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
12 words, each quoted in the sentence where it appeared in the 29 September 2026 edition. Meaning first, then the sentence, then where it came from.
The process of giving somebody work or responsibilities that would usually be yours; also a group of people who represent an organization or a country. In law, delegated legislation is rule-making by the executive under powers given by an Act.
हिंदी: प्रत्यायोजन; (विधि में) कानून बनाने की शक्ति कार्यपालिका को सौंपना
Then the legal questions: Article 265, the tax and fee distinction, excessive delegation and Article 14.
From UPI Merchant Discount Rate: Supreme Court Declines a Stay and Asks What the Charge Is · Oxford’s second sense, giving somebody responsibilities that would usually be yours, is exactly what Parliament does when it lets the executive make rules. The courts allow it, but Parliament must lay down the policy and the guidelines; handing over that essential function is excessive delegation (In re Delhi Laws Act, 1951). The UPI petition says the amended Section 10A lets the executive choose which payments stay free without any stated criteria.
Following in order of time or place.
हिंदी: क्रमिक; (अर्थशास्त्र में) पिछली अवधि की तुलना में
An 8 per cent rate on a weak base can hide a sequential decline.
From Industrial Output Grows 8% in August: Reading the New IIP Series (Base 2022-23) · Oxford labels it formal. In data reporting, sequential or month-on-month change compares August with July; year-on-year compares August with last August. August’s IIP rose 8 per cent year on year but fell about 1.8 per cent from July. Read both before you call a trend.
Relating to the group of sea creatures that includes whales; as a noun, an animal of this group, such as a whale, dolphin or porpoise.
हिंदी: सीटेशियन; ह्वेल, डॉल्फ़िन और पॉरपॉइज़ का समूह
India called for science-based conservation of whales and other cetaceans in its opening statement at the 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC-70) in Hobart, Australia (28 September to 2 October 2026), the Environment Ministry said on 28 September.
From Current Affairs Today, September 29, 2026, Complete News Roundup · Oxford Learner’s gives only the adjective (relating to the group that includes whales); the plural noun, cetaceans, is common in science and policy writing. The trap in Prelims: the dugong is not a cetacean but a sea cow, of a different group (Sirenia). India’s Project Dolphin, announced in 2020, covers dolphins and other cetaceans.
The fact of being an independent country and having the rights and powers of a country; also the condition of being one of the states within a country.
हिंदी: राज्य का दर्जा; (अंतरराष्ट्रीय विधि में) स्वतंत्र राष्ट्र होने की स्थिति
The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed a resolution moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on 28 September 2026 demanding the restoration of full statehood.
From Current Affairs Today, September 29, 2026, Complete News Roundup · Oxford gives both senses, and today’s roundup uses both. For J&K, statehood means being a State of the Indian Union rather than a Union Territory, which only a law of Parliament can restore. In the UN declaration on sea-level rise, continued statehood means an island nation remains a sovereign country even if its land is lost. Say which sense you mean.
A collection of historical documents or records of a government, a family, a place or an organization; the place where these records are stored.
हिंदी: अभिलेखागार; ऐतिहासिक अभिलेखों का संग्रह
Nostalgia is an archive, and archives have owners.
From Caste in the Machine: What AI's Nostalgia for the 1980s Leaves Out of the Frame · Oxford also gives the computing sense, a stored copy of data. The op-ed joins the two: an AI model’s training data is an archive, and like any archive it records the people who could afford to be recorded. The adjective is archival (archival research); the verb is to archive.
The part of rainfall or irrigation water that does not soak into the ground or evaporate, but flows off the land.
हिंदी: अपवाह; ज़मीन में न समाकर बह जाने वाला वर्षा-जल
Saturation turns rain into runoff.
From Waves of Rain: Odisha Must Prepare for Repeated Downpours, Not Isolated Anomalies · Wiktionary gives this sense and a second one worth knowing: a runoff is also a second round of an election between the leading candidates. In hydrology, rain either infiltrates the soil or runs off; saturated ground and paved cities push more of it into runoff, which is why back-to-back spells flood towns. Also written run-off.
A person who informs people in authority or the public that the company they work for is doing something wrong or illegal.
