InstaLinks :  help you think beyond the issue but relevant to the issue from UPSC prelims and Mains exam point of view. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background. This helps you study a topic holistically and add new dimensions to every current event to help you think analytically

1. What is India’s policy on the Rohingya?

2. What is the controversy around the revision of electoral rolls in J&K?

2. Delhi Police’s use of facial recognition technology

1. Ram Nath Kovind’s message for the Indian Police

Content for Mains Enrichment (Ethics/Essay)

5. Over 1 Lakh villages declared ODF+

7. Account Aggregator (AA) Framework System

10. India’s First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus

11. The OpenSea tale on the future of NFTs

Syllabus: International Relations, Challenges to the internal security of India (GS3)

 Directions: Go through the article once, not directly relevant but linking issues (such as India’s laws about Refugees, and International Convention may be important)

Context: The Union Housing Minister tweeted that Rohingya refugees would be shifted to flats meant for economically weaker sections (EWS)

What is the process of deportation?

 Have any Rohingya been deported?

 Status of Rohingya in India:

What is India’s stand on refugees?

Link the issue with the debate around Human Rights Vs  National Security. Link it with Rights of Refugees and constitutional Provisions regarding it.   Also, controversy regarding Citizenship Act is important here.

Q. Analyze internal security threats and transborder crimes along Myanmar, Bangladesh and Pakistan borders including the Line of Control (LoC). Also, discuss the role played by various security forces in this regard. (UPSC 2020)

Link it with various institution/ Convention/ NGOs for refugees. Indian laws governing refugees.

Which of the following laws govern undocumented foreign nationals?

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Syllabus: Structure, organization and functioning of executive and judiciary, issues of money laundering and link with terrorism etc

Directions: These topics are important- PMLA, right to privacy, court’s role in bail etc. Learn the crux of the issue.

Draconian preconditions for bail in PMLA:

Issues with the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India judgement:

This article is linked to as much internal security as to polity. Do remember some provisions of PMLA and its mandate.

Q. India’s proximity to two of the world’s biggest illicit opium-growing states has enhanced her internal security concerns. Explain the linkages between drug trafficking and other illicit activities such as gunrunning, money laundering and human trafficking. What counter-measures should be taken to prevent the same? (UPSC 2018)

Know a few basic things about Enforcement Directorate, Right to Privacy, PMLA, NIA etc.

Which of the following is/are the objectives of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act(PMLA)?

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

All three are objectives of PMLA

Syllabus: Effects of liberalization on the economy

Direction: No so important article, but do keep a watch on the impact of US economic policies on the Indian Economy.

Context:  Normally when the US Fed (central Bank) raises its interest rate to control inflation, it raises the fear of recession as consumption and demand decrease (people have less money) and so unemployment surges. However this time the US economy is creating jobs even as the Fed is hiking rates.

Economic output in the US is contracting in line with the Fed’s rate-tightening. But companies are still hiring in droves.

Reason for this Labour market paradox:

As against the previous crisis ( pandemic-induced 2020 recession, financial crisis of 2007-08, and the dot-com bust of 2000-01) have all been because of excessive debt-related built up in housing and Internet infrastructure, and it took nearly a decade for the economy to absorb them. By contrast, excess liquidity, not debt, is the most likely catalyst for a recession trend today. And so the economy is able to bounce back with more job creation.

A sharper-than-expected hike in rates in the US leads to:

It is a macroeconomic term that refers to a slowdown or a massive contraction in economic activities for a long enough period, or it can be said that when a recessionary phase sustains for long enough, it is called a recession.

It is a deep and long-lasting period of negative economic growth, with output falling for at least 12 months and GDP falling by over 10% or it can be referred to as a severe and prolonged recession.

Link between rising food prices and central banks raising interest rates

Although the article is about US Economy, but link it with its impact on India including FII and FDI investment and depreciation of currency rate (thus making Indian import costlier). Now attempt the Qn.

Q. Analyse the impact of recent interest rate hike by US Federal Reserve (Fed)’s on Indian economy. (250 Words)

Know the basic terms: Recession, Inflation, Interest Rate and its impact, RBI’s role, impact of depreciation and appreciation on Currency etc. These are very important topics. Don’t miss it.

