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
15 words, each quoted in the sentence where it appeared in the 27 September 2026 edition. Meaning first, then the sentence, then where it came from.
An act of demanding or saying something clearly and refusing to accept any opposition or excuses.
हिंदी: आग्रह; ज़ोर देकर कहना
And Russia’s insistence that the permanent members' authority must not be weakened is a defence of the veto, which many reform proposals seek to restrict.
From India at UNGA 81: Jaishankar on Terrorism, the "Weaponisation of Everything", Seafarers and UN Reform · Oxford’s examples show its two patterns: insistence on something (their insistence on strict standards) and at somebody’s insistence (At her insistence, the matter was dropped). A third, insistence that, introduces the demand itself, as in the edition. In diplomatic writing it signals a position a country will not trade away.
A person’s continued support for a political party, religion, leader, country or constitution.
हिंदी: निष्ठा; वफ़ादारी
A bureaucracy that punishes dissent drifts from serving the public to serving whoever holds power, and the oath of allegiance to the Constitution loses meaning.
From Conscience and the Oath: When Duty to the Constitution and the Duty of Secrecy Pull Apart · Oxford’s collocations are switch/transfer allegiance and an oath of allegiance. The Third Schedule’s forms make Ministers, legislators and judges swear to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India: allegiance is owed to the Constitution, not to a person or a party, which is the heart of Lavasa’s argument.
The act of placing a person or firm on an approved list, or panel, from which appointments or assignments are made.
हिंदी: पैनल में शामिल करना; सूचीबद्धता
The author argues that the 360-degree evaluation for empanelment, as practised, gives weight to handpicked feedback and rewards the "trouble-free cog".
From Conscience and the Oath: When Duty to the Constitution and the Duty of Secrecy Pull Apart · Wiktionary records empanelment as a form of impanelment, the legal enrolment of jurors on a panel; Oxford Learner’s has no entry. Indian administrative English uses it far more widely: officers are empanelled for Joint Secretary posts in the Government of India, and hospitals are empanelled under a health scheme. Use it freely in Indian governance answers, but know that a British or American reader may think of juries.
Able to make mistakes or be wrong.
हिंदी: भूल कर सकने वाला; त्रुटिशील
Conscience is personal and fallible.
From Conscience and the Oath: When Duty to the Constitution and the Duty of Secrecy Pull Apart · Oxford’s examples: Memory is selective and fallible; All human beings are fallible. The opposite, infallible, means never wrong. In an ethics answer, fallible is the honest objection to conscience as a sole guide: an official’s inner voice can be sincere and still mistaken, which is why the write-up asks conscience to work through institutions first.
To give away secrets to an enemy; to hurt somebody who trusts you; or to abandon your principles for your own advantage.
हिंदी: विश्वासघात करना; धोखा देना
When a minister misleads Parliament, or a decision betrays the public interest, they diverge, and the official must choose.
From Conscience and the Oath: When Duty to the Constitution and the Duty of Secrecy Pull Apart · Oxford lists all three senses: betraying state secrets, betraying his colleagues, and betraying one’s principles for gain. Betray the public interest or betray the public trust is the governance use: it turns a bad decision into a breach of the trust on which office rests. The noun is betrayal.
An official visit to a factory, school, mine or other place to check that rules are being obeyed; also the act of looking closely at something.
हिंदी: निरीक्षण; जाँच
A CAG performance audit of mining in Rajasthan (covering the years up to 2019-20) used remote sensing to find illegal mining near 34 per cent of test-checked leases and recorded weak inspection and monitoring.
From A Mountain Cannot Be Saved by a Law That Is Not Enforced: Illegal Mining, Not Legal Leases, Is the Aravallis' Real Enemy · Oxford’s examples: regular inspections, a tour of inspection. The Aravalli case shows why inspection and monitoring are different jobs: inspection is a visit at a moment, monitoring is a continuous watch, and satellites now make the second cheaper than the first. In mining, safety inspection falls to the Directorate General of Mines Safety; lease compliance to State mining departments.
A sum of money paid by an oil or mining company to the owner of the land or mineral it is working; also a payment to an author for each copy sold.
हिंदी: रॉयल्टी; खनिज स्वामित्व शुल्क
The damage comes overwhelmingly from quarrying that pays no royalty, follows no plan and answers to no one.
From A Mountain Cannot Be Saved by a Law That Is Not Enforced: Illegal Mining, Not Legal Leases, Is the Aravallis' Real Enemy · Oxford gives three senses: members of a royal family, a payment to a writer or composer, and a payment by a mining company to the landowner. In India, royalty on major minerals is set under Section 9 of the MMDR Act, 1957, and on minor minerals by the States. In Mineral Area Development Authority v. Steel Authority of India (2024), a nine-judge Bench held by 8:1 that royalty is not a tax.