हिंदी: व्हिसलब्लोअर; भीतर की गड़बड़ी उजागर करने वाला व्यक्ति
The piece supplies the specific provisions (rights and duties of workers, the Inspector-cum-Facilitator) that most answers on labour reform lack, and an ethics angle on whistle-blowing.
From Safety as a Worker's Legal Right: Does the OSH Code Put the Shop Floor at the Centre? · Oxford spells it with a hyphen; whistleblower, closed up, is common in American writing. India’s Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014 concerns complaints about public servants. The OSH column’s point is that a worker who reports a hazard needs protection from reprisal too, or the right to report goes unused: a GS4 argument on courage and institutional support.
A small group of people who are specially chosen and trained for a particular purpose; a member of such a group.
हिंदी: संवर्ग (सेवा); प्रशिक्षित कार्यकर्ताओं का दल
Graduation is expensive per household and relies on skilled cadres, which limits scale; unconditional cash is simple and dignified; and State schemes often follow electoral calendars, not evidence.
From Cash Is a Safety Net, Not Yet a Springboard: Designing Transfers That Lift the Poorest · Oxford gives the trained-group sense, used here for the field workers who coach households. Indian official English also uses cadre for a service’s posts in a State: an officer is allotted to the Kerala cadre under the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954. Party cadres are trained political workers. Oxford gives KAH-də in British English and KAH-dray in American.
The act of successfully completing a university degree, or the ceremony for it; in development policy (a specialist sense not in Oxford Learner’s), a household’s move from extreme poverty to a sustainable livelihood.
हिंदी: (गरीबी से) बाहर निकलना; स्नातक होना
Graduation beats cash for the poorest.
From Cash Is a Safety Net, Not Yet a Springboard: Designing Transfers That Lift the Poorest · The Graduation Approach, from BRAC in Bangladesh, gives the poorest households an asset, a consumption stipend, training and mentoring for about two years, so that they can 'graduate' off support. The UN uses the same metaphor when a least developed country graduates out of that category.
(Of a court or authority) acting on its own motion, without a formal application from any party.
हिंदी: स्वतः संज्ञान
Mitali Nikore, economist and founder of Nikore Associates, a policy research firm that has audited public spaces and transport in at least 10 cities, writes after the gang-rape in Delhi’s Aastha Kunj park, in which the Supreme Court has registered a suo motu case.
From Women's Safety: Why Audits and Funds Have Not Closed the Gap Between Intention and Policy · Wiktionary marks it as Indian and Pakistani legal usage, the equivalent of sua sponte elsewhere. The Latin motu is the ablative of motus, motion, so write suo motu, not suo moto. Courts take suo motu cognizance, often from a news report or a letter, when no petition has been filed.
A place with a particular type of danger or problem; also a place where fighting is common.
हिंदी: संकट-स्थल; जहाँ कोई समस्या केंद्रित हो
The FAO and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) are matching loss hotspots with climate-resilient technologies, and SIDBI is arranging credit for small and medium enterprises.
From Food Loss and Waste: India Has the Data, Now It Needs the Money and the Plan · Oxford gives several senses; policy writing uses the one about a concentrated problem: food-loss hotspots, disease hotspots, landslide hotspots. In ecology, a biodiversity hotspot is a region rich in endemic species that has lost much of its habitat; India lies in or touches four: the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, and Sundaland (the Nicobar Islands).
A set of numbers or statistics used for measuring something, especially results that show how well a business, school, computer program, etc. is doing.
हिंदी: मापदंड; प्रदर्शन मापने का पैमाना
An income metric would force coherence across schemes that now pull in different directions, and the trade environment makes protection of small farmers urgent.
From Revisiting the Swaminathan Commission: Farm Policy Judged by Farmers' Incomes, Not Tonnes · The NCF op-ed is an argument about the metric: judge farm policy by net income per household, not by tonnes per hectare. The warning attached to any metric is Goodhart’s law, often summarised as: when a measure becomes a target, it stops being a good measure. As an adjective, metric means based on the metric system.
The seven lessons
One entry of each type, every day: a system, not a word list.