Which among the following steps is most likely to be taken at the time of an economic recession? (UPSC CSE 2021)

a. Cut in tax rates accompanied by increase in interest rate.

b. Increase in expenditure on public projects.

c. Increase in tax rates accompanied by reduction of interest rate.

d. Reduction of expenditure on public projects.

If the interest rate is decreased in an economy, it will (UPSC CSE 2014)

(a) decrease the consumption expenditure in the economy

(b) increase the tax collection of the Government

(c) increase the investment expenditure in the economy

(d) increase the total savings in the economy

In the interest rate is decreased, it becomes easier to borrow money at a low-interest rate and therefore individuals/companies will increase their investment expenditure.

Direction: Those preparing for mains this time, plz have note ready on FRT, its working, its implications on individual rights and security of the nation. You may note down the points from it.

Context: Delhi Police using facial recognition technology

Facial recognition Technology is an automated process of comparing two images of faces to determine whether they represent the same individual. Also, recently DigiYatra (facial recognition technology) has been operationalised at many Indian airports.

Potential benefits in various aspects of law enforcement

Issues associated with the use of FRT

With the right regulation and protections, facial recognition technology can make the world safer, more convenient and smarter.

This is an important having linkages to national security, fundamental rights, Governance as well ethics of surveillance. Do link it to various aspects of the syllabus. Attempt this Question.

Q. Do you think the recently proposed automated facial recognition system for improving outcomes in the area of Criminal identification and verification is opaque, vague and prone to misuse? Critically analyse. (250 words)

Know how the technology works and in which areas has the FRT been used.  Attempt this Question.

In addition to fingerprint scanning, which of the following can be used in the biometric identification of a person?

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

What an Ideal Police System should be like?

Indian Police Service is an important service

Haryana family from Baghana (Hissar), didn’t want to welcome any more female children so they named their fourth girl child ‘Antim'( meaning the last one – so that she’ll be the last girl child they have) following a village custom that discriminates against the girl child. But as a blow to patriarchy, the 18-year-old brings glory as India’s first U20 female world champion in wrestling.

This example can be mentioned in Women Empowerment, Patriarchy etc

It is a concept where all citizens are able to meet their needs within 15 minutes of walk or cycling.  Technology (e.g. Work for Home) is making people spend more time at home and in the neighbourhood.

This concept is being adopted by cities like Paris, Bogota etc.

It is based on  three principles:

This concept may help cities green themselves and people will find it easier to meet people on the street.

This example can be mentioned as an innovative initiative for achieving sustainable development.

Manjula Patel, an 85-year-old Indian-origin woman who came to the UK as a refugee from Uganda is now one of its oldest chefs and restaurateurs.

She owns and runs Manju’s, a popular restaurant in the seaside town of Brighton that serves traditional vegetarian dishes from the western Indian state of Gujarat.

After migrating to the UK, she found work as a machine operator at a local factory in London which made electric plug sockets and worked there until retiring at the age of 65.

Accamma Cherian, a freedom fighter from the southern Indian state of Kerala, is best known for the valour she displayed during a mass protest rally she led in 1938. India’s independence leader Mahatma Gandhi heard of the incident later and dubbed her “Jhansi Ki Rani (Queen) of Travancore”.

In 1938, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, she gave up her job to join the Travancore State Congress (state unit of Gandhi’s Indian National Congress) and fight for India’s independence.

After Independence, she quit the Congress party after she was denied a ticket to parliamentary elections in India. The then-president of the state congress committee said women in Travancore were already “empresses of the home” and that politics was not their space.

In her autobiography, Cherian noted that women like her who had been at the forefront of the freedom struggle were later side-lined in the party.

Context: Arunachal’s Wancho community sets out to digitise ancient folktales.

The Wanchos have a rich tradition of oral stories, memories, and songs. “The knowledge of the ancestors that have accumulated over generations is a record of life as it has been lived for centuries in this little-known area of the Patkai hills.

The pattern of life is changing rapidly as the district becomes more integrated and accessible to the outside world. Younger people are acquiring new priorities for education and employment, and they have much less time than before to listen to the memories of their parents and grandparents,”

Direction: Do keep a note of the major crops in India

Context: Due to the drop in production of cotton, the price of cotton has remained high and subsequently government procurement (under MSP) has remained slow.

 Cotton productivity is low in India ( 450 kg to 500kg/hectare Vs global average of 877 Kg/hectare)

At least 80% of cotton grown in each of the nine cotton-growing states of India is Bt cotton

 Direction: Note a few points (such as why Meghalaya always comes in news on Rat-hole mining); issues with rat-hole mining (water pollution, use of children, risk of caving and flooding in mines).

