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Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for March 29, 2026. If you missed the March 28, 2026, UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here.
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of National & International importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Government policies and interventions, Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment.
What’s the ongoing story: Amid the war in West Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday stressed that India’s ethanol push has helped the country through the global energy crisis, and acknowledged the crucial role that farmers, especially sugarcane growers in Western UP, have played in reducing the country’s dependence on crude oil.
Key Points to Ponder:
— Know about the West Asia crisis and its impact on India’s energy security.
— 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?
— How does ethanol blending help reduce India’s dependence on crude oil?
Key Takeaways:
— Speaking at the inauguration of Phase I of the Noida International Airport (NIA) in Jewar, Modi highlighted the significant role of ethanol produced from sugarcane and said, “If the production of ethanol had not increased, and its blending with petrol, then the country would have had to import an additional 4.5 crore barrels, which is almost 700 crore litres of crude oil, every year…”
— He added that India has relied on domestic resilience to navigate the crisis. “The hard work of farmers has given the country such a big relief in this time of crisis,” Modi said.
— He added that ethanol has also yielded economic benefits, benefitting the nation and also farmers, estimating that about Rs 1.5 lakh crore in foreign exchange has been saved. “If not for ethanol, this money would have gone abroad,” the PM said.
— Noting that India imports a very large quantity of crude oil and gas from the conflict-affected region, he said the government has been taking steps to ensure that such crises do not impose an undue burden on citizens.
Do You Know:
— Ethanol production basically involves fermentation of sugar by yeasts. In molasses or cane juice, sugar is present in the form of sucrose. Grains contain starch, a complex carbohydrate that has to first be extracted and broken down into simple sugars before further fermentation, distillation and dehydration to ethanol with 99.9% alcohol concentration.
— Ethanol is basically 99.9% pure alcohol that can be blended with petrol. It is different from the 94% rectified spirit having applications in paints, pharmaceuticals, personal care products and other industries, and 96% extra neutral alcohol that goes to make potable liquor.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Ethanol+petrol: How to blend more and blend better
📍Why India must step on the gas with ethanol
Previous year UPSC Prelims Questions Covering similar theme:
(1) 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
(2) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE, 2025)
Statement I: Of the two major ethanol producers in the world, i.e., Brazil and the United States of America, the former produces more ethanol than the latter.
Statement II: Unlike in the United States of America where corn is the principal feedstock for ethanol production, sugarcane is the principal feedstock for ethanol production in Brazil.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
(a) Both Statement I and Statement II correct and Statement II explains Statement I
(b) Both Statement I and Statement II are correct but Statement II does not explain
(c) Statement I Statement I is correct but Statement II is not correct
(d) Statement I is not correct but Statement II is correct
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialisation.
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
What’s the ongoing story: For the first time in a decade, Gujarat saw the birth of a Great Indian Bustard (GIB) chick on March 26 — after a “trans-state conservation effort” that involved an “arduous 770-km road journey” across a “halt-free corridor” to transport a 15-day old fertile egg from Sam in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district to Naliya in Gujarat’s Kutch district.
Key Points to Ponder:
— Know about the Great Indian Bustards and mark their habitats on Map.
— What is the Protection status of GIB?
— What are the existential threats faced by the GIB?
— What initiatives have been taken to conserve the GIB?
— What measures should be taken to conserve the GIB?
Key Takeaways:
— This is the country’s first birth of the critically endangered bird under the “jumpstart” method, where a female GIB in Kutch, which had laid an infertile egg, incubated a fertile egg chosen from a captive breeding centre in Jaisalmer.
— Announcing the birth on Saturday, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said in a post on X: “Gujarat sees a GIB chick after a decade, through a novel conservation measure — the jumpstart approach, coordinated by the Ministry, State Forest Departments of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and Wildlife Institute of India.”
— This is a significant development for the GIB conservation programme. Gujarat has only three surviving GIBs in the wild, and all are female. Hence, their eggs are all infertile.
