land in those regions
Previous Year Mains Questions Covering the same theme:
📍Tropical cyclones are largely confined to South China Sea, Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Mexico. Why? (2014)
📍The recent cyclone on the east coast of India was called “Phailin”. How are the tropical cyclones named across the world? (2013)
| PRELIMS ANSWER KEY |
|
1.(d) 2.(a) 3.(b) |
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Priya Kumari Shukla is a Senior Copy Editor in the Indian Expre... Read More
