Cross-cutting concepts that do not sit inside one paper. 32 concepts, each with its definition, key details and a timeline of every news story that touched it.
The Balance of Payments is a systematic record of all economic transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world during a given period...
The GST Council is a constitutional body established under Article 279A of the Constitution (inserted by the 101st Constitutional Amendment, 2016). It is...
Operation Sindoor was India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, 2025, in which 26 civilians (mostly tourists) were killed in...
Left Wing Extremism, rooted in the 1967 Naxalbari uprising in West Bengal, has been India's longest-running internal security challenge. The CPI(Maoist)...
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 contains specific provisions (Sections 15–17) obligating buyers to pay MSME suppliers...
Introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2017, SAMADHAN is a comprehensive counter-insurgency framework that integrates security operations with...
GDP base year revision involves recalculating national income accounts using a new reference year that better reflects the current structure of the economy....
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 is the primary legislation governing drug offences in India.
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) — commonly called the Naxalites — is a designated terrorist organisation under India's UAPA, representing the most...
The NCB is the apex central agency for drug law enforcement in India, established under the NDPS Act with effect from March 1986.
Project 17A (P-17A) is a programme to build seven multi-mission stealth guided-missile frigates for the Indian Navy, approved by the Defence Acquisition...
Left-Wing Extremism refers to the insurgency conducted primarily by CPI (Maoist) and affiliated organisations, often described as the single largest...
The Line of Control is not an internationally recognised boundary but a de facto ceasefire line between India and Pakistan, demarcated following the 1972...
India tracks inflation through two main indices: CPI (retail-level) and WPI (wholesale-level). They serve different purposes and are compiled by different...
Understanding the CIRP flow is essential for both Prelims (MCQs on IBC provisions) and Mains (GS3 essays on NPA resolution, economic reforms).
India is the world's third-largest crude oil importer and second-largest LPG importer. West Asia (the Gulf region) supplies approximately 80–90% of India's...
India imports approximately 60% of its LPG requirement, with 90% of those imports passing through the Strait of Hormuz from West Asian producers. This makes...
The IBBI is the statutory regulatory body established under Section 188 of IBC, formally set up on October 1, 2016. It functions under the Ministry of...
Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) is a Pakistan-based Islamist militant organisation founded in 1985–86 by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed with alleged ISI backing...
Left Wing Extremism in India refers to the armed Maoist/Naxalite insurgency, which originated in the Naxalbari uprising of 1967 in West Bengal. The CPI...
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982), ships of all states enjoy the right of transit passage through international...
Launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Home Affairs under then-Home Minister Rajnath Singh, SAMADHAN is a multi-pronged, acronym-based doctrine that integrates...
The AMCA is India's indigenous fifth-generation stealth combat aircraft being developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under DRDO, with HAL as...
The ECA empowers the central government to control production, supply, distribution, and trade of certain commodities declared 'essential' in order to...
The Union government's anti-Naxal strategy rests on three pillars working in tandem: (1) Security Operations: CRPF's CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute...
India's defence procurement is governed by the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP), revised in 2020 (replacing DPP — Defence Procurement Procedure). The DAP...
The downstream petroleum sector — covering refining, storage, and distribution of petroleum products — is regulated by the Petroleum and Natural Gas...
Theatre commands (or Integrated Theatre Commands — ITCs) are unified operational structures where assets of Army, Navy, and Air Force operate under a single...
The Red Corridor refers to the contiguous belt of LWE-affected territory that once stretched across central and eastern India. At its peak, it covered...
Operation Sindoor was launched on 7 May 2025 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack of 22 April 2025, in which 26 civilians (mostly tourists) were killed...
The Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) is a form of excise levy that can be selectively applied to specific categories of goods. For petroleum products...
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982) establishes that straits used for international navigation are subject to the right of...