— There are only an estimated 150 GIBs in the wild in the country, mostly in Rajasthan. The large bird, a key indicator species of the grassland habitat, has faced population decline over the years due to hunting, habitat loss, and, in recent years, collisions with energy transmission lines that criss-cross their habitat in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
— Earlier, the WII team and the Gujarat forest department had radio-tagged the female GIB in Naliya to track its movements, and to monitor if it laid an infertile egg.
— Under Project GIB, the WII and Rajasthan forest department have established two captive-breeding centres in Jaisalmer district. Here, eggs collected from the wild have been incubated artificially over the past few years, and chicks have been born even through artificial insemination. This has been done to develop a founder population for the GIB’s long-term recovery.
— Chicks that have attained adulthood at the centre have mated and given birth to the next generation. The number of birds in the conservation breeding centres at Sam and Ramdevra in Rajasthan has now reached 73.
— As part of the preparations, WII tested the “jumpstart” method in Desert National Park in Rajasthan, placing fertile eggs in the nests of female GIBs. In six trials, four fertile eggs were placed in the nests to see if the females would rear and hatch them, while in two cases, wooden eggs were placed.
— Last July, The Indian Express reported that a Supreme Court-appointed expert committee had recommended the “jumpstart” method as a key conservation measure to revive the GIB population. In its report to the SC, the committee had said the female GIBs in Gujarat have been laying infertile eggs, adding that swapping these eggs with fertile ones from Rajasthan’s facilities would be a “rapid approach” to increase the GIB population in Gujarat.
— The seven-member expert committee was tasked with prescribing measures to mitigate GIB deaths from power lines while balancing conservation goals with renewable energy development, and recommend any other conservation measures for the GIB’s survival. Last December, the SC had accepted this recommendation.
Do You Know:
— GIB is a flagship species of the Thar Desert and the state bird of Rajasthan. Notably, Rajasthan has the largest remaining population of the GIBs.
— It is a large bird found only in India. GIBs are the largest among the four bustard species found in India, the other three being MacQueen’s bustard, lesser florican and the Bengal florican.
— Plans to recover the species first started in 2013 under the National Bustard Recovery Plan, which later gave way to the Bustard Recovery Project in 2016. Later, in July 2018, a tripartite agreement was signed between MoEFCC, Rajasthan forest department and WII.
— Conservation status of GIB: IUCN Red List status of Great Indian Bustard: Critically Endangered
— Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
— Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS): Appendix I
— Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix 1
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(3) Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species? (UPSC CSE 2012)
(a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda and Asiatic Wild Ass
(b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetal, Blue Bull and Great Indian Bustard
(c) Snow Leopard, Swamp Deer, Rhesus Monkey and Saras (Crane)
(d) Lion-tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur and Cheetal
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests and Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
What’s the ongoing story: Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched missiles at Israel on Saturday, their first such attacks since the start of the Iran war, heightening the risk that a conflict now in its fifth week could expand further across the region.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is happening in the Iran-US war?
— Who are Houthis?
— What is the “axis of resistance”?
— How do groups like the Houthis influence conflicts in West Asia?
— What is the impact of the Iran-US war conflict on India?
— What is India’s Middle East policy?
— How do tensions in West Asia affect global energy security?
— What is meant by “proxy warfare”?
— What diplomatic challenges India can face in balancing its ties with Israel, US and Iran?
Key Takeaways:
— Speaking before the strike, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States expected to conclude military operations within weeks, but the Houthis said they would continue their operations until the “aggression” on all fronts ended.
— Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government hosts a meeting with the Turkish and Saudi foreign ministers on Sunday to seek to ease regional tensions.
— But there is no sign of an immediate diplomatic breakthrough and the war, launched with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands and hitting the world economy with the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies.
— On Saturday, Israel said it had carried out a wave of attacks on Tehran, targeting what the military said were infrastructure sites belonging to Iran’s government.
— Iran kept up attacks on Israel and several Gulf states after hitting an air base in Saudi Arabia on Friday and wounding 12 U.S. military personnel, two of them seriously, in one of the most serious breaches of U.S. air defences so far.