A layer of rock or soil that can take in and hold water.
हिंदी: जलभृत; भूजल धारण करने वाली परत
In a fragile, water-recharging range, even compliant mining adds up: dust, blasting and pit lakes affect aquifers and wildlife across lease lines.
From A Mountain Cannot Be Saved by a Law That Is Not Enforced: Illegal Mining, Not Legal Leases, Is the Aravallis' Real Enemy · From Latin aqua, water + -fer, carrying (the ferre family). An aquifer is the store; recharge is the water that refills it; the water table is the top of the saturated zone. The Central Ground Water Board maps them under the National Aquifer Mapping and Management programme. The Aravallis matter to Delhi and Gurugram because their fractured rocks recharge aquifers.
Including or affecting all possible cases, situations or people.
हिंदी: सर्वव्यापी; एकमुश्त (बिना अपवाद)
Both a blanket ban without enforcement and mining without cumulative assessment will fail the range.
From A Mountain Cannot Be Saved by a Law That Is Not Enforced: Illegal Mining, Not Legal Leases, Is the Aravallis' Real Enemy · Oxford’s examples are exactly the governance ones: a blanket ban, a blanket refusal. The word is usually a criticism: a blanket measure ignores differences between cases. In constitutional writing it is set against a reasonable restriction, which must be proportionate to its aim.
That can be believed or trusted; that seems possible and likely to succeed.
हिंदी: विश्वसनीय; भरोसेमंद
Before backing any ban (mining, sand, liquor, plastics), ask how illegal supply will respond and what will make enforcement credible.
From A Mountain Cannot Be Saved by a Law That Is Not Enforced: Illegal Mining, Not Legal Leases, Is the Aravallis' Real Enemy · Oxford gives both senses: a credible witness and a credible plan or challenger. Enforcement is credible when offenders believe they will be caught and punished; India’s 2003 nuclear doctrine rests on credible minimum deterrence for the same reason. Keep it apart from creditable (deserving praise) and credulous (too ready to believe).
Eating only plants.
हिंदी: शाकाहारी (केवल वनस्पति खाने वाला)
India’s marine mammals include whales, dolphins, porpoises and the dugong, the only strictly herbivorous marine mammal in Indian waters.
From Current Affairs Today, September 27, 2026, Complete News Roundup · From Latin herba, grass + vorare, to swallow: the -vorous family also gives carnivorous (flesh), omnivorous (everything) and insectivorous. The nouns are herbivore, carnivore, omnivore. The dugong grazes seagrass, so losing seagrass meadows is as dangerous to it as nets.
Fish and other sea animals caught by accident when other types of fish are being caught.
हिंदी: अनचाही पकड़ (मछली पकड़ते समय फँसे अन्य जीव)
The sessions focused on bycatch: fitting Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRDs) and modifying fishing gear across artisanal and industrial fleets, with MPEDA and ICAR-CIFT presenting mitigation methods that also keep Indian seafood compliant with export-market rules.
From Current Affairs Today, September 27, 2026, Complete News Roundup · Oxford’s example: Thousands of small fish are thrown back into the sea as bycatch. It also covers turtles, dolphins and dugongs. Bycatch rules are trade rules too: in the WTO’s Shrimp-Turtle dispute (1998), India was among the complainants against a US ban on shrimp caught without turtle excluder devices.
Involving the use of very low temperatures.
हिंदी: अतिनिम्न तापीय; क्रायोजेनिक
According to the division, LNG can replace up to about 40 per cent of the diesel, each power car carries a cryogenic LNG tank of about 2,200 litres, and the rake should save about Rs 23.9 lakh a year.
From Current Affairs Today, September 27, 2026, Complete News Roundup · Oxford’s example: a cryogenic storage system. LNG must be kept at about minus 162 degrees Celsius. ISRO’s cryogenic upper stages burn liquid hydrogen (about minus 253 degrees) with liquid oxygen (about minus 183 degrees), which is why mastering the cryogenic engine was a milestone for heavy launches.
A lack of food during a long period of time in a region.
हिंदी: अकाल; दुर्भिक्ष
Treat 1972 as a lesson in institutions, not a forecast of famine: start employment works early and point them at water conservation, protect fodder and drinking water, and use the crisis to push irrigation and watershed reform.
