Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for May 12, 2026
Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for May 12, 2026. If you missed the May 11, 2026 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here Politics VB–G RAM G to replace MGNREGA on July 1 Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections. What’s the ongoing story : Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB—G RAM G, will increase workdays for rural households to 125 but shift 40% of the cost to the states. Key Points to Ponder: • Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB—G RAM G 2025-Know its key features • What is the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005? • How Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) is different from Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005? • How Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) is funded? How the funding is different from Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005? • How VB – G RAM G Act will affect state exchequer? • What is centrally sponsored scheme? • What is the difference between centrally sponsored and central scheme? • Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) is centrally sponsored or central scheme? Key Takeaways: • The Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): VB—G RAM G Act 2025, which aims to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005 and provides for a new rural job guarantee programme, will become effective on July 1, 2026. • The Union Ministry of Rural Development issued a notification to this effect on Monday. The more than two-decade-old MGNREGA, enacted by the UPA government, will thus cease to exist from July 1. • The Opposition has criticised several provisions of the VB-G RAM G Act such as the fund sharing pattern (section 22), normative allocation (sub-section 5 of section 4), and a pause in employment guarantee during the peak agriculture season (section 6). These provisions will also have a fiscal implication for states, which are already facing challenges. Do You Know • The government enacted the VB-G RAM G Act 2025 in December last year. VB G RAM G aims to provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work, with the “objective to promote empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation for a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat”. • Unlike the MGNREGS, where the Centre paid 100 per cent of the wage bill, VB G RAM G is a centrally sponsored scheme with a fund-sharing ratio of 60-40 between the Centre and states for all states, 90-10 for Northeast states, Himalayan states, and Union Territories with a legislature, and 100 per cent central share for UTs without a legislature. • Departing from the MGNREGA, the VB-G RAM G Act proposes a higher share of states in funding the rural job programme. As per section 22(1) of the Act, the fund-sharing pattern between the central government and the state governments shall be 90:10 for the 11 states, while it will be 60:40 for all other states. Under the MGNREGA, the Centre paid the entire wage bill and shared 75 per cent of the material and administrative costs of the scheme. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍 How VB – G RAM G Act, which replaces MGNREGA, affects states’ finances Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: 1) Among the following who are eligible to benefit from the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act”? (UPSC CSE, 2011) (a) Adult members of only the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households (b) Adult members of below poverty line (BPL) households (c) Adult members of households of all backward communities (d) Adult members of any household Explained Why saving forex could hamper India’s growth Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development Mains Examination: General Studies II: Important aspects of governance What’s the ongoing story : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Indians to save foreign exchange (forex) by any means necessary. Key Points to Ponder: • Why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Indians to save foreign exchange (forex) by any means necessary? • What exactly Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed? • What is the link between forex and the PM’s demand? • What is the link between BoP and the rupee’s exchange rate? • Has the situation changed? And how bad is it? • What is required to deal with the forex issue? • What do you understand by the term ‘Import’ and ‘Export’? • How Importing and Exporting Impacts the Economy? • How Import and Export effects on Gross Domestic Product? • What is Foreign Trade of India? • What is the total value of India’s exports and imports? • Which is higher-exports or imports? • What are the important Export and Import Items in India? • India Imports and Exports maximum from/to which Country(ies)? • Know the Basics-Trade Balance, Trade Deficit, Current Account Deficit, Balance of Payment • How ongoing war is affecting India’s import and export performance? Key Takeaways: • In a recent speech, he called on Indians to stop buying gold for a year. Imports of gold are a huge reason why Indians demand forex. In the same vein, he has also urged Indians to work from home in a bid to reduce the consumption of imported crude oil — another big drain on forex. • He also urged Indians to cut back the use of edible oil in their food by 10%; he said this will not only cut back on the import of edible oils and save forex but also improve the health of Indians. • He