The one rule that governs everything here
Ornament loses marks. Precision wins them. Examiners reward clarity and economy and penalise decoration. Wordcraft never teaches a word so you can sound impressive. It teaches the word that is exactly right, the pair you must never swap, the verb a noun takes, and the fifteen words you can delete.
Glossary from the edition
16 words, each quoted in the sentence where it appeared in the 26 September 2026 edition. Meaning first, then the sentence, then where it came from.
A situation in which people behave violently, especially in a public place; also anything that upsets the normal state of something.
हिंदी: अशांति; उपद्रव
Article 355 places a duty on the Union to protect every State against internal disturbance.
From AFSPA Extended for Six More Months in Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh: The Law, the Map and the Debate · Oxford gives both senses: the upsetting of a normal state (the disturbance of the local wildlife by tourists) and violent behaviour in public. The constitutional phrase is internal disturbance (Article 355); the 44th Amendment replaced internal disturbance with armed rebellion as a ground for a national emergency under Article 352, a distinction examiners like.
The act of stopping somebody or something before it reaches its destination; also the act of receiving an electronic message before it reaches the person it was meant for.
हिंदी: अवरोधन; (संदेश को) बीच में पकड़ना
The Convention asks States to give their agencies powers for expedited preservation of stored data and traffic data (Articles 25 and 26), production orders (Article 27), search and seizure of stored data (Article 28), real-time collection of traffic data (Article 29) and interception of content data (Article 30).
From India Signs the UN Convention against Cybercrime: The First Global Treaty on Cyber Offences and Electronic Evidence · From Latin intercipere, to seize in passing (inter, between + capere, to take). Oxford’s examples cover missiles (the successful interception of five of the six rockets) and messages. In Indian law, lawful interception of communications rests on the Telecommunications Act, 2023 (which replaced the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885) and Section 69 of the IT Act; the treaty distinguishes traffic data (who, when, where) from content data (what was said).
The act of carefully watching a person suspected of a crime or a place where a crime may be committed; more widely, systematic watching and monitoring.
हिंदी: निगरानी
AI, cyber tools, space surveillance, hypersonic weapons and ballistic missile defence shorten decision time and make command-and-control networks more vulnerable.
From Review Without Revising: Should India Revisit Its 2003 Nuclear Doctrine and No First Use? · From French surveiller, to watch over (sur, over + veiller, to watch, from Latin vigilare, the root of vigilant). Oxford’s collocation is keep somebody under surveillance. The word is neutral in public health (disease surveillance) and in defence (space surveillance), but in rights debates, such as the cybercrime treaty, it usually signals a concern about privacy.
To classify something incorrectly, putting it in the wrong group or category.
हिंदी: ग़लत वर्गीकरण करना
Old data and a crude village rule do misclassify land, and communities that have lived in the Ghats for generations cannot be asked to bear the cost of national conservation alone.
From Narrowed Posture: Karnataka, the Kasturirangan Report and the Unfinished Map of the Western Ghats · A plain mis- + classify formation; Wiktionary defines it as to classify incorrectly (Oxford Learner’s has no separate entry). The noun is misclassification. It is the precise word for the Karnataka objection: plantations and settlements placed in a natural landscape category because the satellite data was old and the unit of inclusion was the whole village.
Impossible to excuse or accept because there is no good reason for it.
हिंदी: अनुचित; जिसे सही न ठहराया जा सके
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (Article 3.5) says that measures to combat climate change should not be a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade.
From WTO Sets Up a Panel on the EU's Carbon Border Tax: Russia's Complaint (DS639), and Why India Joined as a Third Party · Oxford’s example is an unjustifiable delay. The phrase arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination is borrowed from the chapeau of GATT Article XX, the test a trade measure must pass to be saved as an environmental exception; the UNFCCC repeats it. Learn it as a fixed legal phrase: in trade law, unjustifiable means without a rational connection to the measure’s stated aim.
That cannot be continued at the same level or rate.
हिंदी: अस्थिर; जो लंबे समय तक टिक न सके
Editorial’s verdict: a blanket rejection is unsustainable without an equally considered alternative map.