 Context: Recent mishap at Meghalaya coal mine. The incident happened in the Shallang area of West Khasi Hills district.

 What is Rathole coal mining

Rat-hole mining is a dangerous technique involving digging narrow vertical tunnels into the earth to extract coal. Since most of these tunnels are dug without following guidelines, they pose threat to workers.

Rat-hole mining is common in Meghalaya due to the thinness of coal found.

 Direction: Know the difference between different types of ODF certifications (see diagram)

 Context: As per the government, over 1 lakh villages have declared themselves ODF Plus.

Ministry: Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

Direction: Go through it once.

Context: Grameen Udyami Project launched in Ranchi to promote skill development and Entrepreneurship amongst the tribal youth, gives a boost to Skill India Mission

Direction: Go through it once.

Context: SEBI has recently joined RBI’s AA Framework.

It is part of RBI regulated financial data sharing system

It is an RBI-regulated non-banking finance company (NBFC) that facilitates the collection of financial information pertaining to a customer from financial information providers on the basis of the consent of the customer.

Direction: Although the news is a bit technical, but do know the basic terms (such as ROO, FTA and countries with which India has FTA and ongoing negotiations (e.g. India-EU proposed FTA))

Context: As per the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), in case of conflict between Customs Rules, 2020 (CAROTAR) and Rules of Origin (under Free Trade Agreement), the provision of FTA on ROO will prevail

Rules of origin are the criteria needed to determine the national source of a product. Their importance is derived from the fact that duties and restrictions in several cases depend upon the source of imports.

CAROTAR: It aims to plug duty evasion under FTAs. Under this importers need to show proof of 35% value addition in goods from the country of origin to claim duty concession under FTA.

In our example, a minimum of 35% value addition must be done in UAE to enjoy concession import duty under FTA.

India has FTA with a number of the country (such as UAE, Mauritius, Japan, Singapore etc.)

Context:  In recent studies, it has been found that, adding a second copy of one of its own genes has boosted the yield of a Chinese rice variety by up to 40%

When the second copy of a single gene (called  OsDREB1C) is added to rice, it improves photosynthesis and nitrogen use, speeds up flowering and absorbs nitrogen more efficiently — offering larger and more abundant grains.

Gene modulation refers to the process of temporarily altering gene expression levels without making heritable changes to the underlying cellular DNA.

Benefit for India in adopting this practice:

India is the world’s largest exporter of rice (approx. 18.75 million metric tons exported to over 150 countries during the year 2021-22)

Direction: Go through once about fuel cell technology

Context: India’s first indigenously developed Hydrogen fuel cell bus was developed by KPIT-CSIR.

Green hydrogen is hydrogen generated by renewable energy or from low-carbon power.

Green hydrogen enables deep decarbonization of difficult-to-abate emissions from the refining industry, fertiliser industry, steel industry, cement industry and also from the heavy commercial transportation sector.

Green hydrogen has significantly lower carbon emissions than grey hydrogen, which is produced by steam reforming of natural gas, which makes up the bulk of the hydrogen market.

It is the largest research and development (R&D) organisation in India established in 1942 (HQ: New Delhi). It is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology but operates as an autonomous body through the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

Directions: Know the basics of the technology- NFT, Cryptocurrencies, Block-Chain.

Context: NFTs are digital assets whose ownership is verified through transaction records stored on blockchains. Artwork, digital avatars and accessorized monkeys are some of the most commonly traded NFTs.

How is an NFT different from a cryptocurrency?

Join our Official Telegram Channel HERE

Please subscribe to Our podcast channel HERE

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel HERE

Follow our Twitter Account HERE

Follow our Instagram ID HERE  

InsightsIAS has redefined, revolutionised and simplified the way aspirants prepare for UPSC Civil Services Exam. Today it’s India’s top website and an institution when it comes to imparting quality content, guidance and teaching for IAS Exam.

InsightsIAS Headquarters, Nanda Ashirwad Complex, 3rd Floor, Above Village Hyper Market, Chandralyout Main Road, Attiguppe , Bengaluru - 560040

Now reach all our Branches with ease!!!! Call us @ 08069405205

Want to work at Insights IAS? Write in to us at