1 · Word roots
legere · lectum
Latin: to gather, to choose; later, to read
Several of today’s pieces use words from one Latin verb. The UPI deep dive names the Article 14 test of an intelligible differentia and quotes Article 265, that no tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of law; the defence op-ed argues for selective self-reliance; the roundup is full of elections. All four go back to legere, to gather or choose, which later also meant to read.
| Word | Formed from | Literal sense | From the edition, or from the root |
|---|---|---|---|
| intelligible | intellegere, most likely inter-, between + legere | to choose between, and so to understand | edition: intelligible differentia |
| select, selective | seligere: se-, apart + legere | to pick out and set apart | edition: selective self-reliance |
| elect, election, eligible | eligere: e-, out + legere | to pick out | edition: the Election Commission |
| collect | colligere: com-, together + legere | to gather together | edition: levied or collected (Article 265) |
| diligence | diligere: dis-, apart + legere | to single out, to value | edition: due-diligence duties of platforms |
| neglect, negligence | neglegere: nec, not + legere | not to pick up | root |
| lecture, legible | legere, to read | a reading; that can be read | root |
Intelligible differentia, the exam use. Article 14 forbids unequal treatment, not every classification. Since the early 1950s (State of West Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar, 1952) the Supreme Court has upheld a classification only if it passes two tests: it rests on an intelligible differentia, a difference that can be understood, separating those grouped together from those left out; and that difference has a rational nexus with the object of the law. The UPI case will turn on this: why RuPay debit cards stay free without limit while UPI stays free only up to Rs 2,000.
The impostor. Electricity, electric and electronics look like election but come from Greek ēlektron, amber, through Latin electrum. The IIP deep dive uses electricity a dozen times; none of those words belongs to this family.
Diligence and negligence. The two look opposite and are. Diligence is careful work or great effort (Oxford); negligence is failing to take the care you owe. Due diligence is the care a law expects before acting, which is why the IT Rules describe the duties of platforms that way.
From the UPI deep dive (intelligible differentia; levied or collected), the defence editorial (selective self-reliance) and the roundup (elections; due-diligence duties).
2 · Look-alike words
assent · consent
ə-SENT · kən-SENT
Two stories in today’s edition turn on these words. The UPI deep dive notes that Parliament passed the amending Bill on 10 August, with assent reported a week later; the roundup explains that platforms will need a parent’s verifiable consent before processing a child’s data. Both mean agreement, but the Constitution keeps them apart.
| assent | consent | |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford | (formal) official agreement to or approval of something | permission to do something, especially given by somebody in authority; agreement about something |
| Who gives it | the President or a Governor, to a Bill | a person, a parent, a patient, a State Government |
| Constitution | Article 111: the President "assents to the Bill, or ... withholds assent" | Article 258: the President may entrust functions to a State "with the consent of the Government of a State" |
| Edition | assent to the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 | verifiable parental consent under the DPDP Act |
The test. Is a formal authority approving a Bill or a decision, as the last step before it takes effect? Write assent: a Bill receives assent, and only then becomes an Act. Is someone permitting something that affects them or their rights? Write consent: a data principal, a patient or a State Government consents.
Two look-alikes. Dissent is disagreement; Oxford also gives a judge’s statement of reasons for disagreeing with the other judges, a dissent. Ascent is a climb, and Oxford gives it the same pronunciation as assent: "the President gave his ascent" is a spelling slip examiners notice.
From the UPI deep dive (assent to the amending Bill) and the roundup (verifiable parental consent under the DPDP Act).
3 · Word partners
move · pass · agree to · approve · disapprove
what a House does with a resolution, in the Constitution’s own words
The roundup reports that the J&K Assembly passed a resolution moved by the Chief Minister demanding statehood. The Indian Express added that the Speaker would not take up a motion against himself at once: under the rules, it could come up only 14 days after notice. The Constitution uses a small, exact set of verbs for resolutions. Use them, and a polity answer sounds like the text it cites.