From The Drought That Invented a Right to Work: What Maharashtra's 1972 Famine Teaches a State Bracing for Another · Keep drought (a shortage of rain and water) apart from famine (a shortage of food that people can reach). Amartya Sen argued in Poverty and Famines (1981) that famines follow a collapse of people’s entitlements, their ability to earn or buy food, and not only a fall in output, which is why work guarantees and public distribution prevent them.
To remove or reduce the risk in something, such as a supply chain, an investment or a relationship.
हिंदी: जोखिम कम करना
The call to de-risk and diversify is India’s own economic strategy.
From India at UNGA 81: Jaishankar on Terrorism, the "Weaponisation of Everything", Seafarers and UN Reform · Wiktionary gives derisk, to remove the risk from, with de-risk as an alternative form; Oxford Learner’s has no entry. It became a policy word in 2023, when the President of the European Commission described the EU’s approach to China as de-risking, not decoupling: reduce dangerous dependence without cutting ties. The noun is de-risking.
The seven lessons
One entry of each type, every day: a system, not a word list.
1 · Word roots
scire · sciens · scientia
Latin: to know; knowing; knowledge
Sunday’s edition keeps returning to knowing. Ashok Lavasa writes about conscience; the Aravalli write-up says "let science decide where mining may happen"; the roundup recalls that Raja Ram Mohan Roy backed scientific education; and the marine mammal workshop showcased a citizen-science app. All of them come from Latin scire, to know.
| Word | Formed from | Literal sense | From the edition, or from the root |
|---|---|---|---|
| conscience | Latin conscientia, from conscire: con-, together + scire | knowing with oneself | edition: conscience and the oath |
| conscious | Latin conscius, knowing, aware | aware (first used of guilt) | root |
| science, scientific | Latin scientia, knowledge, from sciens, knowing | knowledge | edition: let science decide; scientific education |
| omniscient | omnis, all + sciens | all-knowing | root |
| prescient | prae, before + scire | knowing beforehand | root |
| nice | Old French nice, foolish; Latin nescius, ignorant (ne-, not + scire) | not knowing | root: the word that turned around |
The word that turned around. Nice began as the opposite of knowing: Latin nescius meant ignorant, and Old French nice meant simple or foolish. Over centuries the English word drifted to its modern sense, pleasant. It is a reminder that a root tells you where a word came from, not always what it means now.
Conscience and conscious. Wiktionary notes that conscious was first used in English in the sense of being aware of wrongdoing: the two words were once one idea. Today they are a spelling trap. Conscience (a noun) is your sense of right and wrong; conscious (an adjective) means aware. You act according to your conscience; you are conscious of the risk.
Why it matters in an answer. A GS4 answer lives on conscience; a GS3 answer on scientific assessment. Knowing the root helps you choose precisely: a prescient warning was right before the event; an omniscient regulator does not exist, which is why monitoring matters.
From the conscience editorial, the Aravalli editorial (let science decide) and the roundup (scientific education; a citizen-science app).
2 · Look-alike words
defuse · diffuse
dee-FYOOZ · di-FYOOS (adjective), di-FYOOZ (verb)
The conscience editorial says that when politicians want civil servants "on their right side", the public interest becomes diffuse: spread so thin that nobody owns it. It is the right word there. The trap is its near-twin defuse, which is what you do to a crisis, and which writers regularly replace with diffuse by mistake.
| defuse | diffuse | |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford | to stop a dangerous or difficult situation from developing, especially by making people less angry; to remove the fuse from a bomb | (adjective) spread over a wide area; not clear, using too many words. (verb) to spread widely in all directions |
| Built from | de-, remove + fuse, the device that sets off a bomb | Latin diffusus, from diffundere: dis-, apart + fundere, to pour |
| Edition | root | the public interest becomes diffuse |
| Typical objects | tension, a crisis, a row, a bomb | light, heat, power, technology, responsibility |
The test. Ask whether something is being made safe or being spread out. You defuse tension on the border; ideas diffuse across countries. Oxford’s own examples are Community workers are trying to defuse tension in the area and Technologies diffuse rapidly.
Two pronunciations, one spelling. The adjective diffuse ends in an s sound (di-FYOOS: diffuse light); the verb ends in a z sound (di-FYOOZ). The noun of the verb is diffusion, as in the diffusion of technology or the diffusion of responsibility, the social idea that when everyone is responsible, no one acts.
From the conscience editorial, where the public interest becomes diffuse.
