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Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for March 28, 2026. If you missed the March 27, 2026, UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here.
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment.
What’s the ongoing story: With the surge in global crude oil and fuel prices straining oil marketing companies’ (OMCs) finances, the government has slashed the Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per litre each on Friday (March 27). The move is aimed at keeping the retail prices of the two fuels in check amid the global price shock.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is Excise duty?
— How does the increase in the price of petrol and diesel have an inflationary impact on the economy?
— What is the status of strategic Petroleum and LPG reserves in India?
— How is the LPG shortage impacting various industries?
— Why is the government pushing customers to adopt PNG (piped natural gas)?
— What is the difference between LPG and LNG?
— Why is the war in West Asia impacting the Indian economy?
— How is the war impacting the value of Indian rupees?
Key Takeaways:
— Additionally, the government has also imposed duties on exports of diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) with the objective of ensuring adequate availability of these fuels in the domestic market.
— The excise duty cuts mean that the levy on petrol now stands at Rs 3 per litre, and nil on diesel, which means that the Central government has relinquished a large part of its future revenue from the retail sales of the two fuels to provide some respite to the OMCs.
— The other option would have been for the OMCs to hike fuel prices, which would have had an inflationary impact on the economy, or continue absorbing extremely high international prices that were already impacting their financial health.
— The total excise duty was Rs 21.9 per litre on regular petrol, and Rs 17.8 per litre on regular diesel, with Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) being the biggest component in the excise duty structures for both fuels.
— The other components include basic excise duty, agriculture infrastructure and development cess, and road and infrastructure cess. With the SAED cuts, total excise duty on petrol now stands at Rs 11.9 per litre, while on diesel, it is Rs 7.8 per litre.
— Amid reports of panic buying of petrol and diesel coming from various parts of the country, Puri said that rumours of a lockdown in India are “completely false”, and there is “no such proposal under consideration by the Government of India”. As rumours of a lockdown and fuel shortage spread, long queues were seen at fuel pumps in some parts of the country.
— On Thursday, the government assured that India currently has crude oil and fuel stocks to cover 60 days of consumption, and crude oil procurement for the coming two months has also been tied up, which means that the country is secure for the next few months.
— It said that there is no shortage of petrol and diesel anywhere in the country, and urged citizens not to fall prey to “a deliberately mischievous, coordinated campaign of misinformation that is being carried out to spread unjustified panic”.
— The government also said that there is no liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) shortage for households, and the supply situation is improving with additional domestic production of the fuel, along with additional LPG cargoes coming in from non-West Asian suppliers.
— It said that around one month of LPG supply is “firmly arranged” through imports from non-West Asian suppliers, and additional procurement is being tied up on a continuous basis. This is the first instance of the government providing crude oil, fuels, and LPG stock information since the war began on February 28.
— The Centre on Friday increased the allocation of commercial LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to States and Union Territories by another 20 per cent, bringing the total to 70 per cent of the pre-crisis level, to meet the requirements of industries.
— In a letter to chief secretaries of all States and UTs, Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal said the additional allocation should be given to industries, with priority to steel, automobiles, textiles, dyes, chemicals and plastics, “which are labour intensive and provide support to other essential sectors”.
— Even among these industries, priority should be given to process industries or those requiring LPG for specialised heating purposes that cannot be substituted by natural gas, he said.
— The increase in domestic production of the fuel, along with increasing imports of LPG from regions other than West Asia, are being seen as the key reasons for the increased allocation of commercial LPG.
— The Centre had earlier allowed 20 per cent allocation of commercial LPG, and then offered an additional 10 per cent if States took certain measures to help expedite PNG (piped natural gas) infrastructure.
— Following the disruption of LPG supplies due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the West Asia war, supply to commercial and industrial consumers was cut in a bid to prioritise households that use LPG as kitchen fuel. India depends on imports to meet about 60 per cent of its LPG demand, with 90 per cent of its LPG imports coming from West Asia through the Strait of Hormuz.
