UPSC Mains Notes

*President* 🔸 The President must be a citizen of India, not less than 35 years of age and qualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha. 🔸 His term of office is five years and he is eligible for re-election. 🔸His removal from office is to be in accordance with procedure prescribed in Article 61 of the Constitution. 🔸 The executive power of the Union is vested in the President and is exercised by him either directly or through officers’ subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution. 🔸The President summons, prorogues, addresses, sends messages to Parliament and dissolves the Lok Sabha; promulgates Ordinances at any time, except when both Houses of Parliament are in session.

*🛡️ August Offer Vs. Cripps Mission* *💎Time Period* *♟️August Offer* August 1940 *♟️Cripps Mission* March 1942 *💎Viceroy at the Time* *♟️August Offer* Lord Linlithgow *♟️Cripps Mission* Lord Linlithgow *💎Context/Reasons for Proposal* *♟️August Offer* Britain’s precarious situation in WWII and the need for Indian support. *♟️Cripps Mission* Japanese advances in Southeast Asia heightened the need for Indian cooperation in the war effort. *💎Main Proposals* *♟️August Offer* Dominion status as the long-term goal; expansion of Viceroy’s Executive Council; promise of a post-war constituent assembly. *♟️Cripps Mission* Dominion status with the right to secede from the Commonwealth; a constituent assembly after the war to decide the constitution; provision for any province to opt out of the Indian Union. *💎Shortcomings Highlighted by Indians* *♟️August Offer* Vague promises; no immediate transfer of power; retention of British control over defense; no clear path to full independence. *♟️Cripps Mission* Dominion status instead of full independence; allowed provinces to secede, potentially leading to partition; no immediate transfer of power; British control over defense continued. *💎Reaction of Indian Political Parties* *♟️August Offer* Rejected by the Congress; welcomed by some other groups for its promise of eventual self-rule. *♟️Cripps Mission* Rejected by Congress and Muslim League; Congress criticized the lack of immediate power transfer and the provision for dominion status; Muslim League was dissatisfied with the lack of a clear commitment to Pakistan. *💎Outcome/Result* *♟️August Offer* Rejected by Indian National Congress; led to increased demand for complete independence. *♟️Cripps Mission* Failure; led to the Congress launching the Quit India Movement in August 1942. *💎Impact on Indian National Movement* *♟️August Offer* Strengthened Indian resolve for complete independence; highlighted the limitations of British promises. *♟️Cripps Mission* Intensified Indian demand for complete independence; demonstrated the unyielding nature of British policy; precipitated the Quit India Movement.

*🛡️Tropical Mansoon Climate* *💎Distribution* ♟️Some parts of world experience seasonal winds like land and sea breezes but on larger scale. ♟️These are Tropical monsoon lands with on-shore wet monsoons in summer and off-shore dry monsoons in winter. ♟️Best developed in Burma,Thailand, Laos,Cambodia,parts of vietnam and south china. *💎Climatic Conditions* ♟️In summer sun is overhead at the tropic of cancer, the land masses of northern hemisphere heated. ♟️A low pressure is set up in Central asia. ♟️At the same time Southern hemisphere experiences a winter and a region of high pressure created. ♟️Winds blows outwards as the south - east monsoon and after crossing the equator are drawn towards continental low pressure area reaching Indian sub-continent. *💎Seasons Of Tropical Mansoon Climate* ♟️Cool, dry season. ( oct to Feb ) ♟️Hot dry season. ( March to mid june ) ♟️Rainy season ( mid - june to September)

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*🛡️Important Conferences Related to Environment* ♟️Ramsar Convention - 1971 ♟️Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora - 1973 ♟️Montreal Protocol - 1987 ♟️Vienna Convention - 1988 ♟️Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) - 1992 ♟️United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - 1992 ♟️Basel Convention - 1989 ♟️Rio Summit - 1992 ♟️Stockholm Convention - 2001 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety - 2000 ♟️UN-REDD - 2008 ♟️Nagoya Protocol - 2010 ♟️Minamata Convention - 2013 ♟️United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) - 1994 ♟️Kyoto Protocol - 1997 ♟️Rotterdam Convention - 1998