| Stage | Verb and object | Where the Constitution says it | In the edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice | give notice of the intention to move a resolution | Articles 94 and 179: at least fourteen days' notice before a resolution to remove a Speaker is moved | root (the IE report on the J&K Speaker) |
| Moving | move a resolution | Articles 94 and 179 | a resolution moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah |
| Decision | pass a resolution, by the majority the Article sets | Article 94(c): by a majority of all the then members; Article 169: by a majority of the total membership and two-thirds present and voting | the Assembly passed a resolution |
| Second House | agree to a resolution | Article 67(b): passed by the Council of States and agreed to by the House of the People | root |
| Approval | approve a Proclamation by resolution | Article 356(3): approved by resolutions of both Houses | root |
| Disapproval | pass a resolution disapproving | Article 352(7): the Lok Sabha can end an Emergency this way | root |
| Declaration | declare by resolution | Article 249: the Rajya Sabha, two-thirds present and voting | root |
Adopt is right too. Oxford gives adopt as to formally accept a suggestion or policy by voting, so a House adopts a resolution. The Constitution’s own verbs are pass, agree to and approve. Do not write assent here: assent is what the President or a Governor gives to a Bill.
A resolution is not a law. Some resolutions have constitutional force because an Article gives them a role (Articles 249, 252, 312, 352 and 356). A resolution like the J&K Assembly’s on statehood records the House’s view; changing the Union Territory’s status needs a law made by Parliament.
From the roundup: the J&K Assembly passed a resolution moved by the Chief Minister demanding the restoration of full statehood.
4 · Today's key term
void ab initio
VOYD ab i-NISH-ee-oh · void from the beginning
The roundup reports the Supreme Court’s question: how can children as young as 12 to 15 hold social media accounts when an account is a contract, and "a minor’s contract is void from the beginning (void ab initio)". The Latin ab initio means from the beginning. Something void ab initio never had legal effect at all, so there is nothing to cancel.
| Term | Indian Contract Act, 1872 | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| void agreement | Section 2(g) | "An agreement not enforceable by law is said to be void" | an agreement with a minor (Section 11; Mohori Bibee, 1903) |
| voidable contract | Section 2(i) | enforceable at the option of one or more parties, but not of the other or others | consent caused by coercion, fraud or misrepresentation (Section 19) |
| contract that becomes void | Section 2(j) | "A contract which ceases to be enforceable by law becomes void when it ceases to be enforceable" | a contract made impossible by a later event (Section 56) |
The constitutional use. Article 13(2) bars the State from making any law that takes away or abridges fundamental rights, and says such a law is, to the extent of the contravention, void. In Deep Chand v. State of Uttar Pradesh (1959) the Supreme Court held that a post-Constitution law violating fundamental rights is void ab initio, stillborn, so the doctrine of eclipse, which lets a pre-Constitution law revive once the conflict is removed, cannot save it.
What the claim means in this case. The Court made observations, not an order: if a minor cannot contract, terms of service accepted by a 13-year-old bind no one. Hence the push for verifiable parental consent under Section 9 of the DPDP Act, and the Bench’s request for directions under the IT Rules.
From the roundup: the Supreme Court’s observation that a minor’s contract is void from the beginning (void ab initio).
5 · Cut the padding
stacked purpose verbs
aims to ensure, seeks to promote, helps to facilitate
What padding looks like
A purpose verb says what someone intends: aims, seeks, tries. A helping verb softens the action: help, enable, facilitate. Padding is stacking two or three of them in front of the one verb that does the work. A typical answer on today’s labour story reads: "The Code aims to ensure that workers are able to report hazards." The action is report; aims to ensure that ... are able to is scaffolding. The edition writes the plain form: "The Code bars charging workers for safety provisions and requires escalation".
Why it costs marks
In a 150-word answer, every stacked phrase takes the place of a fact. Aims to ensure that ... are able to is seven words that name no provision, no body and no figure. It also blurs the claim: the reader cannot tell whether the Code gives the right or only hopes to.
Fix it in three steps
- Find the verb that carries the action: report, notify, protect.
- Replace the stack with one verb that says who can do what: lets, requires, bars, allows.
- Check the claim: if the thing is only intended, keep one purpose verb (aims to); if the law already does it, state it plainly.