— Israel, which regularly faced missile attacks from the Houthis before the war, confirmed a missile had been fired at it from Yemen. There were no reports of casualties or damage.
— The attack pointed to a potential new threat to global shipping, already hit by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Do You Know:
— The Houthis are a Shia militant group that controls large swathes of land in Yemen. The group was formed in the 1990s to combat marginalisation under a predominantly Sunni-led government backed by Saudi Arabia.
— Alongside the Palestinian group Hamas and the Lebanese outfit Hezbollah, the Houthis are part of the ‘Axis of Resistance’ – a collective term used to describe the Iran-led coalition of state and non-state actors in West Asia committed to opposing US and Israeli influence.
— The outfit, belonging to the Zaydiyyah (or Fiver) branch of Shia Islam, receives monetary and logistical support from the Shia theocratic establishment in Iran (the latter belongs to the Twelver sect).
— The group clashes with the recognised Yemeni government to tackle the spread of Salafism and Wahhabism – two conservative strands of Sunni Islam.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(4) What is the importance of developing Chabahar Port by India? (UPSC CSE, 2017)
(a) India’s trade with African countries will enormously increase.
(b) India’s relations with oil-producing Arab countries will be strengthened.
(c) India will not depend on Pakistan for access to Afghanistan and Central Asia.
(d) Pakistan will facilitate and protect the installation of a gas pipeline between Iraq and India.
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies-I: Architecture from ancient to modern times.
What’s the ongoing story: Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi writes- “In March 2026, the cultural heart of Tehran sustained a profound wound. Following military strikes by American and Israeli forces, Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage confirmed catastrophic damage to the Golestan Palace (Kākh-e Golestān), a UNESCO World Heritage site dating back to the 16th century.”
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
— Who selects the Sites and what are the key criteria for selection of UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
— Know about the Golestan Palace in detail.
— What is the architectural significance of Golestan Palace?
— What is the 1954 Hague Convention?
— Read about Mughal architecture.
— How did the Persianate cultural world influence architecture in India?
— How did cultural exchanges between Iran and India shape Mughal architecture?
— Why is it difficult to protect heritage sites during modern conflicts?
— Know about the UNESCO world heritage sites in India.
Key Takeaways:
— “The palace’s famed Talar-e Ayeneh (Hall of Mirrors), a shimmering expanse of geometric glass, was reduced to debris, with officials estimating a 15-year restoration timeline. While contemporary discourse focuses on the geopolitical violation of the 1954 Hague Convention, a precise architectural analysis reveals a more subtle historical tragedy: the severing of tangible links to the Persianate world that once unified the artistic traditions of Safavid Iran and Mughal India.”
— “To comprehend the architectural significance of Golestan Palace, and thus the magnitude of its recent destruction, one must first situate it within the transregional cultural order that the historian Richard Eaton has termed the “Persianate Empire.” This was not a political empire but a sprawling, millennium-long cosmopolitan zone stretching from the Balkans to the Deccan, held together by Persian as the lingua franca of high culture, administration, and courtly refinement.”
— “Within this world, the relationship between Safavid Iran and Mughal India was foundational and deeply paradoxical: they were ideological rivals. Iran was staunchly Twelver Shi’a, while the Mughals, a Sunni dynasty with Sufi eclecticism, contested territory and sectarian legitimacy. Yet they remained bound by a shared artistic vocabulary, a common pool of itinerant artists and architects, and a mutual reverence for the Timurid heritage. This dynamic of political hostility coexisting with cultural kinship meant that aesthetic forms migrated fluidly between Isfahan and Lahore, creating a unified Persianate visual language.”
— “The flow, however, was never unidirectional. Mughal architecture, in its formative phase under Humayun and Akbar, borrowed heavily from Safavid models, from the four-aiwan plan and the hasht bihisht (eight-paradise) layout to the refined use of glazed tilework and the charbagh garden (see my paper on Iranian influence on Mughal Architecture).”