— The government also ordered refiners to maximise LPG production, and directed them to divert propane, butane and other streams from petrochemical manufacturing to LPG production. These measures have helped raise domestic LPG production by around 40 per cent vis-à-vis the pre-war levels, which translates to around 16 per cent of the country’s overall LPG demand.
— The government has also been appealing to LPG consumers — commercial and industrial users as well as households — to shift to PNG, wherever feasible. Although natural gas supplies to India have also been hit, the situation is not as concerning as in the case of LPG. India depends on imports to meet roughly half of its natural gas needs, with 55-60 per cent of the imports coming through the Strait.
— Countries are bearing the economic brunt on a spectrum, based on their respective vulnerabilities. The Indian rupee, for instance, has rapidly lost value against the US dollar. In just the past month, the rupee has lost almost 4% of its value and is trading at 94.6 rupees to a dollar.
— For perspective, the Indian rupee has historically lost 2 to 3% of its value against the dollar in a year. Over the past year, as trade and tariffs played havoc, the rupee has lost more than 10% against the dollar. Over the past month, the rupee has also lost against most other currencies as well — be it the Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, the euro, or the British pound (see CHART 1).
— But exchange rates are essentially symptoms, their movement suggests changes in the underlying economy. So which economies, if any, are the winners of this conflict and, amongst those that are getting hit, which are getting hit the most? The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released an “interim economic outlook” attempting to answer this precise question.
— TABLE 1 shows that while the global GDP growth rate may appear “resilient” (read unchanged since before the start of the war in December) on the whole, this status quo hides a lot of changes. Countries such as India and Brazil, which were already expected to decelerate in 2026, will lose another sliver of pace.
— The biggest losers will be the traditional US allies — European Union countries and the United Kingdom. The euro area is expected to lose as much as 0.4 percentage points of growth rate, which makes for a sharp deceleration given that Europe has largely stagnated and often teetered on the brink of a recession.
— It is quite remarkable that the two biggest military and trade adversaries of the United States, Russia and China, are likely to either be unaffected by this war or, as in Russia’s case, get a bit of growth boost.
— Finally, the most remarkable result is that the US’s GDP growth rate will actually get the biggest boost from this conflict, one-third of a percentage point. So while its GDP growth rate was set to moderate in 2026, the degree of deceleration will be lower now, thanks to this conflict.
Do You Know:
— LPG is a gaseous fuel mix primarily comprising propane and butane that is a byproduct of crude oil refining and natural gas processing. It may also contain some propylene, butylene, and isobutylene or isobutene.
— LNG, on the other hand, is primarily natural gas — mainly methane — cooled to below -160 degrees Celsius and cryogenically turned into a liquid. Now, LNG itself doesn’t have too many direct uses, except for an upcoming fuel to power heavy vehicles, ships, and trains. The key purpose of liquefaction of natural gas into LNG is to transport it over long distances across seas, where supplying natural gas through pipelines is not feasible.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Explained: Difference between LPG and LNG, and why West Asia war affected LPG supply more
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(1) In the context of global oil prices, “Brent crude oil” is frequently referred to in the news. What does this term imply? (UPSC CSE 2011)
1. It is a major classification of crude oil.
2. It is sourced from the north sea.
3. It does not contain sulphur.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Select an option to attempt
(a) 2 only.
(b) 1 and 2 only.
(c) 1 and 3 only.
(d) 1,2, and 3
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy is the sine qua non to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).” Comment on the progress made in India in this regard. (UPSC CSE 2018)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests; Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
What’s the ongoing story: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Friday cleared a proposal to procure five additional S-400 long range surface-to-air missile systems from Russia, months after the S-400s reportedly demonstrated their capability during Operation Sindoor.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is the role and function of DAC?
— What is the specialty of the S-400 missile system?
— What are the major defence investments of India after Op Sindoor?
— Know about the major countries from which India imports its defence equipment?
— Learn about India-Russia defence cooperation
Key Takeaways:
— The DAC also cleared several other key acquisition proposals, including the procurement of medium transport aircraft and remotely piloted strike aircraft for the Indian Air Force, as well as armoured piercing tank ammunition and Dhanush gun systems for the Army, among others. The proposals are together worth about Rs 2.38 lakh crore.