From Narrowed Posture: Karnataka, the Kasturirangan Report and the Unfinished Map of the Western Ghats · Oxford’s example is unsustainable growth. The word has two uses: environmental (using resources faster than they renew) and argumentative (a position that cannot be defended for long), which is how the editorial uses it. In a GS3 answer, pair unsustainable with the specific resource: unsustainable groundwater extraction, not just unsustainable practices.
Causing problems so that something cannot continue normally; also new and original in a way that causes major changes to how something is done.
हिंदी: विघटनकारी; व्यवधानकारी
Three shifts: China-Pakistan alignment, disruptive technology, multipolar competition.
From Review Without Revising: Should India Revisit Its 2003 Nuclear Doctrine and No First Use? · From Latin disrumpere, to break apart (dis-, apart + rumpere, to break, as in rupture). Oxford gives both senses: a disruptive influence on the rest of the class and a disruptive technology which may transform manufacturing. In the nuclear op-ed the second sense is meant, but with a warning: technologies that transform deterrence also make it less stable.
To prove that an idea, argument or story is wrong; also to make a document, contract or election officially no longer valid.
हिंदी: अमान्य करना; ग़लत सिद्ध करना
They do not invalidate the principles, but they change the conditions for assured retaliation.
From Review Without Revising: Should India Revisit Its 2003 Nuclear Doctrine and No First Use? · Oxford’s examples: This new piece of evidence invalidates his version of events and Misuse ... will invalidate the guarantee. In legal writing a court strikes down a law and invalidates an action or election; do not say a court invalidated a statute when it only read it down.
The extent to which something can survive, especially the ability of weapons or systems to remain usable after an attack.
हिंदी: उत्तरजीविता; हमले के बाद बचे रहने की क्षमता
Keep NFU, clarify that any nuclear use against India, tactical or strategic, invites assured retaliation, and invest in the survivability that makes the threat believable.
From Review Without Revising: Should India Revisit Its 2003 Nuclear Doctrine and No First Use? · Wiktionary defines it as the condition of being survivable, or a measure of how far something is. In strategy it is the key to a No First Use posture: a country that promises not to strike first must be sure its forces survive a first strike, which is why submarines (hard to find) matter more than numbers. Pair it with second-strike capability.
The fact of a country reducing the size of its armed forces or the number of weapons, especially nuclear weapons, that it has.
हिंदी: निरस्त्रीकरण
India, which is also outside the NPT, supports universal and non-discriminatory disarmament and keeps a No First Use doctrine (see today’s editorial on the nuclear doctrine).
From Current Affairs Today, September 26, 2026, Complete News Roundup · Oxford’s examples: They campaigned for nuclear disarmament and disarmament talks. Keep three words apart: disarmament reduces weapons, non-proliferation stops their spread to new states, and arms control limits them by agreement. India’s formula is universal, verifiable and non-discriminatory disarmament, which is why it rejects the NPT’s two-tier structure.
To reduce or end the carbon dioxide emissions of an activity, especially by replacing fossil fuels with cleaner sources of energy.
हिंदी: कार्बन-मुक्त करना; विकार्बनीकरण करना
Shipping must decarbonise: the International Maritime Organization’s 2023 strategy aims at net-zero emissions from international shipping by or around 2050.
From Current Affairs Today, September 26, 2026, Complete News Roundup · Oxford lists it under the American spelling decarbonize, with decarbonise as the British form; Indian usage follows the British. Oxford’s example shows the chain: decarbonise electricity, then decarbonise transport through electric cars. The noun is decarbonisation. It is broader than emission reduction: it means changing the energy base, as green methanol would for ships.
The quality of having choices open; in finance and strategy, the value of being able to decide later, when more information is available.
हिंदी: विकल्प खुले रखने की स्थिति; विकल्पशीलता
That is a reason to preserve optionality, not surrender it.
From Don't Export Tomorrow's Wheat Surplus Today: Stocks Are Ample, but the Next Crop Is Uncertain · Wiktionary gives two senses: the quality or state in which choice is allowed, and, in finance, the value of further options that open up after an initial investment. The column uses the second idea: wheat kept today can be exported later if the crop is good, but wheat exported today cannot be recalled. A useful essay word; in a GS answer, keeping options open or flexibility is plainer.
Impressive and exciting events and ceremonies involving a lot of people wearing special clothes.
हिंदी: भव्य आयोजन; शान-शौकत
The pageantry undercuts the idea of India as the indispensable counterweight; a president who calls arms to Taiwan "a good negotiating chip" may see the Quad the same way; and the Graham Act’s threat shows India can be punished for what China is spared.