also urged the farmers to cut back on the use of chemical fertilisers by half if possible; he said that too much use of chemical fertilisers was ruining soil health, and instead advocated the farmers should shift to natural farming. • He also took this opportunity to underscore the need for buying “made in India” products and focusing on “swadeshi” products and being “vocal for local” instead of buying imported goods of everyday use. He asked Indians to make a list of things they buy and wean out the imported products (say, “scissors or toothbrush”) and substitute them with Indian ones. • He also called on other institutions and organisations — from the judicial courts to labour unions to media — to help work towards this goal. Do You Know • Indians typically import large quantities of the commodities Modi mentioned in his speech. When Indians buy goods from outside the country — be it gold or a toothbrush or fertiliser or edible oil — India ends up running down its pile of forex held with the RBI, India’s central bank. That’s because the transaction of importing goods from outside the country involves Indians using their rupees to buy dollars and then using those dollars to import (buy) goods from outside the country. • Under normal circumstances, foreigners across the world also buy Indian goods, and thus they use dollars to buy Indian rupees, and this leads to dollars adding to Indian forex reserves with the RBI. But the situation can go off-balance if Indians imports far outstrip Indian exports; in such a scenario India will keep spending dollars without getting as many in return. —If such a situation sustains for long, it has two effects: one, India runs down its pile of forex, and two, while this is happening, Indian rupee’s exchange rate weakens against the dollar (or whatever other currency that India is using to trade). • There is another way in which forex come in and out of India: through foreign investments. Foreigners invest in India (either by creating new factories and offices — called foreign direct investment — or by buying shares in Indian companies listed in the stock market — called foreign portfolio investment) while Indians invest in other countries, again via the same two routes. • For most of India’s history since the economic reforms in 1991, there has been a broad trend: Indians import more goods and services than they export — this is called running a “current account deficit” — while foreigners invest in India more than Indians invest outside India — and this is called a “capital account surplus”. Typically, the capital account surplus is bigger than the current account deficit — implying more dollars are coming in than going out — and thus India adds to its forex reserves. This situation is technically called a “Balance of Payment (BoP) surplus”. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍 Knowledge Nugget | BoP basics for your UPSC exam: Current account, capital account and rupee dynamics Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: 2) With reference to Balance of Payments, which of the following constitutes/constitute the Current Account? (UPSC CSE, 2014) 1. Balance of trade 2. Foreign assets 3. Balance of invisibles 4. Special Drawing Rights Select the correct answer using the code given below: (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 (c) 1 and 3 (d) 1, 2 and 4 3) Which one of the following groups of items is included in India’s foreign-exchange reserves? (UPSC CSE, 2013) (a) Foreign-currency assets, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and loans from foreign countries (b) Foreign-currency assets, gold holdings of the RBI and SDRs (c) Foreign-currency assets, loans from the World Bank and SDRs (d) Foreign-currency assets, gold holdings of the RBI and loans from the World Bank When the British ‘brought back Somnath gates’ from Afghanistan Preliminary Examination: History of India Mains Examination: General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times. What’s the ongoing story : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Gujarat today (May 11) to mark 75 years of the inauguration of the restored Somnath temple. Modi posted on social media, “…while the attackers have faded into the dust of history, the soul of Bharat endures. Somnath stands tall and eternal.” Key Points to Ponder: • Map Work -Somnath Temple • Who built Somnath Temple? • What are the main components of Somnath Temple? • Know in detail about the Gurjara-Pratihara kingdom and Chalukya dynasty? • The temple has been sacked numerous times by invaders-who were they? • The Somnath Temple is designed in the Māru-Gurjara style of architecture (also known as Chaulukya or Solanki style)-what is Māru-Gurjara style of architecture? • How Maru-Gurjara temple architecture is different from Nagara and Dravidian style of Temple architecture? • Know the name of some important architecture under Maru-Gurjara architecture or Chalukya style? • Which type of stone and materials were used to build the temples in western part of India? • Other famous temples in Western part of India-Know about them • The saga of Somnath Temple’s ‘lost gates’ illustrates how history can be used as a political instrument-what is your take? • How colonial powers used historical and religious symbolism to legitimise their rule in India? • “Historical memory often shapes modern political narratives”-Attest with reference to the Somnath Temple. • How Somnath Temple is significant in the evolution of cultural nationalism in India? Key Takeaways: • By most historical accounts, the