• Official Name: National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT of Delhi).
• Constitutional Status: Special Union Territory under Article 239AA (inserted by the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1991).
• Administration: It has a legislative assembly and a council of ministers headed by a Chief Minister. However, Public Order, Police, and Land are under the jurisdiction of the Union Government (administered through the Lieutenant Governor).
• Districts: 11 districts.
• Legislature: Unicameral (70 Assembly seats).
• Parliamentary Representation: 7 Lok Sabha seats and 3 Rajya Sabha seats.
• Seismic Zone: Falls under Seismic Zone-IV (high vulnerability to earthquakes).
• Biodiversity: The Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Aravalli hills.
• Ancient: Legend holds it was the site of Indraprastha (Mahabharata era).
• Medieval: Ruled by Delhi Sultanate (Slave, Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodi dynasties) and Mughal Empire.
• Modern: Capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911 by the British.
• Designers: Designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.
• Incorporation: Became a Union Territory in 1956.

• Bihar Diwas: 22 March
• CM: Samrat Choudhary
• Governor: Syed Ata Hasnain
• Tribes: Agaria, Baiga, Bedia, Gond, Gorait, Khond, Kora, Munda, Savar, Kawar, Kol, Tharu
• Major Protected Areas: Valmiki National Park, Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary, Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Wildlife Sanctuary
• Major Places: Tomb of Sher Shah Suri, Barabar caves (oldest rock cut caves), Vikramshila Monastery, Bodhi Tree, Mahabodhi temple, Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Raigir, Nalanda, Vaishali, Ancient city of Patliputra
• Dance and Music forms: Jat-Jatin dance of the Mithila region, Bidesia, the songs of Vidyapati, Chau Tribal dances, Jhijhian dance, Kajari dance, Sohar-khilouna dance, Jhumeri dance

• Foundation Day: 9 November 2000
• Capital: Dehradun
• Chief Minister: Pushkar Singh Dhami
• Governor: Gurmit Singh
• Highest Peak: Nandadevi
• Devprayag: Confluence of Bhagirathi and Alaknanda
• National Parks: Rajaji, Jim Corbett, Valley of Flowers, Nanda Devi, Gangotri, Govind Pashu Vihar
• Major Tectonic Faults near Joshimath: Vaikrita Thurst (VT), Main Central Thrust (MCT), and Pandukeshwar Thrust (PT)
• Major Festivals of Uttarakhand: Holi of Kumaon, Harela and Bhitauli, Magh Mela, Kumbh Ka Mela, Nanda Devi Mela, Bissu Mela
• Major Himalayan ranges in Uttarakhand: Bandarpoonch, Gangotri, Kamet, Nanda Devi, Panchchuli and Adi Kailash

• Predecessor: League of Nations (failed to prevent WWII).
• Charter Signed: 26 June 1945 in San Francisco.
• Official Inception: 24 October 1945 (celebrated annually as UN Day).
• Headquarters: New York City, USA (International territory).
• Official Languages (6): Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish.
• Current Secretary-General: António Guterres (Portugal).

Six Principal Organs

1. UN General Assembly (UNGA)UN General Assembly (UNGA)

• Role: The main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ.
• Membership: All 193 member states have equal representation (1 state = 1 vote).
• Key Fact: Admits new members upon the recommendation of the UNSC.

2. UN Security Council (UNSC)

• Role: Maintenance of international peace and security.
• Membership: 15 members (5 Permanent, 10 Non-permanent).
• P5 Members (Veto Power): US, UK, France, Russia, China.
• Non-Permanent: 10 members elected for 2-year terms by the UNGA (not eligible for immediate re-election)

3. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

• Role: Coordinates economic, social, and environmental policies.
• Membership: 54 members, elected by the UNGA for overlapping 3-year terms.

4. International Court of Justice (ICJ)

• Role: The principal judicial organ of the UN.
• Location: The Hague, Netherlands (The only principal organ not in New York).
• Composition: 15 judges elected for 9-year terms by the UNGA and UNSC.

5. UN Secretariat

• Role: Carries out the day-to-day administrative work of the UN.
• Head: Secretary-General, appointed by UNGA on UNSC recommendation for a 5-year renewable term.

6. UN Trusteeship Council

• Status: Inactive. Suspended operations on 1 November 1994 following the independence of Palau (the last UN trust territory).

Specialized Agencies & Bodies

• Bretton Woods Twins: World Bank Group (WBG) and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (HQ: Paris).
• WHO: World Health Organization (HQ: Geneva).
• WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization (HQ: Geneva).
• IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency (HQ: Vienna) - Note: Reports to both UNGA and UNSC, not a strict specialized agency but an autonomous body.

India and the United Nations

• Founding Member: India is a charter member of the UN, having signed the declaration in 1945 before independence.
• Peacekeeping: India is historically one of the largest cumulative troop contributors to UN Peacekeeping Missions.
• G4 Nations: India is part of the G4 (India, Brazil, Germany, Japan) seeking permanent seats in a reformed UNSC.

