Mentor Comment
Growth in the Index of Core Industries slowed to 5.4 per cent in July from 6 per cent in the previous month. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index eased in the same month to its lowest level since August 2021, on weak domestic demand conditions. July’s core sector growth was still the second highest rate in the last seven months. The tension sits between that headline and its composition: a large part of the growth rests on a statistical low base effect, the two genuinely strong sectors are cement and electricity, and the domestic crude oil and natural gas sectors have contracted continuously for at least the last 14 months.
https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/24th-august-2026-the-hindu-oped-core-concerns/

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Topic: [UPSC Webinar] by Sreejay Sir, Civilsdaily IAS | Strategy For Ancient, Medieval And Art & Culture For 2027
Time: Aug 24, 2026 07:00 PM India
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Prelim 2027 The Hindu, IE &PIB
Microtheme: Economics: "BoP, FDI, FPI, External Financing" Repeated 10 times in the UPSC Prelims

With reference to the framework governing foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, which one of the following statements is correct?
(a) Investment traceable to an entity of a country sharing a land border with India ordinarily requires prior government approval, and the recent relaxation permits the automatic route only where the land border beneficial ownership is small and non controlling, and where majority shareholding and control of the Indian investee entity continue to rest with resident Indian citizens or with resident Indian entities owned and controlled by them.
(b) The land border investment restriction applies by name to China alone, and investment from every other neighbour sharing a land border with India travels on the automatic route without any approval requirement.
(c) Foreign direct investment is a debt creating capital inflow, and the resulting debt servicing obligation on the Indian investee is the reason such investment is screened before entry.
(d) The Press Notes that amend the Consolidated FDI Policy are issued by the Reserve Bank of India, which also notifies the sectoral caps and entry routes applicable to equity investment.

Prelim 2027 The Hindu, IE &PIB
Microtheme: Science and Technology / Space Programs: "Space ProgramsXIND" Repeated 8 times in the UPSC Prelims

Consider the following statements regarding private participation in India's space programme:
I. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) is an autonomous, single window agency under the Department of Space, created to authorise and facilitate private sector participation in space activities that were previously the exclusive domain of ISRO.
II. NewSpace India Limited is a public sector undertaking under the Department of Space that commercialises ISRO developed technologies and manages the transfer of ISRO's capabilities to industry.
III. ISRO's existing Sriharikota launch facility and the under development Kulasekarapattinam spaceport function as mutually exclusive alternatives, so continued government investment in one necessarily comes at the expense of capacity at the other.
IV. Private Indian space companies have already matched ISRO's own launch vehicles in scale and operational reliability, so private participation currently substitutes for, rather than supplements, ISRO's own launch role.

Source link for the above question: https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/global-space-norms-find-a-firm-footing-in-indias-new-re-entry-rules/

26 August 2026 UPSC Daily Briefing

Top 5

1. India's youth crisis is about the absence of jobs, not just examination reform
Microtheme: Unemployment. 2 questions in Mains, 0 questions in Prelims

2. Our Central Asia strategy needs less romance, more realism
Microtheme: GroupingsXNeighbourhood. 7 questions in Mains, 12 questions in Prelims

3. 'Killer robots' are closer than ever, warn UN, ICRC
Microtheme: United Nations,Agencies,Adjacent Bodies. 8 questions in Mains, 29 questions in Prelims

4. NITI Aayog: Degrees like BA, B.Sc, B.Com have 'weak job linkages', need reforms
Microtheme: Unemployment. 2 questions in Mains, 0 questions in Prelims

5. Congress urges PM to scrap caste census questionnaire
Microtheme: Census. 0 questions in Mains, 8 questions in Prelims

Rest of the news

> Economics

1. India's youth crisis is about the absence of jobs, not just examination reform
Microtheme: Unemployment. 2 questions in Mains, 0 questions in Prelims

2. NITI Aayog: Degrees like BA, B.Sc, B.Com have 'weak job linkages', need reforms
Microtheme: Unemployment. 2 questions in Mains, 0 questions in Prelims

3. Fair pricing could help sustain UPI network
Microtheme: Digital Payments,Digital Infrastructure. 1 questions in Mains, 13 questions in Prelims

> Governance

4. Congress urges PM to scrap caste census questionnaire
Microtheme: Census. 0 questions in Mains, 8 questions in Prelims

> Polity

5. End the culture of secrecy in judicial appointments
Microtheme: Judiciary. 4 questions in Mains, 19 questions in Prelims

6. Karnataka's draft SIR rolls reveal alarming levels of deletion
Microtheme: Elections, Delimitation. 0 questions in Mains, 8 questions in Prelims

7. Simpler mining tax model can mean more revenue for states
Microtheme: Federalism. 10 questions in Mains, 4 questions in Prelims

> International Relations

8. Our Central Asia strategy needs less romance, more realism
Microtheme: GroupingsXNeighbourhood. 7 questions in Mains, 12 questions in Prelims

9. 'Killer robots' are closer than ever, warn UN, ICRC
Microtheme: United Nations,Agencies,Adjacent Bodies. 8 questions in Mains, 29 questions in Prelims

10. UN panel flags 'human rights violations' in India, urges Delhi to suspend, review NRC
Microtheme: United Nations,Agencies,Adjacent Bodies. 8 questions in Mains, 29 questions in Prelims

> Environment

11. Minister seeks fundamental shift in fight against drought
Microtheme: Drought. 1 questions in Mains, 0 questions in Prelims

> Internal Security

12. The limits of air power: implications for theatre-isation
Microtheme: Security Forces mandate. 2 questions in Mains, 0 questions in Prelims

> Science and Technology

13. Rajnath approves transfer of missile technology to domestic defence industry
Microtheme: Defence. 1 questions in Mains, 27 questions in Prelims

Prelim 2027 The Hindu, IE &PIB Microtheme: Environment: "Rio Family / UNFCCC / IPCC / International Treaties" Repeated 15 times in the UPSC Prelims

With reference to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which one of the following statements is correct?
(a) It is one of the three Rio Conventions, adopted in 1994 following the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
(b) It was adopted at the same summit as the Montreal Protocol on ozone depleting substances.
(c) It is a voluntary framework with no binding obligations on its parties.
(d) It was established before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Prelim 2027 The Hindu, IE &PIB Microtheme: "IR: Central Asia / Regional Connectivity and Resource Diplomacy" Repeated 8 times in the UPSC Prelims

Consider the following statements regarding the Central Asian Republics (CARs):
1. All five Central Asian Republics emerged following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
2. India shares a direct land border with at least one Central Asian Republic.