Stay ahead in your UPSC preparation with the top editorials and issue-based analysis from The Hindu, Indian Express, and relevant reports. All topics below are linked to GS1 , GS2 & GS3, with a focus on exam-relevant insights, keywords, and actionable conclusions.
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Madras High Court Criticizes ED’s Expanding Powers Under PMLA
🗞️ Why in News
On June 17, 2025, the Madras High Court remarked that ED officials are “evolving by expanding their powers day by day”, while hearing a case involving alleged misuse of search powers under the PMLA in a TASMAC-linked money laundering probe.
🔑 Key Features of the Case
- Petitioners claimed ED posted notices preventing entry into homes/offices without conducting a search.
- The court questioned the legal sanctity of such actions, calling them unauthorized and overreaching.
- ED cited Section 17 of PMLA, which allows search operations, but admitted the properties were not formally sealed.
🌍 Significance
- Raises concerns over executive overreach and opacity in investigative procedures.
- Draws attention to the need for clear procedural safeguards while exercising coercive powers.
- Adds to the ongoing judicial scrutiny of the ED’s expanding role, especially post recent Supreme Court verdicts upholding parts of the PMLA.
🚀 Way Forward
- Codify limits on ED’s operational powers, especially in non-seizure scenarios.
- Judicial training and oversight to balance individual rights with national interest.
- Ensure transparency and accountability in ED action through structured procedural review and parliamentary oversight.
- Consider amendments to Section 17 of the PMLA to prevent interpretive misuse.
📘 Importance for UPSC
- GS2 (Polity & Governance): Role of regulatory bodies, balance of power, rights of individuals.
- GS3 (Internal Security): Investigative agencies, legal safeguards, financial crimes.
- Ethics (GS4): Accountability, overreach, duty vs. discretion in public service.
- Useful in Mains answers dealing with institutional transparency and checks & balances.
2.
Easing Prices: A Snapshot of India’s Inflation Trends (June 2025)
🗞️ Why in News
Retail and wholesale inflation in India have dropped to multi-year lows, driven by falling food and fuel prices, signaling a period of price stability and potential monetary policy easing.
🔑 Key Highlights
- Retail Inflation (CPI):
- Fell to 2.8% in May 2025, the lowest in 75 months.
- Food inflation dropped to 1.5%, with deflation in vegetables (-13.7%), pulses (-8.2%), and spices (-2.8%).
- Wholesale Inflation (WPI):
- Declined to 0.39%, a 14-month low, due to deflation in fuel and food articles.
- Edible Oils:
- Prices remain high, but the government has cut import duties to ease costs.
- Global Trends:
- Asia is witnessing broad-based price easing, enabling rate cuts by central banks including the RBI, which recently slashed rates by 50 basis points.
🌍 Significance
- Consumer Relief: Lower food and fuel prices ease household budgets.
- Policy Flexibility: RBI may maintain or further reduce rates to support growth.
- Market Optimism: Easing prices have boosted investor sentiment and market indices.
- Global Alignment: India’s inflation trajectory mirrors broader Asian trends, enhancing regional economic stability.
🚀 Way Forward
- Monitor Monsoon Impact: Uneven rainfall could reverse food price gains.
- Geopolitical Watch: Oil prices remain volatile due to Middle East tensions.
- Sustain Supply Chains: Continued focus on logistics and import diversification is key.
- Targeted Support: Address sticky inflation in edible oils and fruits through subsidies or trade policy.
3.
Rebuilding Trust in Air Travel After the AI171 Crash
The tragic crash of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, has shaken public confidence in aviation safety. In response, aviation experts and editorial voices are calling this moment a “chance to rebuild trust and restore faith in air travel”.
🛫 Why It Matters
- Public Anxiety: Sensational media coverage and speculative commentary have amplified fear among passengers.
- Aircraft Under Scrutiny: The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, involved in the crash, is facing global criticism despite its strong safety record.
- Survivor Testimony: The sole survivor reported a loud thud and flickering lights post take-off, fueling theories of engine or power failure.
🔍 What’s Being Done
- Investigations: The Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) have been recovered.
- International Oversight: The NTSB (US) and AAIB (UK) are assisting India’s probe.