• Type: a Central Sector Scheme
• Launched: July 2023
• Jointly implemented by: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)
• Aim: To eliminate hazardous manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, replace manual labor with mechanization, and ensure the safety, dignity, and social security of sanitation workers

• A trade deficit occurs when a country's total value of imported goods and services exceeds its total value of exports, leading to a negative balance of trade.
• It is the most critical component of the Current Account Deficit (CAD) within the larger double-entry system known as the Balance of Payments.
• Formula: Trade Deficit = Total Imports - Total Exports
• Balance of Payments (BoP): Trade falls specifically under the Current Account. The Current Account records visible trade (goods/merchandise) and invisibles (services, transfers, income).
• Macroeconomic Impact: A chronic trade deficit puts downward pressure on the domestic currency (e.g., INR) because it signifies more capital is leaving the country to buy foreign goods than is coming in.
• Twin Deficit Phenomenon: Excessive government borrowing to fund a fiscal deficit can spill over, driving up domestic consumption and leading to an even wider trade deficit.

Causes of a Trade Deficit

• High Domestic Demand: Strong economic growth boosts demand for foreign goods.
• Overvalued Currency: A strong domestic currency makes imports cheaper and exports more expensive.
• Structural Dependedness: High reliance on essential imports like crude oil, electronic goods, and gold.
• Low Export Competitiveness: High domestic logistics costs or poor product quality reduce global demand

Remedial Measures

• Currency Depreciation: Allowing the currency to weaken naturally makes exports cheaper and imports costlier.
• Tariffs and Quotas: Imposing import duties to protect domestic industries.
• Export Incentives: Providing subsidies, tax tax benefits, or cheaper credit to exporters.
• Import Substitution: Boosting domestic production of heavily imported items

Retail Inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is the comprehensive macro-economic indicator that tracks the average change over time in the prices paid by ultimate consumers for a fixed basket of goods and services.

Framework

• Demand-Pull vs. Cost-Push Inflation: UPSC frequently asks about the causes of retail price surges. An increase in money supply or disposable income causes Demand-Pull inflation. Supply chain shocks (like uneven monsoons or geopolitical conflict) trigger Cost-Push inflation.
• Headline vs. Core Inflation:
  • Headline Inflation: The total inflation figure calculated via the entire CPI basket (including highly volatile food and fuel items).
  • Core Inflation: Calculated by excluding food and fuel from the headline CPI. It measures structural, long-term demand pressures in the economy.
• The Base Effect: This is a recurring conceptual trap. Inflation is calculated on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. If the index value in the corresponding month of the previous year was unusually low, even a moderate price rise in the current month will show up as a high inflation percentage.
• Divergence between CPI and WPI: It is common to see retail inflation (CPI) and wholesale inflation (WPI) move in different directions due to structural differences. For instance, a sharp spike in crude oil impacting factory gates directly drives WPI, while an increase in service fees (like education or transport) reflects solely in CPI.

Core Differences: CPI vs WPI vs PPI

Understanding the institutional variations across these indices is critical for matching and statement-based questions.

 Structural Mechanics of CPI

The NSO compiles four distinct types of CPIs to cater to different economic segments: [1]

1. CPI for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW): Used for fixing dearness allowance (DA) of government employees. (Note: Compiled by the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment).
2. CPI for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL): Tracks rural agrarian consumption. (Compiled by the Labour Bureau).
3. CPI for Rural Labourers (CPI-RL): Tracks broader rural casual labor. (Compiled by the Labour Bureau).
4. CPI (Rural/Urban/Combined): The primary macroeconomic metric. (Compiled by NSO, MoSPI).

The Macro Framework: CPI-Combined

• Monetary Policy Tool: In 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officially adopted CPI-Combined (CPI-C) as its anchor to execute monetary policy.
• Inflation Targeting: Under the Flexible Inflation Targeting framework, the central government mandates the RBI to maintain headline CPI at 4% with a tolerance band of ± 2% (i.e., a range of 2% to 6%).

Facts & Recent Updates

• New Base Year Shift: The NSO updated the base year of the primary CPI series from 2012 to 2024 = 100.
• Updated Survey Basket: The new series derives its item weights from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24. The number of items in the basket was increased to 358 items (up from 299) to capture modern consumption.
• Reduction in Food Weightage: Reflecting Engle's Law (as an economy grows, the proportion of income spent on food declines), the weightage of the Food and Beverages category in the updated CPI has dropped to 36.75% (down from the previous 45.86%).
• Digital Integration: Price collection has transitioned to digital methods, expanding coverage to include real-time transactions from online e-commerce platforms alongside traditional rural and urban markets.