From Pageantry Over Pressure: The Xi-Trump Washington Summit, Managed Rivalry and What It Means for India · Oxford’s example: the pageantry of royal occasions. A pageant was first a play in a medieval cycle of mystery plays, and also the wheeled stage it was performed on. In diplomatic writing pageantry is often faintly critical: ceremony in place of substance. Its near-synonym pomp appears in the op-ed’s own headline.
Feelings of hate and a desire to hurt other people, especially because you think somebody has treated you unfairly.
हिंदी: कटुता; वैमनस्य
The P4M, which India co-sponsored, seeks a multilateralism beyond superpower hegemony, but it was lost in the rancour.
From Overweight and Weak: The UN at 81, a Rancorous General Assembly and the Choice of the Next Secretary-General · British rancour, American rancor; the adjective rancorous keeps no u in either. From Late Latin rancor, rancidness, a stinking smell, from rancere, to stink, the root of rancid: bitterness that has gone sour with time. Oxford’s example, She learned to accept criticism without rancour, shows its commonest use, after without.
A person who is an expert in law, especially a legal scholar.
हिंदी: विधिवेत्ता; न्यायविद्
The Constitution does not define "distinguished jurist"; the author notes a consensus that it refers to law teachers.
From The Missing Distinguished Jurists: Why No Law Professor Has Ever Sat on the Supreme Court · From Medieval Latin iurista, from ius, iuris, law, right, the root of jurisdiction, jurisprudence and jury. A jurist is an expert in law; a juror is a member of a jury; a judge decides cases. Article 124(3)(c) is the only place in the Constitution where the word decides eligibility.
A thing or person that reduces a shock or protects somebody or something against difficulties; a reserve kept for that purpose.
हिंदी: बफ़र; आघात या कमी से बचाने वाला भंडार
A buffer surplus is not an export surplus.
From Don't Export Tomorrow's Wheat Surplus Today: Stocks Are Ample, but the Next Crop Is Uncertain · From an old verb buff, to make a dull sound when struck: a buffer first absorbed the blow between railway wagons. Oxford’s figurative example: Support from family and friends acts as a buffer against stress. In food policy, buffer stocks and buffer norms are the grain kept to absorb a bad harvest; in ecology, a buffer zone absorbs pressure around a core habitat.
The seven lessons
One entry of each type, every day: a system, not a word list.
1 · Word roots
arma · armare · armatus
Latin: weapons, literally tools of war; to arm
Saturday’s edition is armed from end to end. The Home Ministry extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act; officers may destroy arms dumps; the Hindu op-ed weighs India’s nuclear arms and the UN’s day for nuclear disarmament; and the US has held back an arms package for Taiwan. The Online Etymology Dictionary glosses Latin arma as weapons, including armour, literally the tools or implements of war.
| Word | Formed from | Literal sense | From the edition, or from the root |
|---|---|---|---|
| arms, armed, armament | Latin arma; armare, to arm; armamentum, implement | weapons; equipped with weapons | edition: armed forces, arms dumps, an arms package |
| disarm, disarmament | Old French desarmer: des-, reverse + armer | to take the weapons away | edition: the UN day for nuclear disarmament |
| army | Old French armee, from Medieval Latin armata, armed force | an armed expedition | edition: the Army’s Do’s and Don’ts under AFSPA |
| armada | Spanish armada, from Medieval Latin armata | an armed force; a fleet of warships | root |
| alarm | Italian all’arme, to arms! | a call to arms against danger | root |
| armistice | arma + -stitium, from the root for to stand | a standing still of arms | root |
| armour | Old French armeure, from Latin armatura, equipment | protective equipment for battle | root |
The false friend: your arm. Arm, the limb, is a native English word, from Old English earm. It did not come from Latin arma. The Online Etymology Dictionary traces both to a very old root meaning to fit together, so they are distant cousins, but the weapon words entered English through French and Latin and the limb did not.
Why it matters in an answer. The family lets you be exact. Armed forces are the Army, Navy and Air Force; armament is weaponry; disarmament cuts it; an armistice stops the fighting without ending the war, which is why the Korean War ended in 1953 in an armistice, not a peace treaty. And an alarm was once literally a cry of to arms!