- CCTV Analysis: Footage shows the aircraft used the entire runway length, suggesting possible thrust or lift issues.
- Technical Focus: Experts are examining factors like RAT deployment, engine performance, and landing gear drag.
✈️ The Path to Restoring Confidence
- Transparent Reporting: Timely release of verified data is essential to counter misinformation.
- Regulatory Reforms: The high-level safety panel set up post-crash must recommend systemic upgrades.
- Public Communication: Airlines and regulators must proactively educate passengers on aviation safety protocols.
- Manufacturer Accountability: Boeing must address concerns about the Dreamliner’s reliability with clarity and urgency.
This tragedy, while devastating, offers an opportunity to strengthen aviation systems, rebuild public trust, and reaffirm that flying remains one of the safest modes of transport.
4. India needs to design an inclusive pension system
🗞️ Why in News
The Economic Survey 2025–26 and recent editorials have highlighted the urgent need for India to design an inclusive pension system, especially as the old-age dependency ratio is projected to reach 30% by 2050.
🔑 Key Features of the Current Pension Landscape
- Low Coverage: Only 12% of the workforce is covered by formal pension schemes.
- Informal Sector Exclusion: Over 85% of India’s workforce is informal, yet only 5.3% of the population is covered under NPS and APY combined.
- Fragmented Schemes: Multiple parallel schemes (EPFO, NPS, APY, etc.) create confusion and inefficiency.
- Voluntary Opt-In: Most informal workers must voluntarily enroll, but low awareness and financial literacy hinder participation.
- Gender Gap Narrowing: Female APY subscribers rose from 37.9% (FY16) to 52% (FY24).
🌍 Significance
- Social Security: Prevents old-age poverty and reduces dependence on family or state welfare.
- Economic Stability: Encourages long-term savings and reduces fiscal burden on future governments.
- Equity & Inclusion: Ensures that gig workers, farmers, and self-employed individuals are not left behind.
- Viksit Bharat 2047: A robust pension system is essential for India’s transition to a developed economy.
🚀 Way Forward
- Unified Tiered Framework:
- Tier 1: Mandatory flat-rate pension for all.
- Tier 2: Employer-based contributory schemes (opt-out model).
- Tier 3: Voluntary savings with tax incentives.
- Financial Literacy Drives: Integrate pension education into school curricula (like Australia).
- Digital Access: Use UPI-enabled micro-contributions and mobile platforms for enrollment.
- Sustainability Focus: Ensure fund solvency through better asset management and actuarial planning.
- Global Best Practices: Learn from Japan’s mandatory flat-rate model and New Zealand’s universal pension.
📘 Importance for UPSC
- GS2: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections, issues relating to poverty and social justice.
- GS3: Inclusive growth, financial inclusion, and economic development.
- Essay/Ethics: Intergenerational equity, dignity in retirement, and state responsibility.
5.
The Third Nuclear Age: A New Era of Strategic Instability
The term “Third Nuclear Age” refers to the current global nuclear environment, marked by multipolarity, norm erosion, and the use of nuclear weapons as tools of coercion rather than just deterrence.
🗞️ Why in News
A recent and strategic analyses have highlighted that the world has entered a Third Nuclear Age, triggered by events like Israel’s unsanctioned strikes on Iran, Russia’s nuclear posturing over Ukraine, and China’s rapid arsenal expansion.
🧭 Framework of Nuclear Ages
- First Nuclear Age (Cold War Era)
- Bipolar deterrence: US vs USSR
- Logic of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)
- Arms control: SALT, START treaties
- Second Nuclear Age (Post-Cold War)
- Rise of regional nuclear powers (India, Pakistan, North Korea)
- Optimism around disarmament (CTBT, NPT extensions)
- Nuclear modernization despite disarmament rhetoric
- Third Nuclear Age (Present)
- Messy multipolarity: US, Russia, China, India, Israel, North Korea, etc.
- Shift from deterrence to nuclear coercion and signaling
- Breakdown of arms control regimes (e.g., New START expiring in 2026)
- Norm erosion: No global condemnation of Israel’s strike on Iran.
🌍 Significance
- Strategic Unpredictability: Tactical nukes are being redeployed; risk of actual use is rising.
- Erosion of Norms: NPT framework is being undermined by unilateral actions.