3 · Word partners
note · put up · minute · record · overrule · escalate
what happens to an opinion on its way through the government file
The conscience editorial is written in the language of the Indian file. Bosses once overruled subordinates' notings with better arguments; the write-up tells officials to record dissent, escalate and use statutory channels; and its interview question asks what you would do if told to sign off a file. These verbs are how disagreement travels inside government. Learn them as a sequence.
| Verb | Who does it | Meaning | In the edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| note on a file (a noting) | the dealing officer | write remarks on a file to help a decision; noting is Indian administrative usage | subordinates' notings |
| put up a file | a junior officer | submit a file to a senior for orders (Indian administrative usage) | root |
| minute | the secretary of a meeting | write something said at a meeting into the official record (Oxford) | root |
| record a dissent | a member or officer | put a disagreement in writing, on file | record dissent; a dissent recorded on file is not a leak |
| overrule | a higher authority | change a decision or reject an idea from a position of greater power (Oxford) | bosses once overruled subordinates' notings |
| escalate | an official with a concern | involve a more senior person in dealing with a problem (Oxford, sense 2) | record dissent, escalate, use statutory channels |
Overrule is not ignore. To overrule a noting is to read it and decide otherwise, ideally with reasons; a good file shows both the objection and the answer. That is Lavasa’s point: the system worked when seniors overruled with better arguments, and fails when they discourage the noting itself.
Two senses of escalate. Oxford gives escalate first as to become worse or more serious (The fighting escalated) and second as to take a problem to someone more senior. In an ethics answer use the second, and say to whom: escalate the matter to the Secretary, not just escalate.
From the conscience editorial (notings overruled; record dissent, escalate; sign off a file).
4 · Today's key term
drought-proofing
DROWT-proof-ing
The drought editorial ends on a charge: "Fifty-four years after 1972, the guarantee exists; the drought-proofing it was meant to build is incomplete." The word names the long-term work that makes a region suffer less the next time the rain fails, as opposed to relief, which helps people through this failure.
What it means. Wiktionary gives droughtproof as resistant to drought. Drought-proofing is the work of making land, farms and villages so: soil and water conservation, check dams and farm ponds, recharge of aquifers, afforestation, crop choices suited to low rainfall, and protective irrigation.
| Form | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| drought-proof (adjective) | able to withstand drought | a drought-proof village water supply |
| drought-proof (verb) | to make something able to withstand drought | works to drought-proof Marathwada |
| drought-proofing (noun) | the long-term work of doing so | the drought-proofing it was meant to build is incomplete |
A word with a legal history. Schedule I of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 named its first categories of work as (i) water conservation and water harvesting and (ii) drought proofing, including afforestation and tree plantation. The idea goes back to Maharashtra’s EGS, whose works in the 1970s were bunds, wells and tanks: the same labour that relieved the drought was meant to prevent the next one.
Relief versus proofing. In a GS3 answer on drought, separate the two: relief (tankers, fodder, wages, loan rescheduling) is for this year; drought-proofing (watersheds, aquifer recharge, crop diversification, micro-irrigation) is for the next decade. Examiners reward answers that name both and say which is missing.
From the 1972 drought editorial, which says the drought-proofing the guarantee was meant to build is incomplete.
5 · Cut the padding
padding around numbers
a total of, to the tune of, in the range of, upwards of
Numbers are the strongest words in a GS answer, and the easiest to smother. The edition states its figures plainly: about 90 per cent of large ships, more than 25,000 silicosis cases, USD 45 to 60 million a year, projects worth Rs 1,472 crore. Answer-writers often wrap the same figures in padding that adds words and no meaning.
| Padded | Plain | Note |
|---|---|---|
| a total of 15 States | 15 States | keep a total of only to start a sentence with a number |
| to the tune of Rs 700 crore | Rs 700 crore; worth Rs 700 crore | Oxford marks the idiom informal, used to emphasise how much something cost |
| in the range of 40 per cent | about 40 per cent | use between X and Y when you mean a real range |
| upwards of 1,100 deaths | over 1,100 deaths; more than 1,100 | one word does it |
| approximately around 2,000 km | about 2,000 km | two hedges for one number |
| a sum of Rs 48 crore | Rs 48 crore | the rupee figure already says it is a sum |
Let the number do the work. The shed was built at a cost to the tune of a sum of Rs 700 crore becomes The shed cost Rs 700 crore. Put the figure next to the noun it counts, and let the verb carry the action.
When a phrase earns its place. Start a sentence with words, not digits: A total of 1,609 ships fly the Indian flag is correct, although India has 1,609 flagged ships is shorter. And to the tune of is fine in speech or a feature when you want to stress that a cost is large; in an exam answer, the plain figure is stronger.
