Asha Civil Service Coach

Key Court Directions :
To enforce this right, the Supreme Court issued several nationwide interim mandates: 

• Removal of Hazards: Immediate prohibition on unauthorized dhabas, eateries, or commercial structures within the “Right of Way” (ROW) of National Highways. 

• Parking Regulations: Heavy vehicles are banned from parking on highways/shoulders except in designated bays. 

• Blackspot Rectification: Authorities must identify “blackspots” (accident-prone stretches) within 45 days and fix them with better lighting, signage, and barriers. 

• Administrative Accountability: The creation of a District Highway Safety Task Force in every district to monitor safety compliance.

📜 10th Schedule (Anti-Defection Law) — When was it added?

The 10th Schedule was not part of the original Constitution. It was added later through an amendment:

Introduced by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act
, Came into force in 1985.

Later, the law was strengthened by:
91st Constitutional Amendment Act (2003):
What changed?

1/3 members could split and avoid disqualification (called “split”)
❌ This was misused heavily
✅ So, “split” provision was removed

Now only 2/3 merger rule remains valid.

*important for Prelims 2026

Article 368 of the Indian Constitution regarding Constitutional Amendment Bills that affects the federal structure.

Comment your answer ⬇️

Important for Prelims 2026,

Based on recent reports and government announcements through April 2026, the following states from your list have officially entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or Letter of Intent (LoI) arrangements with Starlink:

Comment your Answer ⬇️

🚨Big News , important for Prelims 2026:

The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List is updated regularly (usually twice a year)
Recent updates show a clear trend of worsening conservation status, mainly due to:
• Climate change
• Habitat loss
• Overexploitation

⚛️ 1. Breeder Technology (Core Idea)

In most nuclear reactors:
• Fuel (uranium) is used → energy is produced → fuel gradually gets exhausted.

But in a breeder reactor:
• It creates new fuel while producing energy 🔁

How?
• It uses Plutonium-239 (Pu-239) as fuel.
• Around the core, there is Uranium-238 (U-238) (which normally isn’t useful fuel).
• When neutrons hit U-238 → it gets converted into Pu-239 (usable fuel).

👉 So:

Fuel used < Fuel produced → hence called “breeder”

⸻

⚡ 2. Fast Neutrons (No Moderator)

Most reactors (like PHWRs):
• Slow down neutrons using a moderator (like water).
• Slow neutrons help in controlled reactions.

But PFBR:
• Uses fast neutrons directly (no moderator at all).

Why is this important?
• Fast neutrons are more effective at converting U-238 → Pu-239
• This is what makes breeding possible

👉 Simple analogy:
• Slow neutrons = controlled burning
• Fast neutrons = aggressive conversion + fuel creation

⸻

🔥 3. Energy Efficiency (Maximum Fuel Use)

Normal reactors:
• Use only ~1% of uranium’s energy potential
• The rest remains unused (waste)

PFBR:
• Uses U-238 (which is otherwise “waste”)
• Converts it into fuel and then uses it

👉 Result:
• Much higher energy extraction
• Less nuclear waste (relatively)
• Better long-term sustainability

LPG is portable but import-dependent, while PNG (via LNG) is infrastructure-heavy but more secure and efficient in the long run.

Step-by-Step Breakdown:

1.Liquefaction : Natural gas is cooled to approximately -162°C to turn it into a liquid state. This reduces its volume by about 600 times, making it much easier and safer to transport over long distances.

2.Shipping : The LNG is loaded onto specialized cryogenic tankers (LNG carriers) and transported across oceans to receiving terminals.

3.Regasification : Once the ships reach the destination terminal, the liquid is warmed back up to return it to its original gaseous state.

4.Pipeline Distribution : The regasified natural gas is then injected into the local or national grid and sent through pipelines to power plants, industries, and homes.

• Article 44: Located in Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy), it mandates that “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”

• Legal Status: Since it is a DPSP, it is non-justiciable, meaning it cannot be enforced by any court, but it is fundamental in the governance of the country.

🌱 India’s New Climate Target
🇮🇳 60% non-fossil fuel power by 2035

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🧠 Core Concept
• Non-fossil fuel power = Solar + Wind + Hydro + Nuclear
• Focus is on installed electricity capacity, not total energy consumption.

📉 What does “Reduce emission intensity of GDP by ~45%” mean?

Emission intensity of GDP =
Total greenhouse gas emissions ÷ GDP

A 45% reduction means:
👉 By 2030, India will emit 45% less CO₂ per unit of GDP compared to 2005 levels.

Emission intensity reduction implies decoupling economic growth from carbon emissions by producing more output with relatively lower emissions.

Based on the Union Budget 2026–27 announcements made in February 2026, here is the evaluation of the statements:
• Statement 1 is correct: The Government has proposed a significant tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies providing global cloud services, provided they use data center infrastructure located in India. This is intended to position India as a global hub for data and AI. To qualify, these companies must serve Indian customers through a locally incorporated reseller entity.

Statement 3 is correct: The Budget 2026 extended the tax holiday for units operating in GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City). The 100% tax deduction period was doubled from 10 years to 20 years (out of a 25-year block) to provide long-term tax certainty for international financial services.

India has updated how it calculates GDP using better and newer data sources like:
• Household Consumption Survey ( 2022–23)
• GST data
• MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) database

👉 Aim: Make GDP estimates more realistic and accurate.

🚨 What are the problems in GDP estimation here?

🔴 1. No clear state-wise data for companies
• Big companies operate in many states
• But data (MCA) is available only for the whole company, not state-wise

👉 Problem:

How much output belongs to which state? ❓
👉 There’s no exact answer, so it’s estimated → can be wrong

⸻

🔴 2. Weak industrial data (ASI problem)
• Government uses ASI (factory survey) to divide manufacturing across states

👉 But:
• ASI covers very few companies
• Example:
• Real companies: ~1.35 lakh
• ASI covers: ~67k only

👉 Problem:

Half the economy is missing → wrong state estimates

⸻

🔴 3. GST data helps… but not perfect
• GST gives better business activity data

👉 But:
• Still difficult to map production to exact state
• Some firms register in one state but operate in others

👉 Problem:

Data exists, but not cleanly usable for GSDP

⸻

🔴 4. Household sector is hard to measure
• Small shops, self-employed people, informal workers

👉 No proper records

👉 Problem:

Government has to guess using surveys → less reliable

⸻

🔴 5. Huge fluctuations in estimates
• Numbers (like GVA per worker) change a lot year to year

👉 Example:
• Same sector → big jump or fall without real reason

👉 Problem:

Data is unstable, so GDP may look artificially high/low.

Comment your Suggestions 🔽⬇️