From the AFSPA article (armed forces, arms dumps, the Army), the roundup (the day for nuclear disarmament), the nuclear doctrine op-ed and the Xi-Trump op-ed (arms to Taiwan).
2 · Look-alike words
raise · rise
RAYZ · RYZ
The Indian Express editorial carries both verbs in one argument: forecasters expect prices to rise, so the RBI may raise its policy rate. Elsewhere India rose nine places in the tourism index and the power ministry expects a rise in demand. The difference is simple and constantly confused: raise needs an object; rise does not.
| raise | rise | |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar | transitive: you raise something | intransitive: something rises |
| Forms | raise, raised, raised | rise, rose, risen |
| Oxford | to lift or move something to a higher level; to increase the amount or level of something | to come or go upwards; to increase in amount or number |
| Edition | the RBI may raise its policy rate | prices are rising; India rose nine places |
| Noun | a pay raise (North American English) | a pay rise (British English); a rate rise |
One family. The Online Etymology Dictionary describes raise as the causative of the root of rise: to raise is to make something rise. That is the test. If you can ask "raise what?", you need raise. Prices rise; the government raises prices.
Other objects of raise. In GS answers raise takes many objects: raise an issue, raise concerns, raise funds, raise a question in Parliament, raise the retirement age. Arise is a third verb: problems arise (occur), and it too takes no object.
From the growth-inflation editorial (a rate rise; the RBI to raise rates) and the roundup (India rose nine places; an expected rise in demand).
3 · Word partners
request · decline · object · establish · reserve · appeal
what happens to a complaint at the WTO
The article on Russia’s complaint against the EU’s carbon border tax follows a WTO dispute from its first step to the problem at its end. Each step has its verb, and each verb has its subject. Learn them as a sequence: the same verbs describe every WTO case.
| Step | Who | The verb | In the edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | the complainant | requests consultations with the respondent | Russia requested consultations on 12 May 2025 |
| 2 | the respondent | declines (or holds) consultations | the EU declined, citing Russia’s war against Ukraine |
| 3 | the complainant | requests the establishment of a panel | Russia asked the DSB to establish a panel |
| 4 | the respondent | objects at the first meeting | the EU objected on 24 July 2026 |
| 5 | the Dispute Settlement Body | establishes the panel | the DSB agreed to establish the panel |
| 6 | other members | reserve third-party rights | India and 17 others reserved third-party rights |
| 7 | the losing party | appeals the report | an appeal goes "into the void" while the Appellate Body cannot sit |
Adopt, circulate, comply. After the panel rules, its report is circulated to members and then adopted by the DSB unless it is appealed. The losing party must bring its measure into conformity (comply); if it does not, the winner may seek to suspend concessions, the WTO’s term for authorised retaliation.
Reserve, not reverse. To reserve a right is to keep it for later use; India has not joined the case yet, it has kept its seat. Do not write that India "reserved its rights against the EU": third parties take no side by reserving.
From the WTO panel article, which traces dispute DS639 from consultations to the establishment of a panel.
4 · Today's key term
ground-truthing
GROWND-trooth-ing
The Western Ghats map was drawn from satellites; Karnataka’s complaint is that it was never properly checked on the ground. The Centre asked the States to begin ground-truthing the Kasturirangan Report’s recommendations, and Kerala has already ground-truthed its share of the Ecologically Sensitive Area. The word names the step between a map and a decision.
What it means. Wiktionary defines ground truth as information acquired by direct observation rather than by inference, and the verb to ground-truth as to gather information by direct observation. In remote sensing, it is the field survey that checks what a satellite image seems to show: is that green patch forest, a coffee plantation or a village orchard?
| Form | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ground truth (noun) | the facts on the ground, used to check a model or map | The survey provided ground truth for the satellite map. |
| ground-truth (verb) | to check a map or model by direct observation | States were asked to ground-truth the ESA villages. |
| ground-truthed (adjective) | already checked in the field | Kerala’s ground-truthed ESA of 9,993 sq km |
Beyond maps. The idea travels: an index, a model of crop yields or a machine-learning classifier all need ground truth, real observed data, to be trusted. The Western Ghats dispute shows the cost of skipping it: old data misclassifies land, and people lose trust in the whole exercise.