— “By the seventeenth century, however, the creative energy reversed: Iranian courtly and religious architecture began absorbing Indian elements, particularly in decorative motifs, the integration of jharokha balconies into palace façades, and the lavish use of coloured stone inlay, techniques perfected in the Subcontinent that subsequently appeared in Safavid Isfahan and, later, Qajar Tehran.”
— “Golestan, built centuries later under the Qajars, was the ultimate heir to this layered tradition, a synthesis of Safavid craft, European neoclassicism, and the enduring Mughal-inflected sensibilities that had long defined royal architecture across the Persianate world.”
— “To understand the Mughal influence on Golestan, one must first distinguish the palace’s primary architectural identity. Although its foundations were laid under the Safavids (1501–1736) and expanded by the Zands, the existing complex is overwhelmingly a product of the Qajar era (1794–1925), particularly the reign of Naser al-Din Shah (r. 1848–1896). The Qajars pursued a policy of architectural synthesis, merging traditional Persian crafts with European Neoclassical elements. What is often labelled ‘Mughal influence’ at Golestan is more accurately understood as a late manifestation of a common Timurid-Persianate visual grammar.”
— “Iranian officials have confirmed that at least 108 historical sites were damaged across the country, with Golestan suffering the most symbolic loss. The response from the international community, led by UNESCO, has been to remind belligerents of their obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. However, the deployment of “blue shields” and the sharing of GIS coordinates proved ineffective against the kinetic force of modern warfare.”
— “As Iran prepares for a lengthy 15-year restoration, the global community faces a dual challenge: enforcing the legal protections designed to safeguard such sites and recognising that cultural heritage is not a luxury of peace, but a fundamental component of human identity that must be defended even amid conflict. The fragility of Golestan’s mirrors serves as a stark reminder: that in modern warfare, the “collateral damage” to civilisation may be irreversible.”
Do you Know:
— The UNESCO World Heritage Site is a location recognised for its “outstanding universal value”. This signifies “cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity”. The Sites fall into three categories: cultural heritage, natural heritage, and mixed heritage (cultural as well as natural).
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(5) Recently, which one of the following was included in the UNESCO’s World Heritage list? ( UPSC CSE 2009)
(a) Dilwara Temple
(b) Kalka-Shimla Railway
(c) Bhiterkanika Mangrove Area
(d) Visakhapatnam to Araku valley railway line
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of National & International importance, Economic & Social Development.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests, Important International institutions.
What’s the ongoing story: India on Saturday said it has strongly opposed the contentious China-led Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement for its incorporation into the WTO framework.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is the IFD Agreement?
— What is the Marrakech agreement?
— What is the significance of the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)?
— What is India’s position on the WTO investment facilitation agreement?
— Why is India opposing the China-backed IFD agreement at the WTO?
— Read about the WTO.
— What are plurilateral agreements? How are they different from multilateral agreements in the WTO framework?
— What is WTO reform?
— What is Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement? Why is it significant?
Key Takeaways:
— Incorporation of the IFD agreement risks eroding the functional limits of the WTO and undermining its foundational principles, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a social media post.
— This was stated by India in the ongoing 14th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Yaounde, Cameroon.
— “At #WTOMC14, drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi ji’s philosophy of Truth prevailing over conformity, India showed the courage to stand alone on the contentious issue of the IFD Agreement and did not agree to its incorporation into the WTO framework as an Annex 4 Agreement,” he said.
— Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement contains Plurilateral Trade Agreements that are binding only on the WTO members that have accepted them, unlike the mandatory multilateral agreements.
— As part of WTO reform discussions, members are discussing guardrails and legal safeguards for plurilaterals before the integration of any specific plurilateral outcome, Goyal said.
— “In view of the systemic issue at hand, India showed openness to have good faith, comprehensive discussions and constructive engagement under the WTO Reform Agenda,” he added.
— At the MC13 in Abu Dhabi also, India had strongly opposed the pact. A China-led group is pushing for the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) proposal. The proposal will be binding for only the signatory members.
