Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance and Polity
Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Government policies and interventions, Constitution of India-significant provisions and basic structure, Awareness in the fields of IT and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
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What’s the ongoing story: Amid complaints of violence and obscenity pertaining to content on digital platforms, especially in the backdrop of the recent Ranveer Allahbadia controversy, the Central government is examining the need to create a new legal framework to regulate such platforms.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What does the Constitution of India say about the freedom of expression?
• Read about the Intermediary Guidelines and the Digital Media Ethics Code (IT Rules, 2021).
• What is obscenity?
• What is over-the-top (OTT)?
• How are OTTs regulated in India?
• What laws govern obscenity in online content in India?
• Is YouTube regulated under the Digital Media Ethics Code outlined in the IT Rules?
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• How has the Indian judiciary’s view on what constitutes obscenity evolved over the years?
Key Takeaways:
• In its communication to a parliamentary panel, the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry has said there is a growing concern in the society that the constitutional right of “freedom of expression is being misused to showcase obscene and violent content on digital platforms”.
• It has told the Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology — headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey — that while certain provisions exist under the current laws, there is a growing demand for a stricter and effective legal framework to regulate such harmful content. “This ministry has taken note of these developments and is in the process of examining current statutory provisions and the need for a new legal framework,” it said.
• Less than 10 days ago, the committee had asked the I&B Ministry on February 13 regarding the amendments needed in the existing laws to clamp down controversial content in the wake of the emergence of new technology and media platforms.
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• The ministry had just three days ago on February 19 asked social media channels and OTT platforms to follow the Code of Ethics prescribed in the IT Rules 2021 and implement “access control for A-rated content” to prevent children from consuming inappropriate material.
• It emphasised that the law requires OTT platforms to “not transmit any content which is prohibited by law (and) undertake age-based classification of content” and cited “the provisions of the Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986, Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, wherein publication of obscene/pornographic content is a punishable offence”.
• Under Part III of the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code (IT Rules, 2021), online streaming platforms are required to implement a three-level grievance redressal mechanism for violations of the Code of Ethics. This Code also prohibits platforms from transmitting unlawful content, mandates age-based classification, and restricts access to ‘A’-rated content for children.
Do You Know:
• While YouTube is governed under the digital media and ethics code of the IT Rules, the provisions can only apply to content curated by the platform. For content uploaded to an individual’s channel, YouTube will not be treated as a publisher, but rather as a social media intermediary – since such content falls under the purview of user generated content – and can not be held liable for it as long as it adheres to certain government directions, such as blocking content and other due diligence requirements.
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• The right to freedom of speech and expression is not absolute. Article 19 of the Constitution of India, which guarantees the right also provides for reasonable restrictions on various grounds, including that of decency and morality. This means that free speech has to be balanced against the contemporary community standards of morality when it comes to penalising obscene acts or content.
📍Laws Governing Obscenity in Online Content
• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS): Section 294 of the BNS punishes those who sell, import, export, advertise, or profit from obscene material such as books, paintings, and figures and also includes the “display of any content in electronic form”. It describes such material as that which “is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest” — material which is overtly and excessively sexual — or which would “tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely…to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it”.
• Section 67 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000: The law on obscenity has evolved with the advent of the Internet and social media. Under Section 67 of the IT Act, anyone who publishes or transmits obscene material in electronic form can be punished.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Knowledge Nugget: Ranveer Allahbadia controversy — ‘Obscenity’ laws, Hicklin Test and more for your UPSC Exam?
UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:
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(1) Which of the following novels was the subject of obscenity trials in many countries, including India:
(a) The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
(b) Lady Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence
(c) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
(d) Emma by Jane Austen
(2) “Hicklin test” is related to:
(a) Physical fitness of sports professionals
(b) Firing tests, durability tests, accuracy tests, and more for military weapons
(c) Tests applied while sentencing an accused in a criminal case.
(d) None of the above
GOVT & POLITICS
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
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Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
What’s the ongoing story: Amid a row over USAID funding for certain activities in the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Saturday said the information put out by the Trump administration is “concerning” and the government is looking into it.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Read about the controversy surrounding USAID funding in India, and how the Indian government responded.
• What is USAID?
• What does USAID do?