- Technological Race: AI, hypersonics, and cyber warfare are complicating nuclear command and control.
- Regional Instability: West Asia, East Asia, and Eastern Europe are flashpoints.
🚀 Way Forward
- Revive Arms Control Dialogues: Especially between US, Russia, and China.
- Strengthen Global Norms: Reinforce NPT, CTBT, and push for new multilateral frameworks.
- Promote Strategic Stability: Through confidence-building measures and no-first-use pledges.
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7.
🇮🇳🤝🇫🇷 India-France Joint Military Exercise SHAKTI-VIII Begins
🗞️ Why in News
On June 17, 2025, an Indian Army contingent departed for France to participate in the 8th edition of Exercise SHAKTI, a biennial Indo-French military drill aimed at enhancing operational coordination and interoperability.
🔑 Key Features
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Location: Camp Larzac, La Cavalerie, France
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Dates: June 18 – July 1, 2025
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Indian Contingent: 90 personnel, primarily from the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, plus other arms and services
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French Contingent: 90 personnel from the 13th Foreign Legion Half-Brigade (13th DBLE)
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Focus:
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Joint operations in sub-conventional environments
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Conducted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter
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Training in semi-urban terrain
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Sharing of Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)
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Use of new-generation equipment and contemporary military technologies
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🌍 Significance
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Strategic Partnership: Reinforces India-France defense ties amid growing Indo-Pacific cooperation
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Combat Readiness: Enhances tactical coordination and joint preparedness
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Cultural Exchange: Fosters esprit de corps, mutual respect, and professional camaraderie
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Global Peacekeeping: Prepares both forces for UN-mandated missions in volatile regions
8.
🇮🇳 India’s Nuclear Arsenal Grows to 180 Warheads: SIPRI Yearbook 2025
🗞️ Why in News
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Yearbook 2025, India increased its nuclear warhead count from 172 in 2024 to 180 in 2025, surpassing Pakistan’s estimated 170 warheads.
🔑 Key Highlights
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Modernization Drive: India is developing canisterised missiles capable of carrying mated warheads during peacetime, enhancing survivability and readiness.
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MIRV Capability: The Agni-5 missile, tested under Mission Divyastra, is now MIRV-capable (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles), allowing one missile to strike multiple targets.
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Agni-P (Prime): A new-generation, canisterised missile with a range of 1,000–2,000 km, offering rapid deployment and mobility.
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Second-Strike Credibility: India is diversifying its nuclear triad across land, air, and sea, improving its deterrence posture.
🌍 Significance
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Strategic Edge: India now holds a numerical edge over Pakistan in warhead count and delivery sophistication.
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Regional Stability Concerns: SIPRI flagged the India-Pakistan military clash in early 2025 as a near-crisis moment, warning of escalation risks.
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Global Arms Race: India’s expansion mirrors a broader trend—all nine nuclear-armed states are modernizing their arsenals amid weakening arms control regimes.
🚀 Way Forward
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Diplomatic Engagement: India must balance deterrence with non-proliferation diplomacy, especially at forums like the Conference on Disarmament.
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Transparency & Doctrine Clarity: Reaffirming No First Use (NFU) and publishing doctrinal updates could enhance credibility.
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Arms Control Advocacy: India can lead calls for new multilateral arms control frameworks, especially as New START nears expiry.
9.
📉 IPO Performance Slips in CY2025: Only 70% Listed at a Premium
🗞️ Why in News
According to BSE data and a , only 70% of IPOs in Calendar Year 2025 listed at a premium—the lowest since 2017. This marks a sharp decline from 85% in 2024, a year that saw record IPO enthusiasm.
🔑 Key Highlights
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17 mainboard IPOs were listed till June 2025.
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Of the 15 with available data, 8 are trading below their issue price.
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6 companies lost over 80% of their value post-listing; some now trade below ₹1/share.
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Average listing gains dropped from 45–49% in 2024 to just ~7% in 2025.
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₹29,000 crore raised so far in 2025 vs ₹46,500 crore in 2024.
🌍 Reasons Behind the Decline
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Market Volatility: Triggered by U.S. tariff actions, Israel-Iran conflict, and India-Pakistan tensions.