From the roundup (Rs 1,472 crore; Rs 700 crore; Rs 48 crore) and the Aravalli editorial (more than 25,000 cases; over 1,100 deaths), which state their figures plainly.
6 · Correct usage
last · latest
final, or most recent?
The UNGA article says India has served eight terms on the Security Council, the latest in 2021-22, and is a candidate for 2028-29. The choice is deliberate. Last could suggest India will never serve again; latest says only that it is the most recent so far, with more to come.
| last | latest | |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford senses | (1) coming after all others: final; (2) most recent; (3) the only one remaining | the most recent or newest |
| Safe use | final things: the last bus, his last speech before he died; time words: last week, last year | the newest in a continuing series: the latest data, the latest round of talks |
| Edition | root | eight terms, the latest in 2021-22 |
The ambiguity. The minister’s last speech can mean her most recent speech or the final one she ever gave. When there will be more (reports, surveys, rounds of talks, Council terms), latest removes the doubt: the latest NFHS round, the latest CAG report.
Last week versus the last week. Last week is the calendar week before this one; the last week or the past week is the seven days up to now. For dates in an answer, name them: on 26 September is clearer than either.
From the UNGA article: eight terms, the latest in 2021-22.
7 · Idioms in answers
a Band-Aid solution
a temporary fix that does not deal with the real problem
The Aravalli author warns that capping legal mining is "a Band-Aid on a broken bone": a small dressing on an injury that needs a surgeon. The image extends a common idiom. A Band-Aid is a brand of small adhesive bandage, and in informal English a Band-Aid solution is one that covers a problem for now without treating it.
Meaning and variants. Wiktionary gives band-aid, in informal Australian, Canadian and American English, as a temporary or makeshift solution to a problem, often made without foresight. British English says a sticking-plaster solution. Plainer words, fit for any answer, are stopgap, which Oxford defines as something used for a short time while looking for something better, and the phrasal verb paper over, to try to hide a problem in a way that is temporary.
| Expression | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| a Band-Aid solution | a temporary fix for a deep problem | informal; essays, with care |
| a sticking-plaster solution | the British equivalent | informal; essays, with care |
| a stopgap (measure) | something used until a better answer is found | fine in GS answers |
| paper over the cracks | hide a problem temporarily | fine in essays |
Use it with a diagnosis. Calling a policy a Band-Aid is only half an argument. Say what the broken bone is. For the Aravallis, it is weak enforcement against illegal quarrying; for drought, it is water management. The idiom earns its place when the next sentence names the real cure.
From the Aravalli editorial, where capping legal mining is "a Band-Aid on a broken bone".
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 · scire (to know)
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which word once meant 'ignorant' or 'foolish'?
- conscious
- omniscient
- prescient
- nice
Answer
nice. Nice comes from Latin nescius, not knowing, through Old French nice, foolish.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
An official must sometimes act according to her ___, even at personal cost.
- conscientious
- conscience
- conscious
- consciousness
Answer
conscience. Conscience is the noun for one’s sense of right and wrong.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its literal sense.
- conscience
- prescient
- omniscient
- science
- knowing beforehand
- knowing with oneself
- knowledge
- all-knowing
Answer
- conscience: knowing with oneself
- prescient: knowing beforehand
- omniscient: all-knowing
- science: knowledge
Each literal sense is built on scire, to know.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word used wrongly.
She was conscience of the risks of dissent
Answer
conscience → conscious. Being aware of something needs the adjective conscious; conscience is a noun.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
A columnist who warned of a crisis years before it happened was:
- nice
- omniscient
- conscientious
- prescient
Answer
prescient. Prescient: knowing or appearing to know about things before they happen (Oxford).
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its sense.
- nescius
- conscious
- prescient
- omniscient
- aware
- knowing everything
- knowing beforehand
- not knowing
Answer
- nescius: not knowing
- conscious: aware
- prescient: knowing beforehand
- omniscient: knowing everything
From ignorance, through awareness and foresight, to knowing all.
Look-alike words · defuse / diffuse
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence is correct?
- Talks between the commanders helped defused the tension.
- Talks between the commanders helped defuse the tension.
- Talks between the commanders helped diffuse the tension.
- Talks between the commanders helped diffusion the tension.
Answer
Talks between the commanders helped defuse the tension.. Tension is made safe, so the verb is defuse.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
When everyone is responsible, responsibility becomes ___ and no one acts.
- diffident
- diffuse
- defused
- defuse
Answer
diffuse. Diffuse, the adjective: spread over a wide area.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its meaning.
