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Prelims info from newspaper articles will be posted here as summary McQ : @Quizhighlights Contact : @vikas_kanukollu between 9:30Pm and 10:00 PM daily for prep related queries
#IR
✅Chronology of AI summits globally
🅾️Asilomar AI Principles (2017)- This was even before chatgpt came- Researchers felt that AI could become dangerous. so they were like..let’s agree on basic values- Click here
🅾️Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) (2020)- Here governments enter.Launched by G7 countries. India is a founding member.This is where AI moved from academic ethics to policy coordination- Click here
🅾️Frontier Model Forum (2023)-Industry Self-Regulation phase- corporate self-governance-Industry recognised existential risk and regulatory threat. If they dont self regulate, governments will take more control- Click here
🅾️Bletchley Park Declaration (2023)-Global Risk Recognition-first major government-led AI safety summit-post-ChatGPT explosion- Click here
🅾️New Delhi AI Summit (2026)- Development + Democratisation- Click here
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✅Gs1 - Geography-Mines and Minerals- Rare Earths- Why are they called critical minerals?- Ex: Read this
✅Gs-2 : IR- Pax silica
✅Gs-3 : Economic growth- China’s export controls on gallium, germanium, graphite
🅾️Problem statement that this article should be linked to?- This-> How to increase supply chain resilience?
🔰All of these sit under one umbrella: Countries trying to reduce overdependence on China.
⚜️supply chain resilience initiative of Japan- click here
⚜️Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)- Supply chain pillar- Click here
⚜️Quad critical and emerging technology working group- click here
⚜️EU–India Trade and Technology Council- Click here
⚜️India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET)- Click here
⚜️Chips Act (US/EU) and India Semiconductor Mission – semiconductor reshoring- Click here
⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : /channel/UPSC_PSIR_IR
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#Economy
✅Animal feed- some facts about the industry
🅾️DDGS (Distillers’ Dried Grains with Solubles): It is a high-protein (25-30% in maize, 40-45% in rice) nutrient-rich by-product of the ethanol industry. It serves as a cost-effective alternative to expensive soybean meal for cattle, poultry, and aqua feed.
🅾️GM Status in India: India has NOT opened its doors to American GM corn or soybean- click here. Currently, Bt Cotton is the only GM crop approved for commercial cultivation in India.
🅾️Sorghum as a "Non-GM" Alternative: The US is the world’s largest producer of sorghum. India has opened imports for US Sorghum because it serves as a non-GM alternative to maize for animal feed.
🅾️Supply Chain Data: Maize is the dominant supply for India’s feed (21–21.5 mn tonnes), followed by broken rice and wheat bran.
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✅Gs-3 : Economy- Industry
🅾️Definition of a startup is changed- The core intent is alignment with innovation and R&D cycles, not MSME expansion.
🅾️The ₹100 crore turnover cap and 10-year limit were designed for a 2015–16 ecosystem dominated by consumer apps and early-stage services. By 2024–25, India has startups in SaaS, space tech, EVs, climate tech, biotech, semiconductors and defence that reach Rs100 crore revenues quickly without being “mature firms.”
Keeping the old threshold was penalising success and forcing high-growth firms out of policy support prematurely.
🅾️Deep tech does not scale like food delivery apps like Zomato or fintech like cred- they have Long gestation periods
• High upfront R&D costs
• Regulatory and testing delays
• Revenue often arrives late, but in large jumps
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UPSC Prelims: The "Proxy Clue" You’re Ignoring 🚩
https://youtube.com/shorts/R8EHhbY5m7c?feature=share
#Environment
✅Ammonium Sulfate
🅾️India's energy mix- click here- you can see thermal power is maximum
🅾️Pollutants are a major theme- you can expect a question on this.
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#Art_and_Culture #History
🔴GS1- Art and culture
🔴GS1- History
✅Context : The Punjab government has conferred ‘Holy City’ status on:
⚡️ Amritsar
⚡️ Anandpur Sahib
⚡️ Talwandi Sabo
🅾️In Indian religions, sacred geography emerges where spiritual authority, historical memory, and collective identity converge. In Sikhism, holiness is not attached to geography alone but to events, Gurus, institutions, and collective discipline (Panth).
⚠️What is SARBHAT KHALSA?- Click here
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🌟IS VK IAS enough? Why ask- you decide :)
⚜️1. 2025 Prelims- Click here
⚜️2. 2024 Mains- Click here
⚜️3. 2023 Mains- Click here
⚜️4. 2022 Mains- Click here
⚜️5. 2021, 2020 Prelims and mains- Click here
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#Geography
✅Aravalli - Ecological signifiance
🅾️The Aravalli system functions as a degraded but critical geomorphic and ecological transition zone, whose disruption has amplified desertification, groundwater stress, and habitat fragmentation
🔰Important points for Prelims exam:
⚜️Oldest Range: The Aravallis are India's oldest mountain range (~2 billion years old).