— In 2018, India had signed a $5.43 billion deal with Russia to buy five squadrons of the S-400s. While three squadrons have been delivered, and deployed on the borders facing Pakistan, the two remaining squadrons are likely to be delivered later this year.
— The induction of the medium transport aircraft, which will replace the ageing transport fleet of the IAF’s An-32 and Il-76 aircraft, will meet the strategic, tactical and operational airlift requirements of the Services, the MoD said.
— The DAC also cleared the overhaul of the Su-30 aero engine and its aggregates, which, the MoD said, will increase the service life of the aircraft and fulfil the IAF’s operational requirements.
— For the Army, the DAC approved proposals to procure the air defence tracked system, armoured piercing tank ammunition, Dhanush gun system, high capacity radio relay and runway independent aerial surveillance system.
— The Dhanush gun system will enhance the artillery’s capabilities to engage targets at longer ranges in all terrains with enhanced lethality and accuracy, the MoD statement said, adding that the air defence tracked system will provide real-time air defence control and reporting capability, and the high capacity radio relay will provide reliable and fail-proof communication.
— The MoD also signed contracts worth Rs 858 crore, for procurement of Tunguska air defence missile systems and inspection (depot level) of P8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft on Friday.
Do You Know:
— The DAC, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, is the key defence body that grants Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for all big-ticket capital procurements. While the AoN is the first step in the defence procurement process, obtaining it may or may not lead to a final order.
— The S-400 Triumf, which NATO calls it the SA-21 Growler, is a mobile, surface-to-air missile system (SAM) designed by Russia. Made operational in 2007, it is seen as the most dangerous operationally deployed modern long-range SAM in the world, better than the US-developed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD).
— Put simply, its job is to detect any aerial threat in the area it has been tasked with protecting, calculate the threat’s path, and then dispatch a suitable missile to counter the threat.
— The S-400 has a multifunction radar, autonomous detection and targeting systems, anti-aircraft missile systems, launchers, and a command and control centre. It can be deployed within five minutes — US-made systems often take longer to deploy — and is capable of firing three types of missiles to create a layered defence.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍S-400, Akash: The SAMs key to IAF shield against Pakistan missiles and drones
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(2) What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen in the news? (UPSC CSE 2018)
(a) An Israeli radar system
(b) India’s indigenous anti-missile programme
(c) An American anti-missile system
(d) A defence collaboration between Japan and South Korea.
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-Russian defence deals? Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (UPSC CSE 2020)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation, of resources, growth, development and employment
What’s the ongoing story: During much of 2025, when US President Donald Trump sparked off his tariff-led trade war, gold prices rose while the dollar weakened. This was to be expected — trade wars create uncertainty, and the yellow metal is favoured when risks are high. Now, there is an actual war happening, complete with missiles hitting gas fields, drones decimating West Asian cities, and crude oil trading north of $100 per barrel and threatening the world economy.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is the oil-shock paradox?
— How is energy inflation impacting the gold prices?
— What is bond yield?
— What are the reasons for strengthening the US-dollar?
— What were the reasons for the record increase in gold prices earlier?
— How is War in West Asia impacting investment in gold and silver?
Key Takeaways:
— And yet, gold — the ultimate safe haven – has slumped 15% to around $4,500 per ounce (oz). At the same time, the US dollar is strengthening on fears that rising energy prices may raise inflation and jettison any interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
— Back in late January, when gold had hit its record high of $5,600/oz, Swiss investment bank UBS raised its price forecast for the metal to $6,200/oz for the first three quarters of 2025, with $7,200/oz in an upside scenario and $4,600 in a downside scenario.
— Gold’s decline did not begin as soon as the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Gold futures actually rose to over $5,400/oz on March 2, up almost 6% from February 26.
— It was only then that the decline began, first gradually (gold fell below $5,000/oz only on March 18) and then rapidly once it became clear that the conflict wasn’t going to be an in-and-out job and the destruction inflicted on the Gulf energy infrastructure would be felt beyond the short-term.