• What is the history of India-US relations?
• What is the history of USAID?
• What are the areas of cooperation between India and the US?
• What role does USAID play in India?
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• What role does narrative-building and information influence play in national security
• What are the key developments in India-US relations in the various sectors?
Key Takeaways:
• During an interaction at an event, he also said USAID was allowed in India “in good faith, to do good faith activities”, and suggestions are being made out of America that “there are activities which are in bad faith”.
• Besides, armed forces, civilian police ensuring law enforcement, security is also about “how your thought processes are influenced, how narratives are set, how facts are presented to you, how your mind moulded without you even knowing it,” he said.
Do You Know:
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• USAID is the “lead international humanitarian and development arm of the US government”, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
• The agency provides assistance to other countries primarily by funding non-governmental organisations (NGOs), foreign governments, international organisations, or other US agencies, often for specific programs to alleviate poverty, provide education and healthcare, among other things.
• The agency managed more than $43 billion in funds, and provided assistance to around 130 countries in FY2023. The top 10 recipients of USAID-managed funds in FY2023 were: (in descending order of funding) Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Syria.
• The US has provided development and humanitarian assistance to India since 1951, when President Harry Truman signed the India Emergency Food Assistance Act, according to an archived page on the USAID website. However, its operations in India — as in the rest of the world — have historically come with strings and conditions attached.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍UPSC Issue at a Glance | PM Modi’s US Visit: 4 Key Questions You Must Know for Prelims and Mains
📍Trump, Musk gun for USAID: All about the agency, its role in India
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍‘What introduces friction into the ties between India and the United States is that Washington is still unable to find for India a position in its global strategy, which would satisfy India’s National self-esteem and ambitions’. Explain with suitable examples. (UPSC CSE, GS2, 2019)
OPINION
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance and Polity
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Constitution of India —historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
What’s the ongoing story: Chakshu Roy writes-“Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh is apprehensive of losing his parliamentary seat. The Independent MP from Punjab is also in charge of Waris Punjab De, a pro-Khalistan group. He faces charges under the National Security Act and has been in jail since 2023.”
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is Article 101(4) of the Indian Constitution?
• What historical precedents exist for Members of Parliament (MPs) losing their seats due to prolonged absence from Parliament?
• How does Parliament document the attendance of its members?
• What is the process for MPs to apply for leave from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and how are these requests processed?
• How did the Government of India Act, 1935, influence the inclusion of the 60-day absence provision in the Indian Constitution?
• Why does an MP’s seat not automatically become vacant after 60 days of absence? What procedure must the House follow to declare it vacant?
Key Takeaways:
• “Recently, Amritpal approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, stating that he would lose his seat under Article 101(4) of the Constitution if he could not attend the Budget Session.”
• “The Article specifies that if an MP is absent from Parliament (without permission) for 60 days, their seat can be declared vacant. Amritpal has attended Parliament only once — to take oath — since the beginning of the 18th Lok Sabha in 2024. The court has now asked the government whether the Lok Sabha has constituted a committee that sanctions the leave application of MPs.”
• “The 60-day absence provision was part of the Government of India Act, 1935. It then found its way into the Constitution. In 1950, the provisional Parliament declared three seats as vacant under this provision. Then, in 1956, the first Lok Sabha took action against an Odisha MP, who had stayed away from the House due to domestic troubles and ill health. The provision came to national attention in 1976. This time, a first-time Rajya Sabha MP was on the brink of losing his seat under Article 101(4). His name, Subramanian Swamy.
• “Let us see how Parliament documents the presence of our public representatives. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha maintain a record of an MP’s participation in House proceedings. So, if a member speaks in the House or casts a vote, it shows they were present. MPs can also mark their presence by signing an attendance register maintained by both Houses of Parliament. The Secretariat uses these registers to calculate the allowances to MPs.”
• “If MPs cannot attend Parliament, they can request leave from the two Houses. In the Lok Sabha, the leave applications go to a committee, while the Rajya Sabha decides these requests on the House floor.”
• “Leave requests are rarely denied. And being in jail while proceedings are ongoing is grounds for asking for leave. For example, during the last Lok Sabha (2019-24), Atul Rai, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP from Uttar Pradesh, was in prison for most of his five-year term and the committee approved his leave.”