In a GS answer. Use it where you would otherwise write verification on the field: satellite-based ESA maps must be ground-truthed with village-level consultation. Hyphenate the verb and the adjective; keep the noun open (ground truth).
From the editorial on Karnataka and the Kasturirangan Report, where ground-truthing is Karnataka’s central demand.
5 · Cut the padding
the compound preposition
by means of, in the event of, in order to
Official English is full of three- and four-word prepositions that do the work of one: by means of for by, in the event of for if, in order to for to. They have a place: statutes and treaties use them as fixed formulas, and you should quote those exactly. In your own sentences, the short form is almost always better.
| Compound | Usually just | Where the edition has it |
|---|---|---|
| by means of | by, through, using | the treaty’s title: crimes committed by means of ICT systems (quote as it stands) |
| in the event of | if | the doctrine’s wording: in the event of a major attack (quote), but in your prose: if India suffers a major attack |
| in order to | to | root |
| with a view to | to | root |
| on the part of | by | root |
| for the purpose of | to, for | root |
| in respect of | on, about, for | the UPSC formula: correct in respect of the above statements (the paper’s own wording) |
Quote the formula, write the short form. When you cite Article 355 or a treaty, keep its words. When you explain it, translate: The Union must protect States against internal disturbance is clearer than It is incumbent on the part of the Union to ensure protection in respect of States in the event of internal disturbance.
The test. Replace the compound with the one-word form. If the meaning survives, keep the short form. If it does not, you have found one of the rare cases where the long form carries a real distinction.
From the cybercrime article (the treaty’s title) and the nuclear doctrine op-ed (the biological and chemical weapons clause).
6 · Correct usage
that · which
defining and non-defining clauses
Relative clauses come in two kinds, and the comma tells the reader which kind you mean. A defining clause tells us which thing you mean; take it out and the sentence changes. A non-defining clause adds information about a thing already identified; take it out and the sentence still stands.
| Defining | Non-defining | |
|---|---|---|
| Commas | none | always |
| Pronoun | that (or which, common in British and Indian usage) | which only, never that |
| Edition | The All India Tiger Estimation ... is a separate exercise that estimates tiger numbers. | the Finance Act, 2016, which amended the RBI Act, 1934, gave it statutory form |
| Test | remove it: the meaning changes | remove it: the sentence still stands |
The one firm rule. Never use that after a comma to add information. The Finance Act, that amended the RBI Act, ... is wrong; it must be which. British and Indian writers often use which without a comma for a defining clause (the scheme which the Centre notified); American editors prefer that. In an exam, that for defining and which with commas for non-defining is the safe habit.
The sentence-which. The AFSPA article says the Act’s footprint has shrunk sharply where violence fell, which shows the review mechanism works. Here which refers to the whole clause before it. It is correct but can be vague; when the reader might wonder what which points to, start a new sentence: This shows ...
From the quiz notes (a separate exercise that estimates tiger numbers; the Finance Act, 2016, which amended the RBI Act) and the AFSPA article (the sentence-which).
7 · Idioms in answers
a level playing field
a situation in which everyone has the same opportunities
The WTO article presents the EU’s case for its carbon border tax as a level playing field for a carbon price its own firms already pay: importers, the EU argues, should face the same carbon cost as European producers. India replies that the field is not level to begin with, because countries differ in their responsibility for emissions and their capacity to cut them.
Meaning. Oxford gives a level playing field as a situation in which everyone has the same opportunities, and level the playing field as to create such a situation. The image is a sports ground with no slope: neither team plays downhill.
| Phrase | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| a level playing field | equal conditions for all competitors | fine in GS answers and essays |
| level the playing field | to remove an unfair advantage | fine in GS answers |
| an uneven playing field | conditions that favour one side | fine in essays |
| move the goalposts | to change the rules unfairly once a contest has begun | informal; use with care |
Use it with a question. The idiom is persuasive, so in an answer, ask level for whom? The EU’s level field for its producers can look like a tilted one for developing-country exporters, which is exactly the CBDR-RC argument. Naming whose field it is turns a cliche into analysis.
From the WTO panel article, which presents the EU’s case as a level playing field for a carbon price its own firms pay.
Worksheet
Every exercise from the session, on paper. Answers are folded under each one; the online session marks them for you and keeps your score.