— On February 26, US markets indicated an 18% chance of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25 bps to 3.25-3.5% at its April 28-29 meeting. One month later, there is a 96% chance of rates being left unchanged. The remaining 4% is in favour of a rate hike.
— Higher interest rates diminish the relative appeal of non-yielding assets such as gold. How? The cascading impact set off by the surge in oil prices since the start of the Iran war, primarily due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, means the supply of oil globally has been severely disrupted. This has pushed up the price of energy, be it crude oil or natural gas.
— If energy prices rise, then so will inflation. And while official inflation data for March for most countries, including the US and India, will only be released in the second week of April, there are clear signs that prices have increased at a faster rate.
— It is no surprise, then, that hopes of interest rate cuts are being shelved. When that happens, bond yields jump. On March 1, the 10-year US government bond was trading at a yield of 4.05% in the secondary market. On Thursday, it was at 4.33%. In India, the 10-year government bond yield has risen around 20 bps.
— At the same time, the US dollar has also strengthened – as is being acutely reflected in the rupee’s exchange rate. And a stronger dollar makes assets priced in the US currency – such as gold and silver – more expensive, thereby hurting their demand and prices.
— Analysts are referring to the above trend as ‘the oil-shock paradox’ – energy inflation driven by oil is boosting the US dollar and shifting the interest rate trajectory. Both, in turn, are impacting assets such as gold that should ideally have been gaining from the oil shock.
— But this is in keeping with historical trends seen during earlier conflicts such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and previous West Asian conflicts: an initial price rise followed by a decline as investors sought liquidity and invested in alternatives such as energy-linked commodities.
— After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and the US government subsequently freezing over $300 billion of Russia’s forex reserves, central banks have looked to diversify their holdings and not rely as heavily on US dollar assets lest they end up in the same position as the Central Bank of Russia. In 2024 and 2025 combined, central banks bought almost 2,000 tonnes of gold.
— For retail investors, the huge surge in gold purchases in late 2025 was due to the fear of missing out.
— It is in this context that the recent fall should be seen: investors would have booked profits. Some, such as Poland’s central bank — the record buyer of gold among central banks in 2024 as well as 2025 — even suggested selling gold and using their profits to fund their country’s defence, an idea that was quickly nixed. Even at $4,500/oz, the price of gold is up 35% year-on-year and 95% compared to two years ago.
Do You Know:
— Gold in its purest form is a bright, slightly reddish yellow, dense, soft malleable and ductile metal. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements and is solid under standard conditions.
— Gold often occurs in free elemental (native) form, as nuggets or grains, in rocks, in vein and in alluvial deposits. Gold is resistant to corrosion and to most acid and has unique properties distinct from other metals.
— Gold is a relatively scarce metal in the world and a scarce commodity in India. The domestic demand is mainly met through imports.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Why gold prices have remained subdued in India despite raging West Asian conflict
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(3) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2023)
Statement-l: Switzerland is one of the leading exporters of gold in terms of value.
Statement-II: Switzerland has the second largest gold reserves in the world.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
(a) Both Statement-l and Statement-II are correct and Statement-Il is the correct explanation for Statement-1.
(b) Both Statement-1 and Statement-ll are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-1.
(c) Statement-l is correct but Statement-Il is incorrect.
(d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-Il is correct.
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
The Craze for gold in India has led to a surge in the import of gold in recent years and put pressure on the balance of payments and the external value of the rupee. In view of this, examine the merits of the Gold Monetization scheme. (UPSC CSE 2015)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate
What’s the ongoing story: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced a new policy this week on the eligibility for the women’s category in the Olympic Games, limiting participation to “biological females” and thus excluding transgender and intersex people, among others.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is IOC?
— What is the difference between sex and gender?
— In this context, know about the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026 passed by the Parliament this week
— What are the concerns related to the Bill?
— What are the important Supreme Court ruling related to transgender?
— What are the challenges faced by the Transgender persons?
— Know about the history of transgender community?
