All posts tagged: Prelims 2025

UPSC CSE Prelims 2025 Special: Have last minute exam day strategy doubts — we have got answers | UPSC Current Affairs News

UPSC CSE Prelims 2025 Special: Have last minute exam day strategy doubts — we have got answers | UPSC Current Affairs News

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Are You Prelims Ready? UPSC Prelims 2025 is scheduled for May 25. As the exam approaches, aspirants are often flooded with last-minute doubts and dilemmas — ranging from anxiety and self-doubt to concerns about strategy and performance pressure. These feelings are natural, especially ahead of such a high-stakes and competitive examination. To help aspirants navigate this crucial phase, here is a comprehensive Prelims Day Strategy Guide, part of our Expert Talk series under UPSC Essentials by The Indian Express. In this edition, Rohit Pande, our expert, speaks to Manas Srivastava of The Indian Express, addressing the most common questions and mental roadblocks that aspirants face just before entering the exam hall. About our Expert: Rohit Pande brings over a decade of experience in strategy and consulting to the world of CSE examinations. His team has helped many students clear the exam using scientific framework-driven mentorship. He keeps a keen eye on the evolving patterns of the UPSC IAS exam and the changing study habits of GenZ UPSC aspirants, enabling them with deep, actionable, and unrivaled insights. Story …

UPSC Key | 18th May, 2025: ISRO’s EOS-09, Rare-earth magnets, and Left Wing Extremism

UPSC Key | 18th May, 2025: ISRO’s EOS-09, Rare-earth magnets, and Left Wing Extremism

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Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life. What’s the ongoing story: In a rare failure, India’s main rocket PSLV developed problems a few minutes after take-off and failed to place earth observation satellite EOS-09 into the intended orbit in an early morning launch on Sunday. Key Points to Ponder: — What are the Earth observation satellites? Story continues below this ad — What are the different types of launch vehicles of ISRO? — What is the difference between PSLV and GSLV? — What are the various stages of rockets? — Learn about the important ISRO’s missions – Aditya L1, Chandrayaan 4, Chandrayaan 5, Shukrayaan-1 — What do you understand by space debris? Key Takeaways: — “Today’s 101st launch was attempted. PSLV-C61 performance was normal till second stage. Due to an observation in the third stage, the mission could not be accomplished,” ISRO said. — This was the 101st mission launched by ISRO, and the 63rd one using …

UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | April 7 to April 13, 2025 | UPSC Current Affairs News

UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | April 7 to April 13, 2025 | UPSC Current Affairs News

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UPSC Current Affairs Pointers brings you essential current affairs of the past week, every Monday, to aid you in your Prelims and Mains preparation of UPSC, State PCS, and other competitive examinations. Report (FYI: The data provided in these reports can be used to substantiate your Mains answer and create a broad understanding of the topic.) Story continues below this ad — According to the sixth edition of global energy think tank Ember’s Global Electricity Review, India became the world’s third-largest producer of electricity from wind and solar energy in 2024, overtaking Germany. — The low-carbon sources, including renewables and nuclear power, together provided 40.9 per cent of the world’s electricity in 2024. This is the first time the 40 per cent mark has been crossed since the 1940s. — As part of its climate commitments or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the UNFCCC in 2022, India aims to achieve 50 per cent of its installed electric power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. — In 2021, the country also announced a goal …

Knowledge Nugget: Why is Right to information Act important for UPSC? | UPSC Current Affairs News

Knowledge Nugget: Why is Right to information Act important for UPSC? | UPSC Current Affairs News

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Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today. (Relevance: Questions have been asked on the RTI Act and the judgment of the Supreme Court on Right to Privacy. As the discussion around the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) has intensified as it is going to be implemented soon, it becomes important to know about the whole debate around DPDPA and the RTI Act.) Why in the news? Recently, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi has called the Digital Personal Data Protection Act “draconian” and said, “The DPDP Act keeps all personal information out. In this new provision, you won’t be able to know under RTI which contractor built bridges in Bihar that collapsed.” Opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, K C Venugopal and John Brittas had also written to Vaishnaw to repeal Section 44 (3) of the Act, as it “amends the Right to Information”.  Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “You are taking RTI towards ‘road to …

Knowledge Nugget: What must you know about Opioid Fentanyl for UPSC? | UPSC Current Affairs News

Knowledge Nugget: What must you know about Opioid Fentanyl for UPSC? | UPSC Current Affairs News

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Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today. (Relevance: Drug trafficking poses a major threat to a country’s security. India, being sandwiched between the Golden Crescent and the Golden Triangle, faces significant challenges related to illicit drug trade. This makes it essential to understand the trafficking of fentanyl opioids and the reasons behind the recent move by the USA.) The United States has named India, along with China, a “state actor” in enabling direct and indirect supply of precursor chemicals and equipment used by drug traffickers, particularly in the production of illicit fentanyl. This is the first time that Washington has placed New Delhi on the same level as Beijing in connection with the supply of precursor chemicals used by drug cartels to manufacture opioids like fentanyl. Story continues below this ad Key Takeaways: 1. The ‘2025 Annual Threat Assessment (ATA)’—a coordinated evaluation of global threats to US interests- stated that fentanyl and other synthetic opioids remain the deadliest …

How is Time Use Survey important for UPSC?