Word roots · arma (weapons, tools of war)
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which word did NOT come into English from Latin arma?
- arm (the limb)
- armistice
- army
- alarm
Answer
arm (the limb). The limb is Old English earm. Alarm is from Italian all’arme, armistice from arma + -stitium, and army from Medieval Latin armata.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The fighting ended in an ___, but no peace treaty was ever signed.
- armament
- alarm
- armistice
- armada
Answer
armistice. An armistice stops the fighting by agreement; it is not a peace treaty.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its literal sense.
- alarm
- armistice
- army
- disarm
- to take the weapons away
- to arms!
- arms standing still
- an armed expedition
Answer
- alarm: to arms!
- armistice: arms standing still
- army: an armed expedition
- disarm: to take the weapons away
Each literal sense still sits inside the modern meaning.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which word does NOT come from arma (weapons, tools of war)?
- armada
- armour
- armament
- armpit
Answer
armpit. Armpit is built on arm, the limb. The other four come from Latin arma through French, Spanish or Latin.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What is the difference between disarmament and non-proliferation?
- Disarmament stops spread; non-proliferation reduces stocks
- Disarmament reduces existing weapons; non-proliferation stops their spread to new states
- Disarmament applies only to conventional weapons
- They mean the same thing
Answer
Disarmament reduces existing weapons; non-proliferation stops their spread to new states. Disarmament cuts what exists; non-proliferation prevents new possessors.
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Arrange from war to peace.
- disarmament
- an alarm, a call to arms
- armed conflict
- an armistice
Answer
- an alarm, a call to arms
- armed conflict
- an armistice
- disarmament
The call to arms, the fighting, the ceasefire, and finally the laying down of weapons.
Look-alike words · raise / rise
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence is correct?
- The RBI may raise the repo rate if prices continue to raise.
- The RBI may raise the repo rate if prices continue to rise.
- The RBI may rise the repo rate if prices continue to rise.
- The RBI may rise the repo rate if prices continue to raise.
Answer
The RBI may raise the repo rate if prices continue to rise.. The RBI raises the rate (object); prices rise (no object).
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
India ___ nine places in the travel and tourism index.
- arose
- raised
- rose
- rised
Answer
rose. Rise, rose, risen: India itself went up, with no object.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each verb to its forms.
- rise
- raise
- arise
- lie (recline)
- lay, lain
- raised, raised
- rose, risen
- arose, arisen
Answer
- rise: rose, risen
- raise: raised, raised
- arise: arose, arisen
- lie (recline): lay, lain
Rise and arise are irregular; raise is regular.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word used wrongly.
The government will rise the minimum support price
Answer
rise → raise. The price is an object, so the verb must be raise.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The member ___ the issue of crop losses during Question Hour.
- arose
- risen
- rose
- raised
Answer
raised. You raise an issue; an issue arises.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
In British English, what is an increase in your salary called?
- a pay raise
- a pay rising
- a pay arise
- a pay rise
Answer
a pay rise. Oxford gives rise for British English and marks raise as North American.
Word partners · the verbs of a trade dispute: request, decline, establish, reserve, appeal
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Who establishes a WTO panel?
- The Appellate Body
- The Dispute Settlement Body
- The Director-General
- The complainant
Answer
The Dispute Settlement Body. The DSB, made up of all members, establishes panels.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
India ___ its third-party rights in the dispute.
- reserved
- requested
- reversed
- reserved against
Answer
reserved. Members reserve third-party rights to follow and take part in a case.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match the verb to its subject.
- requests consultations
- declines consultations
- establishes a panel
- reserves third-party rights
- the Dispute Settlement Body
- the complainant
- another member
- the respondent
Answer
- requests consultations: the complainant
- declines consultations: the respondent
- establishes a panel: the Dispute Settlement Body
- reserves third-party rights: another member
Each step belongs to a different actor.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that misdescribes India’s role.
India reserved its rights against the EU.
Answer
its rights against the EU. → third-party rights in the dispute.. A third party takes no side by reserving rights; against makes India a complainant.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does it mean when an appeal goes 'into the void'?
- It is sent back to the panel
- It cannot be heard because the Appellate Body lacks members, so the dispute stays unresolved
- It is settled by the Director-General
- It is rejected on its merits
Answer
It cannot be heard because the Appellate Body lacks members, so the dispute stays unresolved. Since December 2019 the Appellate Body cannot hear appeals.