⚜️Desert Shield: They act as a critical "ecological barrier" preventing the eastward spread of the Thar Desert into the Indo-Gangetic plains (Haryana, UP).
⚜️Water Tower: They are the source of major rivers like Chambal, Sabarmati, and Luni and serve as a massive groundwater recharge zone.
⚜️Resource Hub: Rich in minerals like sandstone, marble, granite, lead, zinc, and copper.
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How to guess logically for upsc prelims?
https://youtube.com/shorts/6wjR1xk336M?feature=share
#Art_and_Culture #History
🔴GS1- Art and culture
🔴GS1- History
✅Vande matram- facts
Q) Why does it matter?- Because freedom struggles convert cultural expressions into political mobilisation tools
🅾️National Song vs National Anthem
⚡️ Vande Mataram = National Song
⚡️ Jana Gana Mana = National Anthem (adopted 1950)
⚠️ Difference:
⚜️– Anthem has protocol & legal rules.
⚜️– National Song has emotional and cultural significance but no enforceable code.
⚠️ UPSC Prelims Trap: Parliament has not passed any law mandating compulsory singing.
⚠️@historyhighlights for high value history snippets from news
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#Economy
✅Impact of dollar- Rupee weakening
🅾️Why?- Read ☝️
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#Environment
✅CITES Verification Mission Report on India, 2025
🅾️What? - An international agreement/treaty (adopted in 1973, in force from 1975) to ensure that trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
🅾️Members: It has 184 Parties (countries), including India (since 1976).
⚠️CITES decisions are legally binding on member countries.
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#SnT
✅parasitic wasp and tapioca” story
🅾️In 2020, an invasive cassava mealybug devastated tapioca fields in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry.
🅾️Chemical pesticides were considered but rejected due to cost, environmental harm, and unsustainability. Scientists from ICAR–NBAIR (National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources) adopted biological control. They identified a tiny parasitic wasp — Anagyrus lopezi — a natural predator of the mealybug.
⚜️The wasp lays eggs inside the pest; larvae consume it from within, naturally reducing pest numbers without harming other crops.
🌟By 2023–24, the mealybug was under natural control, and farmers’ yields returned to normal without chemicals. So “Ecological restoration is superior to ecological domination.” Sustainable pest management works by rebalancing ecosystems, not overpowering them.
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#SnT
✅Quantum computing- cyber security mechanism
🅾️Digital systems depend on random numbers but computers are deterministic , so randomness is simulated, not real.Simulated randomness can be reverse-engineered, this leads to cyber breaches and hacking.Nature itself is random at the subatomic level - measuring quantum events (like photons) produces genuine unpredictability.
🅾️Certifying that randomness as authentic through quantum logic (Leggett–Garg inequality) ensures the result can’t be forged.Cybersecurity transforms from trust in math to trust in physics a fundamental shift in how we protect data.
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#Art_and_Culture #History
🔴GS1- Art and culture
🔴GS1- History
✅Piprahwa Buddha relics
🔰we can link this to:
🅾️GS-1: Ancient India, Buddhism, Art & Culture- Relic worship institutionalised Buddhism geographically-territorial embedding of ideology.
🅾️GS-2: Cultural diplomacy-Archaeology under colonial rule shaped modern Buddhist diplomacy.Heritage was entangled with imperial politics.
🅾️GS-3: Heritage management, economy of culture-Cultural tourism economy/ Private philanthropy vs state custody- Also read about UNESCO conventions on cultural property
⚜️First: 1970 UNESCO Convention-Prevent illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property.
⚜️Second: 1954 Hague Convention-Protect cultural property during armed conflict.
⚜️Third: 1972 World Heritage Convention-Identify and conserve sites of “Outstanding Universal Value.”
🅾️GS-4: Ethical stewardship of relics
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https://youtube.com/shorts/fXK-Z4sjgDQ?si=sRhm8mzba7cLbdO8
Читать полностью…
#IR
✅Kimberly process
🅾️What?- It is a UN-backed-not a UN body), international, tripartite initiative (governments, industry, civil society) established in 2003 to prevent "conflict diamonds". Trade is ONLY permitted between certified members.It is a "Certification Scheme" , not a formal UN organ like the IAEA or WHO.
🅾️Major Producers: Angola, Botswana, Canada, Congo, Namibia, and Russia (account for 85%+ of production). India is a major importer and processor (cutting/polishing), not a major producer.
🅾️Issues - These points can be used for prelims questions
⚠️ It applies ONLY to rough diamonds. Once a diamond is polished, it falls outside the KP's mandate.
⚠️It ONLY covers diamonds used by rebel/insurgent groups to undermine legitimate governments. It specifically excludes state-sponsored violence or environmental harm (though India aims to reform this).