— Many have described the debate as a battle between inclusion (of all women, no matter their biological differences) and fairness (for women who do not have high levels of testosterone). Analyse.
— According to Indian laws, who is a trangender in India?
Key Takeaways:
— The policy will apply in the 2028 Olympics in the United States. Notably, in 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order for the IOC to amend standards, “ensuring that eligibility for participation in women’s sporting events is determined according to sex and not gender identity or testosterone reduction.”
— The participation of trans women and those having characteristics like higher testosterone levels in women’s sports has long been a subject of polarising debate. The 2024 Paris Olympics saw considerable controversy over gold medallist boxer Imane Khelif, with many people incorrectly identifying her as a trans woman.
— Reviewing its 2021 eligibility policy, the IOC said it took comments from experts across fields — sports science, endocrinology, transgender medicine, sports medicine, women’s health, ethics and law — and female athletes. It said the broad consensus was for inclusion in the “Female Category” to be based on biological sex.
— At this stage, it is important to distinguish between the concepts of “sex” and “gender”. As the IOC itself notes, sex (male/female/intersex) is the distinction based on reproductive biology.
— Sex is determined based on chromosomes, which carry genes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes — 22 are identical in men and women; one, the sex chromosome, is different. The XX sex chromosomes result in the development of female sex organs, and XY in male sex organs.
— Intersex people have variations which do not fit this binary. Crucially, some people born with female reproductive organs may also carry the XY chromosome, in what is known as Swyer syndrome, one of many “Disorders of Sex Development”, or DSDs. South African athlete Caster Semenya, who has a DSD, has gone to court over policies barring her from participating unless she suppresses her testosterone levels.
— Gender, however, is a social construct — It is “a person’s sense of themselves as a woman or a man or neither/non-binary,” as the IOC says. Gender identification can be different from sex. For example, a transgender woman may have been born with male sex characteristics, but identify as a woman.
— The SRY gene, found on the Y chromosome, is responsible for testosterone production. Multiple studies have attempted to decode how the hormone affects physical characteristics. A 2017 paper (‘Circulating Testosterone as the Hormonal Basis of Sex Differences in Athletic Performance’) published in the journal Endocrine Reviews supported the link between testosterone and athletic performance.
— The new IOC policy said that such differences lead to a 10 to 20% performance gap between male and female athletes, depending on the sport (lifting, punching, throwing and jumping seeing the sharpest difference). However, it noted that “The extent of the performance advantage (and its implications) varies across sports and events and from occasion to occasion, depending on the athletes involved.”
— At the end of the day, a lot remains unknown about the impact of testosterone on sporting performance. Many question if the case of women who are born with higher levels of testosterone is any different from that of people with other genetic advantages, like basketball great LeBron James’ height or swimming champion Michael Phelps’ massive fin-like hands.
— This is at the heart of the debate surrounding gender eligibility in women’s sports. Many argue that to prevent some athletes from having an unfair advantage in women’s sports, women with DSDs, which facilitate greater testosterone production, must not be allowed to compete with other women
— World Athletics previously used testosterone levels as an eligibility determinant. DSD athletes need to keep their testosterone level below 2.5 nmol/L for at least 24 months before they become eligible to participate in any event. Last year, it introduced a one-off SRY gene test for all female athletes ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo, Reuters reported.
— FINA, the world swimming body, the International Cycling Union, and the International Rugby Union have all instituted varying degrees of bans on trans women athletes in recent years, linked to testosterone levels.
— Many have described the debate as a battle between inclusion (of all women, no matter their biological differences) and fairness (for women who do not have high levels of testosterone). It has garnered further attention as issues related to diverse gender and sexual identities have become ideological battlegrounds in politics in recent years.
Do You Know:
— In the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) vs.Union of India (2014) case, the Supreme Court of India recognised transgender individuals as the third gender, indicating that Articles 14, 15, 16, 19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution recognise the right to equality and dignity of all individuals irrespective of their gender.