*🛡️Women & Gender Data Highlights* ♟️Overall sex ratio = 1020 women for every 1000 men, sex ratios at birth abnormally low = 929/1000 ♟️Increase in share of gender budget in total union budget to 6.5% in 2024 ♟️Female Labour Force Participation Rate - 2023 = 37% (2018 = 23%), global average = 65% ♟️PMJDY - 55% account holders are women ♟️India ranked 129/146 in Global Gender Gap Index 2024, ranked behind neighbours like B’desh (99), China (106), Nepal (117), Sri Lanka (122), Bhutan (124) ♟️Women in India on average earn 70% of what men earn for the same job (globally = 80%) ♟️Women in Indian Parliament = 14.7% (lower than global avg of 27%) ♟️Literacy rate of women in India is 65% while that of men is 82% ♟️Women make up > 40% of STEM graduates but constitue < 15% of STEM professionals employed in R&D institutions ♟️More than 90% of women are involved in unpaid domestic services for household members (men = 27%) ♟️57% of the women aged 15-49 are anaemic ♟️74.10% of married women have their demand for family planning met by any modern method ♟️210 among every 1,000 persons in managerial positions are women ♟️55.63% Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan accounts held by women.

*🏔️ Highest Peaks of Indian States* 👉 Trick: “Kanchen loves Kamal” Kanchen ➨ Kanchenjunga (Sikkim) Kamal ➨ Kamet (Uttarakhand) Nanda ➨ Nanda Devi (Uttarakhand) Anai ➨ Anai Mudi (Kerala – South India’s highest) *🌍 Countries bordering India* 👉 Trick: “My Brother Never Bangs China” My ➨ Myanmar Brother ➨ Bhutan Never ➨ Nepal Bangs ➨ Bangladesh China ➨ China (Also Pakistan – easy to remember separately) *🛕 States where Sun Temple is located* 👉 Trick: “Kota Mod Sun” Ko ➨ Konark (Odisha) Ta ➨ Tamil Nadu (Kumbakonam, etc.) Mo ➨ Modhera (Gujarat) *🛣️ National Highways – Golden Quadrilateral Cities* 👉 Trick: “DKCM” = Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai D ➨ Delhi K ➨ Kolkata C ➨ Chennai M ➨ Mumbai *🏞️ Indian Rivers & Their Nicknames* 👉 Trick: “G-G-KM” Ganga ➨ Holy River Godavari ➨ Dakshin Ganga (Ganga of the South) Krishna ➨ Maharashtra’s lifeline Mahanadi ➨ Odisha’s lifeline *🏛️ First in Indian Constitution* 👉 Trick: “Raja made Ambedkar drink” Raja ➨ Rajendra Prasad (First President) Made ➨ Rajendra Prasad again (First Food Minister) Ambedkar ➨ First Law Minister Drink ➨ Sukumar Sen (First CEC – Election)

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*🛡️Sixth Schedule* ♟️Provides power to tribal communities to administer tribal areas in Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, And Mizoram under art 244 (2) and art 275 (1) of the constitution. *💎Advantages* ♟️Democratic devolution of powers ♟️Preserves and promotes distinct culture of region ♟️Protect agrarian rights such as land ♟️Enhance transfer of funds *💎Issues* ♟️Limited geographical coverage ♟️Financial mismanagement and rampant corruption ♟️Financial dependency over state authority ♟️Conflicts over consultation between governor and council of ministers ♟️Lack authority of resources for implementing schemes like mgnrega. ♟️Lack of codification of customary laws ♟️Lack of skilled professionals. ♟️Creation of elected village councils ♟️Regular election by state election commission ♟️Recognize gram sabha under laws ♟️Bring transparency in planning, implementation, and monitoring of developmental programmes.