- defuse
- diffuse (adjective)
- diffuse (verb)
- diffusion
- the spreading of something
- spread over a wide area
- make a dangerous situation safe
- spread widely in all directions
Answer
- defuse: make a dangerous situation safe
- diffuse (adjective): spread over a wide area
- diffuse (verb): spread widely in all directions
- diffusion: the spreading of something
One word makes safe; the other spreads.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word used wrongly.
The bomb squad diffused the device before noon
Answer
diffused → defused. Removing a bomb’s fuse is to defuse it.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
How is the adjective 'diffuse' in 'diffuse light' pronounced at the end?
- with an s sound
- with a silent e sound
- with a sh sound
- with a z sound
Answer
with an s sound. The adjective ends in an s sound; the verb ends in a z sound.
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Arrange the life of a crisis in order.
- diplomats step in
- the crisis is defused
- tension builds
- normal talks resume
Answer
- tension builds
- diplomats step in
- the crisis is defused
- normal talks resume
Defusing stops the danger; only then can normal business resume.
Word partners · the verbs of a file: note, put up, minute, record, overrule, escalate
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does it mean to 'escalate' a matter in an office?
- To delay it
- To leak it to the press
- To involve a more senior person in dealing with it
- To make it worse deliberately
Answer
To involve a more senior person in dealing with it. Oxford’s second sense of escalate: to involve a more senior person in a problem or complaint.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The Joint Secretary ___ the section officer’s noting and approved the proposal, giving reasons.
- overcame
- overran
- overruled
- overlooked
Answer
overruled. To overrule is to reject an objection from a position of greater power.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each verb to its actor.
- put up a file
- overrule a noting
- minute a remark
- record a dissent
- a senior officer
- a member who disagrees
- the secretary of a meeting
- a junior officer
Answer
- put up a file: a junior officer
- overrule a noting: a senior officer
- minute a remark: the secretary of a meeting
- record a dissent: a member who disagrees
Each verb belongs to a different role in the file’s journey.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that confuses two acts.
She leaked her dissent on the file as the rules allow
Answer
leaked → recorded. Recording a dissent on file is legitimate; leaking is disclosure outside the institution.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which statement best reflects the conscience editorial?
- Overruling a noting is always wrong
- A dissent recorded on file is part of how an institution should work
- Dissent must never be written down
- Escalation is a breach of the oath of secrecy
Answer
A dissent recorded on file is part of how an institution should work. The write-up calls a recorded dissent part of how the institution is meant to work, not a breach of it.
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Arrange the path of a disagreement through the file.
- put the file up to the senior
- the senior overrules with reasons, or accepts
- note the concern on the file
- if a serious issue remains, escalate it
Answer
- note the concern on the file
- put the file up to the senior
- the senior overrules with reasons, or accepts
- if a serious issue remains, escalate it
Noting, submission, decision with reasons, and escalation only if needed.
Today's key term · drought-proofing
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which of these is drought-proofing rather than drought relief?
- Sending water tankers to villages
- Supplying fodder to cattle camps
- Building check dams and recharging aquifers
- Rescheduling this season’s crop loans
Answer
Building check dams and recharging aquifers. Check dams and recharge reduce damage in future droughts; the others help people through this one.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Fifty-four years on, the guarantee exists, but the ___ it was meant to build is incomplete.
- drought relief
- drought-proofing
- drought declaration
- drought-proof
Answer
drought-proofing. The noun for the long-term work is drought-proofing.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each measure to its type.
- water tankers
- watershed development
- fodder camps
- aquifer recharge
- long-term proofing
- relief for livestock
- relief for this season
- drought-proofing
Answer
- water tankers: relief for this season
- watershed development: drought-proofing
- fodder camps: relief for livestock
- aquifer recharge: long-term proofing
Relief meets today’s shortage; proofing reduces tomorrow’s.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that confuses the two ideas.
Tankers and fodder camps drought-proofed the district this summer
Answer
drought-proofed → relieved. Tankers and fodder help this season; they do not make the district resistant to the next drought.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Why does the editorial call the 1972 legacy unfinished?
- The guarantee was abolished
- No drought has occurred since 1972
- The State has no irrigation at all
- The employment guarantee endures, but water management reform has not followed
Answer
The employment guarantee endures, but water management reform has not followed. The column quotes a water expert saying the State is still stuck in a 19th-century irrigation system.
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Arrange a drought response from immediate to long term.
- build watershed and recharge works
- declare the drought
- start relief works and supply water
- change crops and irrigation to suit low rainfall
Answer
- declare the drought
- start relief works and supply water
- build watershed and recharge works
- change crops and irrigation to suit low rainfall
Declaration and relief come first; proofing works and structural change take years.