— In the Justice K S Puttaswamy (Retd.) vs. Union of India (2017) case, the apex court recognised that the right to privacy under Article 21 includes bodily integrity, decisional autonomy, and the right to express one’s identity. In 2018, Section 377 was decriminalised, legalising consensual same-sex adult relationships.
— The government passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 and the accompanying Rules 2020 to codify the principles laid down in the 2014 NALSA judgement. The 2019 Act gave transgender persons the right to self-declare their gender.
— In June 2025, the Andhra Pradesh High Court clarified that transgender women should be legally recognised as women, which entitled them to the same legal protections as cisgender women (whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth) under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code.
— In the recent Jane Kaushik v. Union of India (2025) judgement, the Supreme Court held that no transgender or gender-diverse person is required to seek permission from their employer for surgical interventions unless their job is directly connected to their gender identity.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Lok Sabha passes transgender Bill amid Opposition protests
📍How sex and gender distinction has evolved over time
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(4) In India, Legal Services Authorities provide free legal services to which of the following type of citizens? (UPSC CSE 2020)
1. Person with an annual income of less than Rs. 1,00,000
2. Transgender with an annual income of less than Rs. 2,00,000
3. Member of Other Backward Classes (OBC) with an annual income of less than Rs. 3,00,000
4. All Senior Citizens
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1 and 4 only
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation, of resources, growth, development and employment.
What’s the ongoing story: Wages for women rose at a faster pace than for men across all three categories of jobs in 2025, according to the statistics ministry’s Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for the last calendar year, released on Friday.
Key Points to Ponder:
— What is the purpose of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)?
— Why does the gender wage gap remain significantly high despite improvements in female wage growth across sectors?
— What are the reasons for women earning less in self-employment?
— What is the status of unemployment in India?
— What are the efforts taken by the government to address it?
— In this context, also understand how menstrual leave debate is related to women employment
Key Takeaways:
— According to the data, 2025 saw earnings of females rise 7.2%, 8.8%, and 5.4% for salaried jobs, self-employment, and casual labour, respectively, compared to 2024. Meanwhile, earnings for males posted a growth of 5.8% and 8% for salaried jobs and self-employment, respectively, but fell by 0.2% for casual labour.
— To be sure, women continue to earn much less than men. In salaried jobs, females in 2025 earned only 76% of what males earn, little changed from 2022. Meanwhile, in casual labour, income inequality saw slight improvement in 2025, with females earning 69% of what males did, up from 66% in 2024.
— Women, however, fare the worst when it comes to self-employment, earning only 36% of what males earn, the PLFS data showed
— In another positive development, the PLFS – the Indian government’s flagship jobs survey – showed that the proportion of women in salaried jobs rose to 18.2% in 2025 from 16.6% in 2024, with the fraction in self-employment declining to 64.2% from 66.5%. Casual labour saw an increase to 17.6% from 16.9%. The trend was somewhat similar for males.
— At an all-India level, the proportion of employed with salaried jobs rose to 23.6% from 22.4% in 2024.
— Salaried jobs are indicative of higher-quality employment as they provide social security cover, among other benefits.
— The PLFS data for 2025 comes days after the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) made public the results of its Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE), which showed that pay in India’s informal sector rose by just 3.9% in 2025, less than half the 13% increase seen in 2023-24 (October-September).
— At the same time, the informal sector saw a sharp reduction in the number of establishments it added, leading to far fewer workers being hired. As per the ASUSE survey, the number of establishments increased by 58.5 lakh, down from an increase of 83.5 lakh in 2023-24, to 7.92 crore.
— As a result, fewer jobs were created: 74.5 lakh in 2025 compared to 1.1 crore in the 12 months ended September 2024.
— Unemployment among the youth – or persons in the 15-29 years age bracket – declined to 9.9% in 2025 from 10.3% the previous year, although female youth unemployment edged up to 11.3% from 11.1%.
— Usual status (ps+ss) refers to the method used to measure labour market activity, with ‘ps’ standing for Principal Status and ‘ss’ for Subsidiary Status. The estimate of the labour force in the usual status includes people who either worked or were available for work for a relatively long part of the 365 days preceding the date of survey as well as those persons among the remaining population who had worked at least for 30 days during the reference period of 365 days preceding the date of survey.