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*🛡️Foreign Invasions Before Mauryan Empire* *💎Iranian (Persian) Invasion (550 - 330 BCE)* ♟️Cyrus the Great (558 - 530 BCE): First foreign invader, captured Gandhara. ♟️Darius I (522 - 486 BCE): Annexed Sind, Punjab, NWFP (516 BCE), making Gandhara a Persian satrapy. ♟️Xerxes (486 - 465 BCE): Recruited Indian troops but failed to expand further. ♟️Decline (330 BCE): Darius III lost control of Indian territories after Alexander’s invasion. *💎Impact of Persian Invasion* ♟️Political: Exposed India’s military weakness, influenced administrative structures. ♟️Trade & Economy: Opened Indus-Arabian Sea trade routes and introduced Persian coinage techniques. ♟️Culture: Kharoshthi script evolved from Persian Aramaic; Persian masonry influenced Mauryan art.

*International Data Privacy Day 2026* Strengthening Confidence in India’s Evolving Digital Ecosystem *Key Highlights:* 💠 *International Data Privacy Day is observed on 28 January* to raise global awareness about the importance of protecting personal data in the digital age. 💠 India has built a strong, citizen-centric data protection framework through the *Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023,* supported by robust rules and institutional mechanisms. 💠 National systems like *CERT-In,* *I4C*, *Cyber Swachhta Kendra*, and *NCRP* strengthen cybersecurity, fraud prevention, and rapid response. 💠 Together, these measures reinforce trust, transparency, and accountability, ensuring that India’s digital transformation remains secure, inclusive, and future-ready.

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*🛡️Important Conferences Related to Environment* ♟️Ramsar Convention - 1971 ♟️Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora - 1973 ♟️Montreal Protocol - 1987 ♟️Vienna Convention - 1988 ♟️Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) - 1992 ♟️United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - 1992 ♟️Basel Convention - 1989 ♟️Rio Summit - 1992 ♟️Stockholm Convention - 2001 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety - 2000 ♟️UN-REDD - 2008 ♟️Nagoya Protocol - 2010 ♟️Minamata Convention - 2013 ♟️United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) - 1994 ♟️Kyoto Protocol - 1997 ♟️Rotterdam Convention - 1998

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*🛡️Amendment By Simple Majority* ♟️A number of provisions in the Constitution can be amended by a simple majority of the two Houses of Parliament outside the scope of Article 368. These provisions include:- 1. Admission or establishment of new states. 2. Formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states. 3. Abolition or creation of legislative councils in states. 4. Second Schedule–emoluments, allowances, privileges and so on of the president, the governors, the Speakers, judges, etc. 5. Quorum in Parliament. 6. Salaries and allowances of the members of Parliament. 7. Rules of procedure in Parliament. 8. Privileges of the Parliament, its members and its committees. 9. Use of English language in Parliament. 10. Number of puisne judges in the Supreme Court. 11. Conferment of more jurisdiction on the Supreme Court. 12. Use of official language. 13. Citizenship–acquisition and termination. 14. Elections to Parliament and state legislatures. 15. Delimitation of constituencies. 16. Union territories. 17. Fifth Schedule–administration of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes. 18. Sixth Schedule–administration of tribal areas.

*🛡️Bhakti Saint & their time Period* ♟️Shankara (788 - 820 AD) ♟️Ramanuja (1017-1137 A.D) ♟️Basava (12th Century) ♟️Madhva (1238-1319 AD) ♟️Ramanada (15th century) ♟️Kabir (1440-1510 AD) ♟️Chaitanya (1468-1533 AD) ♟️Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1538 AD) ♟️Purandara (15th century) ♟️Dadu Dayal (1544-1603 AD) ♟️Surdas (1483-1563 AD) ♟️Vallabhacharya (1479-1531 AD) ♟️Shankaradeva (1499-1569 AD) ♟️Mirabai (1498-1563 AD) ♟️Haridas (1478-1573 AD) ♟️Tulasidas (1532-1623 AD) ♟️Namdeva (1270-1309 AD) ♟️Jnanesvar (1275-1296 AD) ♟️Eknath (1533-1599AD) ♟️Tukaram (1608?- 1650AD).