Cut the padding · padding around numbers: a total of, to the tune of, in the range of
-
Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.
A maintenance shed was constructed at a total cost to the tune of a sum of Rs 700 crore for the purpose of servicing WAG-12 locomotives.
Word limit 9
Model
A Rs 700 crore shed will service WAG-12 locomotives. A total cost to the tune of a sum of became the figure itself, and for the purpose of became a verb.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which is the best plain form of 'upwards of 1,100 deaths'?
- in the range of 1,100 deaths
- a total of upwards of 1,100 deaths
- to the tune of 1,100 deaths
- over 1,100 deaths
Answer
over 1,100 deaths. Upwards of simply means over or more than.
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Rewrite 'in the range of 40 per cent of the diesel' as '___ 40 per cent of the diesel'.
- a total of
- a sum of
- about
- to the tune of
Answer
about. In the range of usually just means about.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that doubles the hedge.
The train ran approximately around 2,000 km in trials
Answer
approximately around → about. Approximately and around both hedge; one is enough.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each padded phrase to its plain form.
- a total of 15 States
- to the tune of Rs 48 crore
- upwards of 25,000
- in the range of 90 per cent
- Rs 48 crore
- 15 States
- about 90 per cent
- more than 25,000
Answer
- a total of 15 States: 15 States
- to the tune of Rs 48 crore: Rs 48 crore
- upwards of 25,000: more than 25,000
- in the range of 90 per cent: about 90 per cent
Each padded phrase has a shorter equivalent.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
When is 'a total of' justified?
- Before every figure in rupees
- Whenever a number exceeds 100
- Never
- When it lets you avoid starting a sentence with digits
Answer
When it lets you avoid starting a sentence with digits. A total of 1,609 ships fly the Indian flag avoids opening with a numeral.
Correct usage · last or latest
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
India will seek another Council term. Which phrase leaves no doubt that 2021-22 was not its final term?
- its latest term, in 2021-22
- its ultimate term, in 2021-22
- its final term, in 2021-22
- its last term, in 2021-22
Answer
its latest term, in 2021-22. Last can mean most recent, so its last term is not wrong, but it can also mean final. Latest removes the doubt.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
According to the ___ survey, stunting has fallen, and another round is planned.
- final
- lastly
- last
- latest
Answer
latest. More rounds are coming, so latest avoids implying it was the final survey.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each phrase to its meaning.
- the last bus
- the latest figures
- last week
- the past week
- the newest figures so far
- the seven days up to today
- the calendar week before this one
- the final bus of the day
Answer
- the last bus: the final bus of the day
- the latest figures: the newest figures so far
- last week: the calendar week before this one
- the past week: the seven days up to today
Last can mean final; latest always means most recent.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence leaves no doubt about which review is meant?
- The minister’s last speech was on water.
- Her last report was delayed.
- The last survey showed a fall.
- The RBI’s latest policy review held rates steady.
Answer
The RBI’s latest policy review held rates steady.. Last can mean most recent or final, so each of the other three leaves a doubt that context may not settle. Latest cannot mean final.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Why can 'the minister’s last speech' be ambiguous?
- It can mean her most recent speech or the final one she ever gave
- Speeches cannot be counted
- Last cannot describe a speech
- It must be last’s
Answer
It can mean her most recent speech or the final one she ever gave. Oxford gives last both the sense final and the sense most recent.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which is the clearest way to date an event in an answer?
- on 26 September 2026
- at the last session
- last week
- at the latest session
Answer
on 26 September 2026. A date is exact. Latest is clear about recency but not the day; last week depends on when it is read; the last session may even mean the final one.
Idioms in answers · a Band-Aid solution
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does 'a Band-Aid solution' mean?
- A temporary fix that does not solve the underlying problem
- A medical policy
- A permanent cure
- A solution agreed by all parties
Answer
A temporary fix that does not solve the underlying problem. Wiktionary: a temporary or makeshift solution to a problem.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Relief tankers are a ___: the real answer is aquifer recharge.
- cornerstone
- milestone
- stopgap
- blueprint
Answer
stopgap. A stopgap is used for a short time while looking for something better.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each expression to its register.
- a stopgap
- a Band-Aid solution
- a sticking-plaster solution
- paper over the cracks
- informal, British
- informal
- fine in GS answers
- fine in essays
Answer
- a stopgap: fine in GS answers
- a Band-Aid solution: informal
- a sticking-plaster solution: informal, British
- paper over the cracks: fine in essays
Plain words for answers; the images for essays, used with care.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence uses the idiom with its diagnosis, as the lesson advises?
