Ateeq Mentorship for UPSC

#Economy India's Bad Bank System 1)NARCL (National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited) Acts as the primary Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) that purchases non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans overdue for 90 days or more from commercial banks. Public sector banks hold a 51% majority stake in NARCL 2)IDRCL (India Debt Resolution Company Limited): Acts as the operational/management entity. It provides expert advisory services to NARCL and handles the actual market resolution or sale of the acquired corporate distress assets. Private and public scheduled commercial banks own up to 49% of IDRCL

#Economy Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) They were introduced in India by the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002 2)ARCs are specialized financial institutions that acquire Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) or bad loans from banks and financial institutions to help clean up bank balance sheets 3) The concept was originally proposed by the Narasimham Committee II (1998).

#CurrentAffair #Economy Credit Rating Agencies India is rated by seven international sovereign credit rating agencies: Standard and Poor’s (S&P), Moody’s Investors Service, Morningstar DBRS, Fitch Ratings, Japanese Credit Rating Agency (JCRA) and Rating and Investment Information (R&I), and CareEdge Ratings. The three most commonly accepted global ratings agencies are S&P, Fitch, and Moody’s. Ratings are assigned on an alphabet scale, with Fitch and S&P assigning AAA to their highest rating and Moody’s assigning Aaa to it. The next lower scales are AA+, AA, AA-, A+, A, and A-, before moving on to the ‘B’ ratings in the same format. The lowest rating is D, implying the entity is in default They rate entities like companies, municipal corporations, states, and, in the case of sovereign ratings, Central or Union governments. India has consistently been rated just a grade or two above ‘junk’ status, which is when institutions will stop lending money for fear of default. Until recently, these ratings were unchanged for more than a decade and, in some cases, nearly two decades. Despite the recent upgrades, India’s ratings still remain just above junk grade. Even the Economic Survey has taken up this issue. The 2020-21 edition by then Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian had an entire chapter dedicated to the matter. Ratings are based on 1. Capability to repay 2. Willingness India is good at both still ranked poor CareEdge Ratings is the first sovereign ratings agency to be headquartered in India,

#CurrentAffair #Environment living planet report 1. The Living Planet Report 2026 highlights a 73.2% decline in monitored vertebrate populations from 1970–2022, driven mainly by habitat loss, overexploitation and climate change, while stressing the need for urgent action before 2030. 2. wwf 3. fresh water species lost more 4.Monitored vertebrate populations (amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals, and reptiles 5.Regional Declines:• Latin America and the Caribbean: -95% • Africa: -80% • Asia and the Pacific: -49% • North America: -28% • Europe and Central Asia: -23%

#CurrentAffair #Sciencetech Data Center in Simple Words Think of a data centre as a massive digital warehouse full of thousands of super-fast computers. Just like a physical warehouse holds goods, a data centre holds digital information. Whenever you make a UPI payment, check your bank account, or stream a video, these computers work continuously in the background to fulfill your request. These capabilities support online banking, e-Governance, digital payments, cloud computing and other emerging technologies.

#CurrentAffair Samudra Manthan (National Offshore Exploration Scheme) It is a Central Sector Scheme approved by the Union Cabinet on July 31, 2026, to accelerate deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil and gas exploration in India's offshore basins. 2)Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas 3)₹84,084 crore investment

#APPSC #Economy Percapita income Based on this, the World Bank has classified India in the 'lower-middle-income' category. With this income level, India ranks 172nd globally. Meanwhile, Liechtenstein holds the top spot, with an annual per capita income ranging from US$ 200,000 to US$ 230,000. Luxembourg ranks second, with an income between US$ 130,000 and US$ 156,000. According to this, Delhi has the highest per capita income at Rs 4.93 lakh. Telangana ranks second with Rs 3.87 lakh. It is followed by Karnataka (Rs 3.80 lakh), Tamil Nadu (Rs 3.61 lakh), and Haryana (Rs 3.53 lakh). Among the states with the lowest per capita incomes, Bihar comes lowest at Rs 69,320 (US$ 984). Uttar Pradesh ranks second with a per capita income of Rs 1.08 lakh (US$ 1,403). Jharkhand ranks third,

#APPSC #Economy Percapita income The World Bank classifies countries into four categories based on per capita Gross National Income (GNI): low-income, lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income, and high-income. These figures are measured in US dollars (US$) using the 'Atlas Method'. Under this classification, countries with a per capita income of less than US$ 1,175 are considered low-income. Countries with a per capita income between US$ 1,175-4,635 fall in the lower-middle-income category, while those with an income between US$ 4,636-14,375 are placed in the upper-middle-income category. Countries with an income exceeding US$ 14,375 are classified as high-income nations. According to the World Bank's 'Country Income Classifications' report (released July 1, 2026) and data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India's per capita income stands at approximately US$ 2,813 (Rs 2.72 lakh), whereas Sri Lanka's ranges between US$ 4,528 and US$ 5,250.