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Arrange the steps of a WTO dispute in order.
- establish the panel
- adopt the panel report
- request consultations
- request a panel
Answer
- request consultations
- request a panel
- establish the panel
- adopt the panel report
Consultations first, then the panel request, establishment, and finally adoption of the report.
Today's key term · ground-truthing
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does it mean to ground-truth a satellite map?
- To print it at ground level
- To approve it officially
- To draw it from satellite data
- To check it by direct observation in the field
Answer
To check it by direct observation in the field. Ground truth is information from direct observation rather than inference.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Kerala has already ___ its share of the Ecologically Sensitive Area.
- grounded
- groundwater-mapped
- ground-truthed
- truth-grounded
Answer
ground-truthed. Ground-truthed: checked in the field.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each form to its use.
- ground truth
- ground-truth
- ground-truthed
- remote sensing
- to check by observation
- already checked in the field
- mapping from a distance
- the observed facts
Answer
- ground truth: the observed facts
- ground-truth: to check by observation
- ground-truthed: already checked in the field
- remote sensing: mapping from a distance
Noun, verb and adjective of one idea, and the process it checks.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that confuses the process.
The satellite ground-truthed the villages from orbit
Answer
ground-truthed → mapped. A satellite maps; ground-truthing is the field check of that map.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Why does Karnataka want the ESA map ground-truthed?
- Because 2012 satellite data may misclassify farmland and settlements
- Because the Constitution requires a field survey
- Because the map was drawn by hand
- Because satellites cannot see forests
Answer
Because 2012 satellite data may misclassify farmland and settlements. The objection is to old data and a whole-village rule that sweep in non-forest land.
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Arrange the steps of making a reliable ESA map.
- notify the ESA
- ground-truth the classification in the field
- take satellite images
- classify landscapes from the images
Answer
- take satellite images
- classify landscapes from the images
- ground-truth the classification in the field
- notify the ESA
Image, classification, field check, and then the legal notification.
Cut the padding · the compound preposition: by means of, in the event of, in order to
-
Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.
In the event of a failure on the part of the RBI to meet the target, it is required to write to the government in order to explain the reasons.
Word limit 13
Model
If the RBI misses the target, it must explain why to the government. In the event of became if, a failure on the part of became misses, and in order to explain the reasons became explain why.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which is the best plain form of 'in order to'?
- for to
- so
- to
- in
Answer
to. In order to almost always means to.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Rewrite: 'The data was collected by means of a survey' as 'The data was collected ___ a survey'.
- through
- with a view to
- on the part of
- in respect of
Answer
through. By means of usually becomes by or through.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that starts the padding.
Delays on the part of the ministry hurt farmers
Answer
on the part of → by. On the part of is a four-word way of saying by.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each compound to its short form.
- in the event of
- with a view to
- on the part of
- by means of
- if
- to
- through
- by
Answer
- in the event of: if
- with a view to: to
- on the part of: by
- by means of: through
Each compound has a one-word equivalent.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
When should you keep 'in respect of'?
- When quoting the UPSC question or a statute exactly
- At the start of every paragraph
- Whenever you write about the Constitution
- Never
Answer
When quoting the UPSC question or a statute exactly. Keep a formula when you are quoting it; translate it in your own prose.
Correct usage · that or which, and the comma that decides
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
- The Finance Act 2016 which amended the RBI Act, created the MPC framework.
- The Finance Act, 2016, that amended the RBI Act, created the MPC framework.
- The Finance Act, 2016 that amended the RBI Act created the MPC framework.
- The Finance Act, 2016, which amended the RBI Act, created the MPC framework.
Answer
The Finance Act, 2016, which amended the RBI Act, created the MPC framework.. A non-defining clause takes commas on both sides and which, never that.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The index ___ ranks tourism conditions is published by the WEF.
- , which
- what
- , that
- that
Answer
that. A defining clause: it tells us which index. No comma.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that must change.
The Indian Ports Act, that replaced the 1908 Act, created a council
Answer
that → which. After a comma the clause is non-defining, so which, never that.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each clause to its type.