temple faced several attacks from raiders, with the most damaging by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026 CE. This history of Somnath has often been used to divide Hindus and Muslims. The British attempted this as far back as 1842, when a British official claimed to have “avenged the insult of Hindus” by bringing back the “sandalwood gates of Somnauth” from Afghanistan. The gates later turned out to be neither of Somnath nor of sandalwood. Here’s a brief history. • In 1842, the British Army suffered losses in its Afghanistan expedition. A retaliatory strike was carried out, and it is during this time that the “gates of Somnath” carried away by Mahmud of Ghazni surfaced in a big way. The British brought back a pair of wooden gates from Ghazni, claiming they were the original gates of Somnath taken by the invader. British Governor General Lord Ellenborough framed this exercise as the “avenging of an insult”. • On November 16, 1842, he issued a proclamation “to all the Princes and Chiefs, and people of India”, which read: “Our victorious army bears the gates of the temple of Somnauth in triumph from Afghanistan…That insult of eight hundred years is at last avenged.” Do You Know • Located in Prabhas Patan, Veraval, Somnath is an important Hindu pilgrimage site. According to the temple’s website, it is “the holy place of the First Aadi Jyotirling Shree Somnath Mahadev and the sacred soil where Lord Shri Krishna took his last journey…” • The site of Somnath has been a pilgrimage site from ancient times on account of being a Triveni Sangam (the confluence of three rivers: Kapila, Hiran and Saraswati. • According to the Wikipedia, the name Someshvara begins to appear in records from the 9th century. The Gurjara-Pratihara king Nagabhata II (r. 805–833) recorded that he had visited various tirthas in Saurashtra, including Someshvara. • According to the Wikipedia, the Chaulukya (Solanki) king Mularaja is believed to have built the first temple dedicated to Soma (“the moon god”) at the site sometime before 997 CE, even though some historians believe that he may have renovated an earlier, smaller temple. • According to the NCERT textbook, the current Somnath Temple in Gujarat, reconstructed in 1951, is a masterpiece of Chalukya style (Māru-Gurjara) architecture, designed by traditional Sompura masons. It is a seven-storied structure rising 155 feet, featuring a grand shikhara (spire), intricate carvings, and a garbhagriha (sanctum) housing the Jyotirlinga, all situated on the scenic Arabian Sea coast. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍 Somnath: A brief history of the temple, and why Nehru opposed the President inaugurating it Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: 4) The Prime Minister recently inaugurated the new Circuit House near Somnath Temple at Veraval. Which of the following statements are correct regarding Somnath Temple? (UPSC CSE, 2022) 1. Somnath Temple is one of the Jyotirlinga shrines. 2. A description of Somnath Temple was given by Al-Biruni. 3. Pran Pratishtha of Somnath Temple (installation of the present day temple) was done by President S. Radhakrishnan. Select the correct answer using the code given below: (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 5) The Nagara, the Dravida and the Vesara are the (UPSC CSE, 2012) (a) three main racial groups of the Indian subcontinent (b) three main linguistic divisions into which the languages of Indian can be classified (c) three main styles of Indian temple architecture (d) three main musical Gharanas prevalent in India From Western Disturbances to El Niño: Brief guide to climate terms this summer Preliminary Examination: Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World. Mains Examination: General Studies I: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes. What’s the ongoing story : A range of climate phenomena, from Western Disturbances to El Niño, affect how cold or hot the weather is. Key Points to Ponder: • What are western disturbances? • What is the cause of western disturbances? • What is the effect of western disturbances? • What is the impact of western disturbances on the climate of India in general and on the north India in particular? • What is jet stream? • How western disturbances and Jet streams are connected? • The year 2026 is being called an El Niño year. What does this mean? • What is a heat wave? • What is a wet bulb temperature? • What does “feels like” temperature mean? Is it the same as Wet Bulb temperature? Key Takeaways: • India is headed into a summer of compounding extremes. A fresh Western Disturbance is set to bring unseasonal rain to the north, an El Niño year threatens a weak monsoon and intensified heatwaves, and the humidity is already making temperatures feel far worse than the thermometer reads. Do You Know • Western Disturbances are rain-bearing wind systems, originating beyond Afghanistan and Iran, that pick up moisture from the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Arabian Sea as they move eastward towards India. Since November last year, the Western Disturbance streams affecting India have been subdued in both frequency and intensity, directly affecting rainfall and snowfall. —Western Disturbances are embedded within the subtropical westerly jet stream, which is a high-altitude, fast-moving air current that flows from west to east in the Earth’s atmosphere. It is found over the Himalayan and Tibetan highlands. • The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a climate phenomenon marked by changes in sea