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Post-COVID Correction: A natural cool-off after a 4-year bull run.
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Investor Caution: Focus has shifted to existing portfolios amid global uncertainty.
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Trimmed Issue Sizes: Many IPOs reduced their fundraising targets due to tepid demand.
🚀 Way Forward
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Stabilize Market Sentiment: Through policy clarity and geopolitical de-escalation.
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Strengthen Due Diligence: Ensure IPO-bound firms have robust fundamentals.
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Investor Education: Promote awareness about IPO risks and valuation metrics.
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Regulatory Oversight: SEBI may need to tighten norms on pricing and disclosures.
10.
🌾 Rice Shows Cold Adaptation Faster Than Evolution: A Landmark Epigenetic Discovery
🗞️ Why in News
A groundbreaking study published in Cell and reported by reveals that rice plants can adapt to cold stress within just three generations—not through genetic mutation, but via heritable epigenetic changes. This challenges the long-held belief that only DNA mutations drive evolution.
🔑 Key Findings
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Rapid Adaptation: Cold-sensitive rice (Oryza sativa) exposed to 15°C for 7 days during reproduction developed cold tolerance by the third generation.
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Epigenetic Mechanism: The adaptation was linked to hypomethylation (removal of chemical tags) at the ACT1 gene promoter, which lifted gene suppression and enhanced cold tolerance.
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Heritability: This acquired trait was passed down for at least five generations, even without continued cold exposure.
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No DNA Mutation: The DNA sequence remained unchanged—only gene expression was altered, proving Lamarckian-style inheritance via epigenetics.
🌍 Significance
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Revisits Lamarck: Offers molecular evidence supporting the idea that acquired traits can be inherited, long dismissed in favor of Darwinian evolution.
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Agricultural Impact: Could revolutionize climate-resilient crop breeding, especially for regions facing erratic weather.
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Scientific Paradigm Shift: Suggests that environmental stress can induce heritable change faster than traditional natural selection.
India’s Role: As a responsible nuclear power, India can advocate for equitable disarmament and non-discriminatory regimes.
6. Hydraulic Systems: Functioning and Myriad Applications
🗞️ Why in News
A recent article in The Hindu spotlighted the role of hydraulic systems in everyday life—highlighting their diverse applications in engineering, agriculture, healthcare, and entertainment—and underscoring the importance of fluid dynamics in modern infrastructure.
⚙️ Key Features of Hydraulic Systems
- Core Principle: Operate on Pascal’s Law, transmitting pressure uniformly through incompressible fluids.
- Main Components:
- Pump – pressurizes fluid
- Valves – regulate flow/direction
- Actuators – convert pressure into mechanical motion
- Reservoirs & Filters – store and clean the fluid
- Efficiency: Enables precise and powerful mechanical work with minimal energy loss.
- Versatility: Adapts across scales—from microsurgery tools to earthmovers.
🌍 Significance
- Backbone of Industry: Powers critical infrastructure like cranes, elevators, aircraft systems, robotic arms.
- Supports Innovation: Integral to automation, defense systems, and space technology.
- Engineering Applications: Enhances force multiplication and precision in mechanical designs.
- Skill Demand: Opens up vocational and industrial training pathways under Skill India Mission.
🚀 Way Forward
- R&D Investment: Promote indigenous development of hydraulic tools under Make in India.
- Cross-sector Training: Integrate hydraulics modules in ITI, polytechnic, and engineering curricula.
- Eco-hydraulics: Encourage adoption of bio-friendly fluids and leak-proof designs.
- Localization: Create affordable solutions for farm mechanization and rural industries.
📘 Importance for UPSC
- GS3 (Technology, Infrastructure, Economy): Mechanical engineering, industrial applications, innovation.
- GS2 (Education & Skills): Vocational training, job creation through technology.
- Essay/Ethics: Technology as a tool for human progress, balancing automation with employment.
🚀 Way Forward
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Expand Research: Apply similar epigenetic screening to other crops like wheat, maize, and pulses.
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Policy Integration: Encourage funding for non-GMO epigenetic crop improvement under climate adaptation programs.
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Ethical Oversight:Develop guidelines for epigenetic editing, distinct from genetic modification.
DEEPIKA PARASHAR
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