• Collaborative Ownership: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan), CSA (Canada)
• Governed by: 1998 Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)
• Altitude: It orbits at an altitude between 370 km and 460 km above Earth.
• Orbit Type: Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
• Speed: Travels at approximately 27,600 km/h, completing 15.5 orbits per day (one orbit every 90 minutes)
• Timeline: The ISS is scheduled to be safely decommissioned and retired by 2030–2031.
• Final Destination: NASA plans to intentionally de-orbit the structure, directing its crash into Point Nemo (the oceanic point of inaccessibility in the South Pacific Ocean).
• US Deorbit Vehicle (USDV): Commercial space partners (like SpaceX) have been contracted to develop the spacecraft responsible for safely guiding the ISS down through Earth's atmosphere.
• Russia's Exit: Roscosmos has indicated it will withdraw from the ISS partnership post-2028 to focus on building its own independent space station (ROS).
• India’s initiative: ISRO is actively working on its own space station, the Bhartiya Antariksha Station (BAS), targeting a preliminary module deployment by 2028 and full operational capabilities by 2035.

Architectural Facts (Kalinga Style)

• Architectural Classification: Kalinga Architecture (a sub-style of Nagara temple architecture).
• Bulit by: by King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty in the 12th century
• Structural Components: The temple features a towering curvilinear main sanctuary (the Rekha Deula) and the pillared assembly hall porch (the Jagamohana or Pidha Deula).
• Compound Walls: The complex is fortified by two concentric walls: the outer wall is called the Meghnada Pacheri and the inner wall is the Kurma Bheda.
• Unique Features: Unlike most Hindu temples, it faces the east and features the Neela Chakra (a sacred blue wheel) atop the spire, along with the fluttering Patita Pavana Bana (temple flag).

Historical & Geographical Significance

• Char Dham: It is one of the four sacred Char Dham pilgrimage sites in India (along with Badrinath, Dwarka, and Rameswaram).
• Yamanika Tirtha: Ancient texts refer to Puri as Yamanika Tirtha, a place where the power of Yama (the god of death) is believed to be nullified.
• Gajapati Rule: In the 13th century, King Anangabhima III proclaimed himself the deputy of Lord Jagannath and dedicated his kingdom to the deity, signifying the concept of divine kingship.

Rituals & Trivia

• The Trinity: The wooden deities are carved from daru (margosa/neem wood).
• Nabakalebara: A sacred ritual where the wooden idols are ceremoniously replaced and buried with identical replicas. This occurs periodically (every 12 to 19 years, depending on astrological calculations).
• Rath Yatra: The grand annual Chariot Festival where the deities travel to the Gundicha Temple in massive, intricately decorated wooden chariots.
• Largest Kitchen: It is known to house one of the largest community temple kitchens in the world, where Mahaprasad is prepared in earthen pots.

• Governing Law: Governed by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
• Nodal Agency: Administered by the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks, who is the Registrar of Geographical Indications.
• Department: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Headquarters: The GI Registry of India is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• Validity: A GI tag is valid for a period of 10 years, which can be renewed indefinitely.
• First Product: Darjeeling Tea was the first Indian product to receive a GI tag in 2004–2005.

International Framework

• Paris Convention: GI protection is recognized under Articles 1(2) and 10 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
• TRIPS Agreement: Governed globally under Articles 22 to 24 of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO). India, as a member of the WTO, enacted its domestic GI Act to comply with TRIPS obligations.

Legal & Functional Distinctiveness

• Community vs. Individual Right: Unlike Trademarks or Patents which are owned by an individual or a single company, a GI tag is a collective/community right. It belongs to all producers within the specified geographic region who meet the defined standards.
• Categories Covered: GI tags are granted to Agricultural products (e.g., Basmati Rice), Natural goods (e.g., Makrana Marble), Manufactured items (e.g., Mysore Silk), Handicrafts (e.g., Pashmina Shawl), and Foodstuffs (e.g., Hyderabadi Haleem).
• Benefits: Prevents unauthorized use of a registered geographical indication by others, boosts exports, promotes rural development, and protects consumers from deception.

Facts

• State with Maximum GI Tags: Historically, states like Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka routinely compete for the highest number of registered GI tags. Keep an eye on recent economic survey data for the exact shifting rank before your prelims.
• Logo and Slogan: "Invaluable Treasures of Incredible India" (अतुल्य भारत की अमूल्य निधि).
• Darjeeling Tea Exception: It holds GI protection for both its logo and the text word "Darjeeling".

NIDAR 2.0

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with Drone Federation India (DFI), launched the second edition of the National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research (NIDAR 2.0, 2026-27) under the SwaYaan initiative.
• The first edition of NIDAR 2025-26 was launched in March 2025.

SwaYaan initiative

• A capacity-building program to develop and strengthen India’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and drone ecosystem.
• Nodal Ministry/Body: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in collaboration with the Drone Federation of India (DFI).
• Approved: July 2022
• Implementation Model: Follows a Hub-and-Spoke model utilizing a network of 30 premier academic and R&D institutions (including IISc, IITs, NITs, C-DAC, and NIELIT centres).

• Founded: 26 January 1950
• Navy Day: 4 December

• Motto(s): Shaṁ No Varunaḥ
• Supreme Commander: President Droupadi Murmu

• Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS): Admiral Krishna Swaminathan