temperatures along the eastern Pacific Ocean, coupled with fluctuations in the overlying atmosphere. It can alter and interfere with the global atmospheric circulation, which, in turn, influences the weather worldwide. —It has three phases: warm (El Niño, Spanish for little boy), cool (La Niña, Spanish for little girl), and neutral. It occurs in irregular cycles of 2 to 7 years. —In the neutral phase, the eastern side of the Pacific Ocean (near the northwestern coast of South America) is cooler than the western side (near the Philippines and Indonesia). This is due to the prevailing wind systems that move from east to west, sweeping the warmer surface waters towards the Indonesian coast. The relatively cooler waters from below come up to replace the displaced water. —During El Niño, the surface waters of this region of the Pacific get unusually warm, disrupting the flow of moist winds in India. The result is a weak or delayed monsoon for India, as well as dry spells in major agricultural states. There is also evidence that the frequency and severity of heatwaves India experiences are linked with the El Niño phenomenon. In April, the US Climate Prediction Center predicted a 61% chance of El Niño unfolding between May and July, and anticipates it will persist until the end of the year. —The opposite happens when La Niña is underway: cooling of the surface waters of the eastern Pacific. India thus gets stronger, moisture-bearing winds, and typically experiences a boost in its southwest monsoon. In extreme situations, the excessive rain has caused flooding and crop damage as well. • A heat wave is a period of unusually high temperatures departing from the normal, and varies from region to region depending on the historical temperatures observed in the region. It may be exacerbated by factors like high humidity (which we will dive into later), high wind speed and the duration of a heat wave event. • The temperature, as we know it and typically measured by a regular dry thermometer, is Dry Bulb Temperature. This value does not account for moisture. Wet Bulb Temperature, on the other hand, is the lowest temperature that can be realised by evaporating water into the air to measure how effectively humidity allows for evaporative cooling. • “Feels like” temperature, or apparent temperature accounts for wind and humidity conditions to determine what the outdoor air temperature will feel like in relation to your body temperature. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍 El Niño threat: South Asia braces for below-average monsoon in 2026, says climate forum Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: 6) Consider the following statements: (UPSC Key, 2020) 1. Jet streams occur in the Northern Hemisphere only. 2. Only some cyclones develop an eye. 3. The temperature inside the eye of a cyclone is nearly 10ºC lesser than that of the surroundings. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 2 only (d) 1 and 3 only The Ideas Page India has demonstrated strategic autonomy, but its record is not perfect 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 : Kanti Bajpai Writes- Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Indian officials and commentators have increasingly suggested that India is and should be guided by the concept of strategic autonomy. What exactly is strategic autonomy? How would we know it when we see it? And has it been good for India? Key Points to Ponder: • What is strategic autonomy? • India’s strategic autonomy has evolved from non-alignment to multi-alignment-discuss • What are the strengths and limitations of India’s strategic autonomy in the contemporary geopolitical environment? • How India has attempted to balance its relations with the United States, Russia and China? • What is the role of defence indigenisation, Energy security and technology sovereignty in strengthening India’s strategic autonomy? • What measures India should adopt to strengthen its strategic autonomy? Key Takeaways: Kanti Bajpai Writes- • Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran, the originator of the term “strategic autonomy” in Indian discourse, defined it as “the capacity of a state to take relatively autonomous decisions on matters of vital interest”. The words “vital” and “relatively” are important because “not all interests are of a vital nature, and in a multi-state landscape, one cannot ascribe absolute value to every interest”. Put differently, trade-offs and concessions are inevitable in foreign policy, but not on vital interests. • How would we know what strategic autonomy actually means for India? As things stand, official pronouncements on it are largely non-falsifiable — almost any decision can be ascribed to strategic autonomy. • Outside of government, can we assess India’s strategic autonomy? Where has India made crucial decisions in external and internal policy that run counter to the demands or expectations of China, the European Union (EU), Russia, and the US? • China has made three key demands on India, historically — abide by the One China policy (stop sheltering the Dalai Lama and Tibetans, no recognition of Taiwan); settle the border by conceding Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh; and reject a US-led containment structure in Asia. • In sum, India has shown a willingness to defy bigger powers, though its record is not perfect. For some critics, being stiff-necked has resulted in rigid diplomacy and no big-power friends. • Other critics maintain that while India has resisted the bigger powers, it no longer voices criticisms of