- a separate exercise that estimates tiger numbers
- the Finance Act, 2016, which amended the RBI Act
- the treaty that India signed
- Paradip, which is in Odisha,
- non-defining
- non-defining
- defining
- defining
Answer
- a separate exercise that estimates tiger numbers: defining
- the Finance Act, 2016, which amended the RBI Act: non-defining
- the treaty that India signed: defining
- Paradip, which is in Odisha,: non-defining
Defining clauses identify; non-defining clauses add information between commas.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What is the problem with 'Coverage has shrunk where violence fell, which shows the review works'?
- Nothing is wrong, but which refers to a whole clause and can be vague
- The comma must go
- Shows must be show
- Which must be that
Answer
Nothing is wrong, but which refers to a whole clause and can be vague. A sentence-which is correct; a new sentence (This shows ...) is often clearer.
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Arrange the check you should run on a relative clause.
- remove it
- choose no commas and that, or commas and which
- find the clause
- ask whether the meaning changed
Answer
- find the clause
- remove it
- ask whether the meaning changed
- choose no commas and that, or commas and which
The removal test decides the punctuation and the pronoun.
Idioms in answers · a level playing field
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does 'a level playing field' mean?
- A flat piece of land for sport
- A field that has been ploughed
- A contest that one side always wins
- A situation in which everyone has the same opportunities
Answer
A situation in which everyone has the same opportunities. Oxford’s sense is equal opportunities for all.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The subsidy was withdrawn to ___ the playing field for new entrants.
- tilt
- move
- shift
- level
Answer
level. To level the playing field is to remove an unfair advantage.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match the idiom to its meaning.
- a level playing field
- an uneven playing field
- move the goalposts
- level the playing field
- change the rules unfairly mid-contest
- remove an advantage
- equal conditions
- conditions favouring one side
Answer
- a level playing field: equal conditions
- an uneven playing field: conditions favouring one side
- move the goalposts: change the rules unfairly mid-contest
- level the playing field: remove an advantage
Four idioms from the same image, with different uses.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that spoils the idiom.
CBAM aims at a flat playing field for EU producers
Answer
flat → level. The fixed idiom is a level playing field.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Why does India reject the EU’s 'level playing field' argument for CBAM?
- Because the WTO bans all border taxes
- Because the EU has no carbon price
- Because countries differ in historical responsibility and capacity (CBDR-RC)
- Because India has no steel exports
Answer
Because countries differ in historical responsibility and capacity (CBDR-RC). India argues equal carbon costs ignore common but differentiated responsibilities.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which wording states the fact without taking a side?
- an uneven playing field
- moving the goalposts
- equal conditions for all
- a rigged game
Answer
equal conditions for all. The first describes the condition. The other three accuse someone, and an answer must show the evidence before it does that.
Writing task · Arms, law and review: explain AFSPA in exam English
In no more than 100 words, explain what the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act allows in a disturbed area and why the six-monthly review matters. Use at least one word from today’s arma family (armed, arms, army, disarm, disarmament, armament, armistice, alarm) and at least one word from today’s glossary.
Weekly answer clinic
The United Nations at eighty is described as overweight, weak and unrepresentative. Examine the causes of its declining effectiveness and India's interest in its reform. (150 words) (150 words; from Overweight and Weak: The UN at 81, a Rancorous General Assembly and the Choice of the Next Secretary-General). Use at least 5 words from this week’s glossaries. Open with the fact, not the adjective: a record number of armed conflicts and a Security Council that cannot act on the largest of them. Then give three causes and keep each to two sentences. The veto: any permanent member can block action where it or its allies are involved, which is why the Council reaches deadlock on Ukraine and Gaza. Representation: Africa and Latin America have no permanent seat, and neither do India, Japan, Germany or Brazil, so the Council's decisions carry less legitimacy. Defiance: unilateral sanctions and the use of force outside Charter procedures teach every state that the rules are optional. Then turn to India in one paragraph: a founding member, a leading troop contributor, a candidate for 2028-29, and a voice for the Global South; its interest is a Council that reflects today's world and rules that protect sovereignty. Close on the mechanism, not a wish: Charter amendment needs all five permanent members (Article 108), so reform will come in steps, starting with a transparent choice of the next Secretary-General under Article 97. Avoid two failure modes: listing complaints without causes, and ending with 'the UN must reform' without saying how.
Companion to Vocab Builder (what a word scores in a GS answer) and Key Terms. Wordcraft is the language itself.