Do You Know:
— The PLFS provides data on different metrics so that policymakers can understand the proportion of people demanding work, the proportion of people among them who failed to get a job, the gender differences in employment, as well as wages.
— The PLFS also tells the sectoral distribution of workers in the economy — what percentage is involved in agriculture, for instance. It also records the type of work people do — for instance, how many are engaged in casual labour, how many work for themselves, and how many have regular salaried jobs.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Menstrual leave debate: What studies say about women’s work productivity, and the way forward
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(5) With reference to casual workers employed in India, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2021)
1. All casual workers are entitled for Employees Provident Fund coverage.
2. All casual workers are entitled for regular working hours and overtime payment.
3. The government can by a notification specify that an establishment or industry shall pay wages only through its bank account.
Which of the above statements are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Nutrition system designed for scarcity must address excess
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health,
Education, Human Resources.
What’s the ongoing story: Anjali Radkar and Harshita Chari write: For decades, India’s nutrition crisis was defined by hunger. That is no longer the full story. India is still fighting hunger, and also becoming increasingly overweight.
Key Points to Ponder:
— How is obesity defined?
— What causes obesity among children?
— What are the reasons for the increase in obesity among Indians?
— What is the impact of obesity on human health?
— What is the link between obesity and non-communicable diseases?
— What are the steps taken by the government to fight rising obesity in India?
— Healthier choices frequently require both access and affordability. Elaborate.
Key Takeaways:
— Undernutrition, driven by poverty, limited access to services and socio-economic constraints, has shaped how malnutrition is understood in India. This dominant focus has left another form of malnutrition relatively neglected.
— Overweight and obesity are rising rapidly across India. Among children, prevalence has increased by over 120 per cent in the past 15 years. This trend intensifies during adolescence, typically the most physically active stage of life, with a 125 per cent rise in overweight among girls and a nearly 300 per cent rise among boys.
— This carries into adulthood — nearly one in four individuals aged 15-54 years are now overweight or obese, with an increase of 91 per cent among women and 146 per cent among men from 2005-06 to 2019-21. The pattern persists in later life, with 40 per cent of adults aged 45 and above observed to be overweight or obese.
— Ultra-processed and calorie-dense foods are widely available and accessible, often at low cost. In contrast, the healthier and nutritious alternatives are relatively expensive and less accessible. As a result, unhealthy calories are often cheaper and easier to obtain than nutritious food.
— The relationship between income and diet further reinforces these patterns. While the poorest often rely on staple-based diets that lack diversity and contribute to undernutrition, rising incomes do not automatically lead to better nutrition. Nutritional awareness, where it exists, is often uneven, and does not necessarily translate into practice. Healthier choices frequently require both access and affordability.
— At the same time, work and daily life have become sedentary, shaped by urbanisation, changing work patterns and screen-based routines. Obesity is no longer just a nutritional issue, it is a major driver of India’s growing burden of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, placing increasing pressure on the healthcare system.
— India’s nutrition policy framework has historically been focused on addressing hunger and undernutrition. Programmes such as Integrated Child Development Services and POSHAN Abhiyaan have built a response to child undernutrition. Yet, the coexistence of undernutrition and rising obesity reflects a double burden of malnutrition. There is still no comparable, large-scale focus on obesity prevention. A nutrition system designed for scarcity can no longer afford to ignore excess.
Do You Know:
— On World Obesity Day (4th March), the World Obesity Federation released the second edition of the World Obesity Atlas 2026. According to the Atlas, India now ranks second globally for children who are overweight and living with obesity after China, beating the US and other Western nations. Compiling figures till 2025, researchers estimated that India could have 41 million children with high body mass index (BMI) and 14 million living with obesity.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Knowledge Nugget: World Obesity Atlas 2026 – Why it matters for your UPSC exam
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
“Besides being a moral imperative of a Welfare State, primary health structure is a necessary precondition for sustainable development.” Analyse. (UPSC CSE 2021)
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