#CurrentAffair Cyananthus hookeri The rare Himalayan flowering plant Cyananthus hookeri has been rediscovered in India after 158 years, with the official breakthrough published in the international conservation journal Oryx. A team of scientists from the botanical survey of India found the elusive, purple-blue flower growing on alpine grassy and rocky slopes at an altitude of about 3,600 meters in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh

#CurrentAffair #Polity KASTURI COTTON BHARAT •It is a premium brand and quality certification initiative launched by the Government of India to position Indian-grown cotton as a high-quality, traceable, and sustainable product in the global textile market

CurrentAffair #Polity RIGHT TO ACCESS INTERNET In India, access to the internet is recognized as a fundamental right linked to freedom of speech, expression, education, and privacy. (Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India, 2020): The Supreme Court ruled that access to the internet is protected under Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression)

#CurrentAffair Double deflation It is a national accounts technique used to calculate the real (constant-price) Gross Value Added (GVA) of an industry or economy by separately deflating gross output and intermediate consumption using their own distinct price indices Note Real intermediate consumption is subtracted from real output to derive real GVA Back to basics Gdp is calculated using three methods 1) expenditure method 2) income 3) product method To calculate GVA (intermediate good values has to be removed) But before that both output and intermediate goods prices has to be adjusted Before this we used same wpi inflation index for both goods. Now we are going to use two different indexes to arive at a right value.

#CurrentAffair #Polity Election and Election Commission Changes to Form 6 not made by court; post-retirement immunity to CEC not given to even judges: Supreme Court

#CurrentAffair Can some explain this or what Trump actually wants?😄 Imposed sanction on all the countries for buying Russian oil and now Trump made a deal to buy Diesel

#Society #Women Maternity Benefits Act The Maternity Benefits Act of 1961 in India was amended in 2017 to enhance maternity benefits and protections for women in the workforce. Here are the key features of the Maternity Benefits Act: 1)Increased Maternity Leave: The Act increased the duration of paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for women working in establishments with more than 10 employees. This includes: 2)Work from Home Option: The Act allows eligible women to work from home after their maternity leave period, provided mutually agreed upon by the employer. 3)Maternity Benefit: Women are entitled to receive full pay during the 26-week maternity leave period, ensuring financial stability during the absence from work. 4)Pre-Natal Care and Nursing Breaks: The Act provides for additional nursing breaks for women to breastfeed their infants, along with paid time off for pre-natal care. 5)Protection Against Dismissal: It prohibits employers from dismissing women during their maternity leave period, ensuring job security and preventing discrimination based on pregnancy. 6)Safe Work Environment: Employers are required to provide a safe working environment for pregnant women and inform them about the benefits available under the Act. 7)Coverage and Applicability: The Act applies to women employees in establishments with 10 or more employees, including factories, mines, plantations, shops, and other such entities. 8)Crèche facilities: it is a mandatory provision requiring every establishment with 50 or more employees to provide crèche facilities within a prescribed distance. 9)In case of a woman who has two or more children, the maternity benefit will continue to be 12 weeks, which cannot be availed before six weeks from the date of the expected delivery 10)The Act was further amended in 2017 to extend certain benefits to commissioning mothers (who use a surrogate to bear a child) and adopting mothers, allowing them 12 weeks of maternity leave.

#titbits Dale Carnegie said over 100 years ago:“When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.”

Thats really a problem case for democracy

#CurrentAffair #Polity Election and Election Commission Any Form 6 modification not apporved by Supreme Court: CJI Surya Kant Form 6 1)Used by an eligible citizen to apply for inclusion of their name in the electoral roll. 2)It is a statutory form under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. 3)Any change to it needs a formal notification by the Central Government, not an internal software edit. Form 7 1)Used to object to a name already on the roll, seeking its deletion. 2)The objector must give one clear reason: dead, underage, absent or permanently shifted, already enrolled, or not an Indian citizen. 3)Forms filed outside the claims-and-objections window, or without a reason, are to be rejected. Form 8 1)Used by an already registered voter to correct details or update a change of address. 2)It is not a fresh enrolment form. Deleting a name and forcing Form 6 is not the prescribed route. ERONET / ECINET 1)ERONET is the Election Commission’s central software for managing rolls, additions, deletions and hearings. 2)ECINET is the related online portal. Booth-level and assembly-level officers work through it. 3)When software blocks or auto-generates a form, the officer cannot always override it. Recent controversies 1)The Supreme Court, led by CJI Surya Kant, clarified on 6 October 2026 that it had not approved any modification to Form 6. 2)A PIL alleges the Chief Election Commissioner added an ancestry and last-SIR link to online Form 6 without the other two Commissioners’ concurrence. 3)Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi are said to have recorded that the change was unauthorised and needed a Gazette notification. 4)On 30 September 2026 the Commission removed the extra declaration from online Form 6 in states where SIR is over, but kept it where SIR is still on. 5)In Uttar Pradesh, ERONET auto-generated Form 7s with officers’ digital signatures for 85,854 deletions, most with no reason, and many after the deadline. 6)Officers thus became both the objector and the deciding authority, contrary to the rules.