them on behalf of others (as it used to do in the heyday of its internationalist diplomacy). It has thereby lost influence globally. Supporters of India’s diplomacy argue that it wisely practises “multi-alignment”, which means balanced relations with bigger powers and not giving offence to them except when its security and welfare are directly threatened. As a result, India is free to focus on its internal economic development. Do You Know • Strategic autonomy is a nation’s or bloc’s ability to make sovereign decisions, pursue national interests, and adopt independent foreign policies without relying heavily on or being constrained by other foreign states. It prioritizes flexibility and independence in foreign policy and defense, enabling engagement with multiple powers on its own terms Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍 Beyond Trending: What is strategic autonomy? Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme: 📍“With the waning of globalization, the post-Cold War world is becoming a site of sovereign nationalism.” Elucidate. (2025) India is making ethanol leap, but there are trade-offs Preliminary Examination: Current events of National & International importance. Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment. What’s the ongoing story : Himanshu Jaiswal , Shifali Goyal Writes-Beyond environmental and rural income gains, Ethanol Blended Petrol was expected to reduce India’s dependence on imported crude oil. However, this expectation has only been partially realised Key Points to Ponder: • What is Ethanol? • How is Ethanol produced? • What are the uses of Ethanol? • What target has been set by the government for blending ethanol with petrol? • What are the trade-offs involved in India’s rapid expansion of ethanol blending? • How ethanol blending can help in reducing India’s crude oil import dependence? Key Takeaways: Himanshu Jaiswal, Shifali Goyal Writes- • India’s achievement of 20 per cent ethanol blending (E20) in petrol ahead of its original 2030 target marks a significant milestone in the country’s energy transition, with E20 fuel being sold across the country from April 1. • Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s celebration of this development is understandable, especially amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in global energy markets. What began as a modest pilot in 2001, followed by the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program in 2003, has evolved into one of the world’s most ambitious biofuel initiatives, making India the third-largest ethanol producer after the US and Brazil. • Policy support has played a decisive role in this transformation. Since 2014, several measures, including administered pricing mechanisms, interest subvention schemes, and feedstock diversification (from C-heavy to B-heavy molasses, maize, and broken rice), have helped scale up ethanol production. • The multipronged benefits of EBP are evident. On the environmental front, ethanol blending reduces carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions. For farmers and distillers, it creates an additional income stream, particularly in sugarcane-producing regions. During 2014-24, sugar mills have earned over Rs 94,000 crores from ethanol sales, and cleared 98.3 per cent of cane dues in Sugar Season 2022-23, signalling a major improvement from earlier. Do You Know Himanshu Jaiswal, Shifali Goyal Writes- • In 2025, India produced around 985 crore litres of ethanol, according to the Renewable Fuel Association. Earlier, the Niti Aayog report had estimated E20 requirements at 1,016 crore litres. Following the same approach, achieving E30 by 2030 would require around 1,735 crore litres. Factoring in the adoption of electric and flex-fuel vehicles, a crude estimate for ethanol demand under E30 may range between 1,700-1,800 crore litres for petrol blending. • Higher blending through domestic production could provide India with a stronger strategic lever against global oil shocks, but with several trade-offs. Ethanol production from sugarcane and rice is highly water-intensive; producing one litre of sugarcane-based ethanol requires nearly 2,860 litres of water, with rice-based ethanol requiring even more. As ethanol demand has grown, intensified sugar production and diversion toward fuel have exacerbated groundwater depletion in already water-stressed regions, such as parts of UP, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. While maize offers a relatively less water-intensive alternative, scaling it up carries its own implications for land-use, cropping patterns, and diversion of produce away from existing uses. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍 Ethanol+petrol: How to blend more and blend better Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: 7) Given below are the names of four energy crops. Which one of them can be cultivated for ethanol? (UPSC CSE, 2010) (a) Jatropha (b) Maize (c) Pongamia (d) Sunflower 8) According to India’s National Policy on Biofuels, which of the following can be used as raw materials for the production of biofuels? (UPSC CSE, 2020) 1. Cassava 2. Damaged wheat grains 3. Groundnut seeds 4. Horse gram 5. Rotten potatoes 6. Sugar beet Select the correct answer using the code given below: (a) 1, 2, 5 and 6 only (b) 1, 3, 4 and 6 only (c) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only (d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@ indianexpress.com Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
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