Do You Know:
• Even if an MP is absent for more than 60 days, the House has to “declare” the seat vacant, meaning the matter has to be put to vote.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Could Amritpal Singh lose his MP seat under Article 101(4)? Here is why he needn’t worry
UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:
(3) Consider the following statements regarding Article 101(4) of the Indian Constitution:
1. A Member of Parliament (MP) can lose their seat if they are absent from all meetings of the House for 60 days without permission.
2. The 60-day period does not include days when the House is prorogued or adjourned for more than four consecutive days.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
ECONOMY
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance and Economic Development
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation, of resources, growth, development.
What’s the ongoing story: After conducting a $5 billion dollar-rupee swap less than a month ago, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday (February 21) decided to inject rupee liquidity for longer duration through another $10 billion dollar-rupee buy-sell swap arrangement.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is a dollar-rupee swap?
• How does a swap work?
• What is open market operation (OMO)?
• What is the liquidity of the banking system?
• What is the liquidity deficit of banks in India?
• How liquidity is managed by RBI?
• What measures has the RBI taken to ensure liquidity in the economy?
• How does the swap mechanism help stabilize the value of the Indian rupee during periods of foreign fund outflows?
• How does the RBI’s intervention in the forex market impact the liquidity of the rupee in the banking system?
Key Takeaways:
• The central bank’s initiative is designed to provide a durable solution to the system’s liquidity requirements, while also stabilising the value of the rupee and bolstering the nation’s foreign exchange kitty.
• The swap mechanism can help stabilize the currency by providing immediate liquidity support, thereby mitigating the pressure on the rupee during periods of foreign fund outflows. This temporary relief can bolster market confidence and prevent excessive volatility in the exchange rate.
• It will also beef up the dollar reserves of the RBI at a time when it’s intervening in the forex market to prevent a slide in the rupee. The central bank will be conducting the $10 billion swap auction for a tenor of 3 years next week.
• The Indian banking system encountered its worst liquidity crunch in more than a decade in January 2025. The liquidity deficit peaked at Rs 3.15 lakh crore on January 23, its lowest level in nearly 15 years.
• The RBI has been selling dollars to stabilise the rupee, thereby sucking out an equivalent amount in rupee from the system.
• The swap is in the nature of a simple buy-sell foreign exchange swap from the Reserve Bank side. A bank will sell US dollars to the Reserve Bank and simultaneously agrees to buy the same amount of US dollars at the end of the swap period.
• The RBI had infused over Rs 3.6 lakh crore of durable liquidity into the banking system in the last five weeks through debt purchases, forex swaps and longer-duration repos.
Do You Know:
• The RBI uses Open market operations (OMOs) in order to adjust the rupee liquidity conditions in the market on a durable basis. When the Reserve Bank feels that there is excess liquidity in the market, it resorts to the sale of government securities, thereby sucking out the rupee liquidity. Similarly, when the liquidity conditions are tight, the central bank buys securities from the market, thereby releasing liquidity into the market. It’s used as a tool to rein in inflation and money supply in the system.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍RBI announces $5-bn forex swap, OMOs and VRR to inject liquidity
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(4) If the RBI decides to adopt an expansionist monetary policy, which of the following would it not do? (UPSC CSE 2020)
1. Cut and optimize the Statutory Liquidity Ratio
2. Increase the Marginal Standing Facility Rate
3. Cut the Bank Rate and Repo Rate
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
India shaping how AI is governed: FM
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
What’s the ongoing story: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said India was not just leading in the adoption of artificial intelligence but also shaping how Al is governed.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is artificial intelligence (AI)?
• What are the areas of AI application?
• Is there any legal framework for AI regulation globally and nationally?
• What are the benefits of AI?
• What are the ethical issues related to AI?
• What are the initiatives taken by India to integrate AI?
• What are the challenges related to AI?
What are the important bilateral cooperation signed by India to promote AI?
• What are the key highlights of Paris AI Summit?
• Read about the India artificial intelligence (AI) Mission?
Key Takeaways:
• Speaking at the sixth convocation of the Indian Institute of Information Technology- Kottayam (IIIT-Kottayam), Sitharaman said that India was not just ready for Al, but the demand for Al-driven solutions was also high in the country.