— The IFD was first mooted in 2017 by China and other countries that depend heavily on Chinese investments, and countries with sovereign wealth funds are party to that pact.
Do You Know:
— The World Trade Organization is the only international organization that deals with the rules of trade between countries. Founded in 1995, the WTO is run by its 166 members, and according to its rules, all decisions are taken through consensus, and any member can exercise a veto. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the seventh Director-General of the WTO. She is the first woman and the first African to serve as Director-General.
— Its aim is to promote free trade, which is done through trade agreements that are discussed and signed by the member states. The WTO also provides a forum for countries to negotiate trade rules and settle economic disputes between them.
— WTO’s Appellate Body, set up in 1995, is the standing committee that presides over appeals against judgments passed in trade-related disputes brought by WTO members. It is a standing body of seven persons which requires at least three members to function. However, due to lack of consensus in appointment of Appellate Body it has been dysfunctional.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍 WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference begins — all you need to know
📍India is opposing a China-led WTO investment deal, even at the risk of isolation. Here’s why
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(6) In the context of which of the following do you sometimes find the terms ‘amber box, blue box and green box’ in the news? (UPSC CSE, 2016)
(a) WTO affairs
(b) SAARC affairs
(c) UNFCCC affairs
(d) India-EU negotiations on FTA
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance, Economic & Social Development.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors, Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
What’s the ongoing story: In an effort to modernise India’s payment ecosystem, the Reserve Bank of India has proposed the introduction of electronic cheques (e-cheques).
Key Points to Ponder:
— What are e-cheques?
— How are e-cheques different from traditional cheques?
— What are the advantages of e-cheques?
— How can digital payment innovations enhance efficiency and security in the banking sector?
— What are the challenges faced by the banking sector in India?
— Read about the RBI and its role in regulating payment systems?
— What is the Cheque Truncation System?
Key Takeaways:
— This initiative aims to merge the trusted, well-established features of traditional paper cheques with the efficiency, speed and security of digital payment systems, while also catering to evolving business and consumer needs.
— In its report on payment system, the central bank said a comprehensive review of the design and security features of cheques will be undertaken to enhance uniformity, strengthen fraud prevention and ensure alignment with emerging processes.
— The review will identify and adopt best practices, making them applicable across all cheque instruments, the RBI said in its Payments Vision 2028 report.
— An e-cheque is a digital version of a paper cheque created and sent online instead of on paper. The payer fills in the details, signs it securely using a digital method, and sends it to the payee or bank.
— The bank verifies and processes it like a normal cheque, but it is faster, more secure, paperless and easy to track.
— “Cheques as a payment instrument offer some unique benefits over other payment methods,” it said. Building on the existing CTS-2010 standards (which were introduced in 2010), banks have independently implemented additional security features, leading to variations across the system, the RBI’s payment system report said. On cross-border payments, the RBI paper said a review of the cross-border payments framework will be conducted to enhance efficiency, and it will be complemented by publishing dedicated reports on specific aspects.
— Further, for promoting ease of doing business and convenience, the regulatory process for cross-border payment authorisation under the PSS Act, 2007 and FEMA, 1999 will be streamlined along with examining the case for recognising Small Payment System Providers under a perpetual regulatory sandbox structure. Providing flexibility to customers to switch among payment service providers seamlessly through implementation of a Payments Switching Service (PaSS) will be examined, the report said.
— Further, to promote systemic stability and integrity, entities deemed to be playing a critical role in facilitating digital payments shall be brought within the regulatory fold.
Do You Know:
— Cheque Truncation System” (CTS) is an online image-based cheque clearing system where cheque images and Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) data are captured at the collecting bank branch and transmitted electronically eliminating the actual cheque movement.
— CTS is protected by a comprehensive PKI-based security architecture which incorporates basic security and authentication controls such as dual access control, user ID and passwords with cryptobox and smart card interfaces.
UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:
(7) With reference to the Cheque Truncation System (CTS), consider the following statements:
1. It is an online image-based cheque clearing system.
2. It is protected by a comprehensive PKI-based security architecture.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
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