- The cap is a Band-Aid.
- The cap is a Band-Aid: the real wound is weak enforcement against illegal quarrying.
- The cap is a Band-Aid, a stopgap and a sticking plaster.
- The cap is a Band-Aid on top of another Band-Aid.
Answer
The cap is a Band-Aid: the real wound is weak enforcement against illegal quarrying.. An idiom earns its place only when the next clause names the real problem. Left bare, or stacked with synonyms, it is decoration.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
In the Aravalli editorial, what is the 'broken bone'?
- Legal mining leases
- Tourism in the hills
- The Supreme Court’s definition
- Weak enforcement against illegal quarrying
Answer
Weak enforcement against illegal quarrying. The author argues illegal mining, poorly enforced against, is the real damage.
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Arrange the sentences to build a sound argument.
- So invest in mapping and joint enforcement.
- The real problem is weak enforcement.
- The cap on legal mining is a stopgap.
- It leaves illegal quarrying untouched.
Answer
- The cap on legal mining is a stopgap.
- It leaves illegal quarrying untouched.
- The real problem is weak enforcement.
- So invest in mapping and joint enforcement.
Name the fix, show what it misses, diagnose, then prescribe.
Reading in the CSAT shape
A passage quoted from A Mountain Cannot Be Saved by a Law That Is Not Enforced: Illegal Mining, Not Legal Leases, Is the Aravallis' Real Enemy, then inference questions on it.
The damage comes overwhelmingly from quarrying that pays no royalty, follows no plan and answers to no one. Targeting legal miners punishes the regulated while rewarding the unregulated.
In a fragile, water-recharging range, even compliant mining adds up: dust, blasting and pit lakes affect aquifers and wildlife across lease lines. Legal leases have often served as cover for extraction far beyond their limits, so a hard cap can be the only rule simple enough to enforce.
Let science decide where mining may happen, through a map and no-go zones, and let enforcement decide whether rules bite.
A restriction on legal activity binds only those who already follow rules; it can push supply to those who do not.
According to the passage, why does targeting legal miners fail to protect the range?
- Legal mining pays too little royalty
- Quarrying stops once leases are cancelled
- Legal miners cause most of the damage
- It penalises those who follow rules while leaving unregulated quarrying untouched
Answer
It penalises those who follow rules while leaving unregulated quarrying untouched. The passage says the damage comes overwhelmingly from quarrying that answers to no one, and that targeting legal miners punishes the regulated while rewarding the unregulated.
Which argument in the passage supports a hard cap on mining?
- Science cannot map the range
- Legal leases have often been used as cover for extraction beyond their limits
- Illegal quarrying pays royalty
- Pit lakes improve aquifers
Answer
Legal leases have often been used as cover for extraction beyond their limits. The second paragraph gives the complication: leases have served as cover for over-extraction, so a hard cap may be the only rule simple enough to enforce.
The statement 'A restriction on legal activity binds only those who already follow rules' rests on which assumption?
- Everyone obeys every law
- Legal suppliers will switch to illegal work
- Demand for the restricted product continues after the restriction
- Illegal suppliers are easy to detect
Answer
Demand for the restricted product continues after the restriction. Supply can shift to rule-breakers only if the demand remains; if demand vanished, the restriction would bind everyone.
Which course of action would the author most likely support?
- Ban all mining everywhere and reduce inspections
- Allow mining wherever leases exist, without assessment
- Map the range scientifically, bar mining in sensitive zones, and enforce the rules strictly
- Leave the matter to market forces
Answer
Map the range scientifically, bar mining in sensitive zones, and enforce the rules strictly. The passage asks science to decide where mining may happen through a map and no-go zones, and enforcement to decide whether rules bite.
Which of the following can be most validly inferred from the passage?
- A complete ban on mining will end illegal quarrying
- Any rule on mining protects the range only if it is enforced
- Legal mining does no harm to the Aravallis
- Mapping no-go zones makes enforcement unnecessary
Answer
Any rule on mining protects the range only if it is enforced. The passage asks science to decide where mining may happen and enforcement to decide whether rules bite. It says compliant mining still adds up, so the second option is contradicted; the third and fourth go beyond anything it claims.
Writing task · Knowing where to mine: argue the Aravalli case in exam English
In no more than 100 words, argue whether all mining in the Aravallis should be banned. Use at least one word from today’s scire family (science, scientific, conscience, conscious, prescient, omniscient) and state any figure plainly, with no "a total of", "to the tune of" or "in the range of".
Companion to Vocab Builder (what a word scores in a GS answer) and Key Terms. Wordcraft is the language itself.