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✅Gs-1 : Geography- Mines and minerals
🅾️ How to remember minerals?
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DONT ignore these themes for prelims in IR and maps! #prelims2026 #upscprelims2026 #iasips #iaspaper
https://youtube.com/shorts/__SXLxzFLpQ?feature=share
✅Gs-3 : Economy- External sector
🅾️Brent Crude oil V/s West Texas Intermediate Crude oil Benchmark- Click here to know
🅾️India imports ~85–88% of its crude oil needs.This makes diversification a macro-stability requirement
🔰Evolution of trade dynamics
🌟1. Before 2005, India’s crude imports were highly concentrated-two-thirds came from Saudi Arabia alone.Nearly 70% from West Asian suppliers Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, UAE. Why?- Geographic proximity → lower freight cost. But risk was exposure to West Asian instability and cartel pricing
🌟2. Phase 2: Gradual diversification (2005–2015)-India consciously broadened its basket-New suppliers added: Africa: Nigeria, Angola, South America: Venezuela- Why?- Reduce over-dependence on one region
⚜️2010: UN Security Council sanctions on Iran-2011: India officially cuts Iranian oil purchases-> By 2015–16, Iran’s share drops to ~6.2%
🌟3. Phase 3: Russia - (2022 onwards)- Why?- deep discounts.
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✅VK IAS | PRELIMS WORKSHOP
🗓 23rd Dec | 7:00–8:30 PM
🗓 25th Dec | 11:00–12:30 PM
⚜️ How exactly Prelims changed from 2020–2025.
⚜️ What kind of thinking is UPSC now rewarding.
⚜️ How to adapt your preparation for 2026, without burning out.
⚠️Workshop link : https://www.vkias.com/course/Prelims2026-89313
⚠️Orientation lecture- /channel/hinduhighlights/14418
✅Details - Click here
🌟Link : https://www.vkias.com/course/Anirvesh-96431
⚠️Why do we fail UPSC prelims?
Читать полностью…
https://youtube.com/shorts/OXXVj3ZgNlc?si=jfp29AF_FU3PPj2W
Читать полностью…
✅Why do most students fail prelims?
☀️Join this channel- for insights
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9eMCF3gvWjWIsiTa2V/343
#Environment
✅CAFE 3 (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) rules
🅾️What is CAFE? Unlike BS-VI norms (which cap pollutants like NOx and PM for individual vehicles), CAFE norms target the average fuel efficiency of a manufacturer's entire fleet.
🅾️The Goal: Reduce total carbon footprint by forcing manufacturers to sell more fuel-efficient cars or Electric Vehicles (EVs) to offset their gas-guzzlers.
🅾️Timeline: The proposed CAFE 3 norms are expected to kick in from FY28 (Financial Year 2028) and tighten progressively through FY32.
🅾️Target: The industry wants the reduction target to be eased (increased from 3g/km reduction to 9g/km), but the government is pushing for stricter compliance.But heavier cars inherently consume more fuel; asking them to meet the same absolute numbers as small cars is physically impossible.
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#SnT
✅Google DeepMind’s new AI model — C2S-Scale
🅾️This AI can “read the language of individual cells” and generate new biological insights that help design more precise and context-aware cancer treatments.
🅾️It learns how genes behave within millions of cells and identifies which ones are active or silent in different contexts.
🅾️Using this “cell language,” it can predict how a drug or therapy might behave in different immune environments.
🅾️What is the use?- shorten the time from discovery → validation → therapy.
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#SnT
✅Chandrayaan-2- CHACE-2
🅾️Chandrayaan-2 is India’s second mission to the Moon.
🅾️It has a tool called CHACE-2 on its orbiter that studies the Moon’s outermost atmosphere (called the lunar exosphere very thin layer of gases).
🅾️Recently, CHACE-2 observed something never seen before: When the Sun released a powerful burst of energy (called a Coronal Mass Ejection or CME), it hit the Moon.
🅾️This blast from the Sun made the pressure in the Moon’s exosphere go up a lot — more than 10 times.
🅾️That happened because atoms on the Moon’s surface were knocked off into space by the Sun’s energy, making the exosphere thicker temporarily.
🅾️Scientists had theories this could happen, but Chandrayaan-2 is the first to prove it with real data
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#Geography #Placesinnews
✅Sir creek issue- it lies between Sindh (Pakistan) and Kutch (Gujarat, India)- Issue Originated pre-independence, between Kutch and Sindh princely states.
⚠️Issue to notice : India follows Thalweg principle (mid-channel). Pakistan claims the whole creek.
🅾️Nature of the creek : It’s a tidal estuary, fluctuating with tides. it is therefore NOT permanent and NOT navigable-i.e. India claims it is non-navigable
⚠️ALSO NOTE - India opposes internationalisation under Simla Accord.Disputes cant be taken to international tribunals.
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