How is Time Use Survey important for UPSC?

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Here are the key highlights from the Time Use Survey. Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today. (Relevance: UPSC has asked questions on the ‘care economy,’ the ‘monetized economy,’ and the role of women. In Prelims, questions have been asked about employment and key government surveys or reports. Since TUS is published by only a few countries in the world, it is important for UPSC aspirants to understand its objectives and major highlights.) Why in the news? The National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the second All-India Time Use Survey for the period January-December 2024. It measures time dispositions by the population on different activities. The primary objective of the Survey is to measure the participation of men and women in paid and unpaid activities. The first All-India survey was conducted during January – December 2019. Only few countries around the world like Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, …

UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week

UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week

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UPSC Current Affairs Pointers brings you essential current affairs of the past week, every Monday, to aid you in your Prelims and Mains preparation for UPSC, State PCS, and other competitive examinations. Events EAM S Jaishankar and his Oman counterpart Badr Albusaidi release a logo to mark 70 years of India-Oman diplomatic ties during the Indian Ocean conference, in Oman, Sunday. PTI — The 8th Indian Ocean Conference was organised by India Foundation in association with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oman on February 16-17, 2025 in Muscat, Oman. Story continues below this ad — It was started by the India Foundation in 2016 in Singapore, with participation from 30 countries. The theme for this year of the Conference is Voyages to New Horizons of Maritime Partnership. — The objective of the conference is to bring critical states and principal maritime partners of the region together on a common platform to deliberate upon the prospects of regional cooperation for Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR). — Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated …

Knowledge nugget of the day: Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan

Knowledge nugget of the day: Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan

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The Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan website has been launched by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on January 15th. Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today. (Relevance: Government schemes and new initiatives form an important part of the UPSC syllabus. The government is highly invested in improving security in border areas. Promoting tourism in border areas and battlefields is part of this initiative. Therefore, it is important to understand the objectives of these schemes and initiatives.) On the occasion of the 77th Army Day (15th January), Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the “Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan” which is a dedicated website for visitors, including information on the 77 sites, their stories, and how to get there. Key Takeaways: 1. The Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan website will be a one-stop destination for the visitors to make all necessary arrangements for their travel planning, including how to apply for permits for some of these places, officials add. 2. The Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan website will feature …

Knowledge nugget of the day: Ghost particles

Knowledge nugget of the day: Ghost particles

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Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today. (Relevance: In 2013, UPSC asked a question about the Higgs boson particle. A question on ‘IceCube,’ a particle detector located at the South Pole, was already asked in 2015. Therefore, it is important to understand neutrinos and why they are called ghost particles.) Scientists have deployed telescopes under the Mediterranean Sea to detect the high-energy neutrinos also known as ghost particles. The two telescopes are part of the Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope or KM3NeT. While one of the telescopes will study high-energy neutrinos from space, the other will examine neutrinos from the atmosphere. These telescopes are much like the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which can detect high-energy neutrinos from deep space but is under the frozen ice in the Antarctic rather than being in the water Key Takeaways: 1. Neutrinos are tiny particles, very similar to electrons, but without any electric charge. They are miniscule subatomic particles that hardly interact with anything. …

Knowledge nugget of the day: Jetson Orin Nano Super

Knowledge nugget of the day: Jetson Orin Nano Super

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Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today. (Relevance: AI and supercomputers are becoming essential tools for addressing complex computing challenges and integrating new-age solutions. Governments around the world are exploring options to leverage AI and supercomputers. The Indian government has also launched the National Supercomputing Mission, making it crucial to know about new innovations and collaborations in the field of AI and supercomputers.) Why in the news? Nvidia unveiled the Jetson Orin Nano Super Generative AI supercomputer on December 17. It brings a lot more computing power in a tiny form factor. Owing to its enhanced performance, the supercomputer can help developers fuel innovation. Today, Nvidia is the biggest chipmaker in the world, with a market cap of over $3 trillion, second only to Apple. Key Takeaways: 1. Nvidia has defined its latest offering as a ‘“compact, yet powerful computer” that redefines generative AI for small edge devices. When it comes to performances, the Justin Orin Nano Super …