• She said this was evident from the fact that the country recorded 3 billion Al-related app downloads in 2024, while the US and China had only 1.5 billion and 1.3 billion downloads, respectively.
• The Finance Minister also said that India being made the co-chair at the recent Al Action Summit in Paris was a recognition of the country’s global position in the sector.
Do You Know:
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of machines, especially computers, to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. These tasks include things like understanding language, recognising patterns, solving problems, and making decisions.
• Essentially, AI enables machines to think and learn from experience, just like humans do, but often at a much faster pace with access to vast amounts of data.
• AI can be classified into two types: Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI) also known as weak AI and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) also referred to as strong AI.
• ANI is designed for specific tasks and excels within a narrow domain. Examples include virtual assistants like Siri, recommendation systems on platforms like Netflix, and image recognition software. ANI systems are highly specialised and cannot transfer their expertise to unrelated tasks.
• In contrast, AGI aims to replicate human cognitive abilities, enabling it to perform any intellectual task a human can do. AGI would possess general reasoning skills, understand context, and adapt to new situations across various domains. It would be capable of autonomous learning and problem-solving without requiring task-specific programming.
• Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) are subsets of AI but differ in complexity and capabilities. ML involves training algorithms to learn from data and make predictions and often requires manual feature extraction.
• DL, a subset of ML, uses neural networks with many layers (hence “deep”) to automatically learn features from large datasets. While ML works well with smaller datasets, DL requires vast amounts of data and computational power.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍What is Artificial Intelligence, how is it revolutionising healthcare
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(5) With the present state of development, Artificial Intelligence can effectively do which of the following? (UPSC CSE 2020)
1. Bring down electricity consumption in industrial units
2. Create meaningful short stories and songs
3. Disease diagnosis
4. Text-to-Speech Conversion
5. Wireless transmission of electrical energy
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2, 4 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
Introduce the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI). How does Al help clinical diagnosis? Do you perceive any threat to privacy of the individual in the use of Al in healthcare? (UPSC CSE 2023)
Trump orders trade chief to revive tariff retaliation against digital taxes
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Main Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.
What’s the ongoing story: President Donald Trump on Friday ordered his trade chief to revive investigations aimed at imposing tariffs on imports from countries that levy digital service taxes on U.S. technology companies.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What are digital service taxes (DSTs)?
• Why have countries imposed digital service taxes?
• What are the digital services taxes in India?
• How do digital service taxes impact international trade relations?
• What are tariffs and how do tariffs work?
• What are retaliatory tariffs?
• How does India’s digital service tax impact U.S. technology companies, and what has been the U.S. response?
Key Takeaways:
• The memo directs the U.S. Trade Representative’s office to renew digital service taxes investigations that were initiated during Trump’s first term, and investigate any additional countries that use a digital tax “to discriminate against U.S. companies,” according to a White House fact sheet.
• The digital service taxes aimed at dominant U.S. tech giants including Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O),Meta’s Facebook (META.O), Apple (AAPL.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O), have been a longstanding trade irritant for multiple U.S. administrations.
• Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, India, Austria and Canada have levied the taxes on sales revenue by these and other digital services providers within their borders.
• During Trump’s first term, USTR launched Section 301 unfair trade practices against several of these countries, finding they discriminated against U.S. companies, paving the way for retaliatory tariffs on certain imports.
From “Reciprocal tariffs ‘soon for India, China: US President”
• US President Donald Trump has said that his administration will “soon” impose reciprocal tariffs on countries such as India and China, reiterating what he had said during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the US capital.
Do You Know:
• Tariffs are taxes or duties imposed by a government on imported goods and services. Their objective is to make foreign products more expensive compared to domestically produced goods, thereby encouraging consumers to prefer local products. Tariffs also act as a protective measure for domestic industries against foreign competition. Additionally, they serve as a source of revenue for the government.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍UPSC Issue at a Glance | Tariff war: 4 Key Questions You Must Know for Prelims and Mains
UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:
(6) Consider the following statements:
1. Tariffs are taxes or duties imposed by a government on imported goods and services.
2. Objective of tariffs is to make foreign products more expensive compared to domestically produced goods
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
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