Worked example. Start: "The amendment seeks to ensure that the Government is able to notify which modes remain free." (16 words). Find: the action is notify. Replace: "The amendment lets the Government notify which modes remain free." (10 words). Check: the amended Section 10A does give the Government this power, so no purpose verb is needed.
Before and after
| Padded | Plain | Words saved |
|---|---|---|
| The policy seeks to promote and encourage local sourcing. (9) | The policy promotes local sourcing. (5) | 4 |
| Cash transfers help to enable households to smooth consumption. (9) | Cash transfers help households smooth consumption. (6) | 3 |
| The portal seeks to help facilitate faster settlement of claims. (10) | The portal aims to speed up claim settlement. (8) | 2 |
| The amendment seeks to ensure that the Government is able to notify which modes remain free. (16) | The amendment lets the Government notify which modes remain free. (10) | 6 |
When not to cut
Keep one purpose verb when the goal is not yet achieved: a mission that aims to double farm incomes has not done so, and writing "doubles" would be false. That is why the portal row keeps aims to: it was launched this week, and no one yet knows what it will do to claim times. Keep an official objective in its own words when you quote it. And keep help when others share the credit: cash transfers help households smooth consumption; they do not do it alone.
Try it in your answer
Cut this sentence on today’s IIP story: "The new series seeks to ensure the capture of emerging products in a better manner." The model is in the exercises.
From the OSH Code editorial, which states the plain form (the Code bars charging workers and requires escalation), and the UPI deep dive (the amended Section 10A).
6 · Correct usage
will or would for a scheduled event
what is fixed takes will; would needs an if or a said
Verdict: Correct, but there is a clearer choice
What people write
"The meeting would be held on 1 October." "The portal would be launched next week." "The central team would visit Karnataka from 3 October." Each describes something already scheduled.
What to write instead
"The meeting will be held on 1 October." "The portal will be launched next week." "The central team will visit Karnataka from 3 October." The edition writes it this way about the next IIP release: "The September figure is due on 28 October 2026."
Why
Oxford gives would two main jobs: it is the past form of will, used when you report what someone said, and it is used for the result of an event that you imagine. So a careful reader hears a hidden condition or a hidden speaker in "The meeting would be held on 1 October": would be held if what, or according to whom? Would is not wrong, but for a fixed plan will says it without doubt. The point matters most in dated writing: an event after today’s date is scheduled, so write will or is scheduled to, never a past tense.
A quick test
Ask: is there an if or a said behind it? If yes, would is right: "The Court recorded the Centre’s statement that statehood would be restored." If you are stating a plan or a schedule as fact, write will.
In your answer
"A central team will assess drought in Karnataka from 3 October." "In 2023 the Supreme Court recorded the Centre’s assurance that statehood would be restored."
From the IIP deep dive (the September figure is due on 28 October) and the roundup (the Centre’s statement that statehood would be restored; a central team from 3 October).
7 · Idioms in answers
a safety net
an arrangement that stops disaster if something goes wrong
The cash-transfer write-up’s title puts the whole argument in one line: "Cash Is a Safety Net, Not Yet a Springboard". Its model answer ends by saying that combining transfers with assets, skills and mentoring "can turn welfare from a safety net into a springboard towards dignified livelihoods".
The family
| Expression | What it means | Plain equivalent | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| a safety net | an arrangement that helps to prevent disaster if something goes wrong (Oxford) | protection against hardship | neutral; social safety net is a policy term |
| a springboard | something that helps you start an activity (Oxford) | a start, a launch | neutral |
| a stepping stone | something that allows you to make progress or begin to achieve something (Oxford) | a stage, a first step | neutral |
| a leg-up | an act of helping somebody to improve their situation (Oxford) | help | informal (Oxford): for speech, not written answers |
Where to use it
| Setting | Use it? | How |
|---|---|---|
| GS answer, introduction | No | Open with the fact: what the scheme pays, and to whom. |
| GS answer, body | With care | Once, right after the fact it sums up, such as the amount and reach of a transfer. |
| GS answer, conclusion | With care | "Turn the safety net into a springboard" closes well if the body has shown both halves. |
| Essay | Yes | One or two in the essay; the net-and-springboard contrast can frame a section if the next sentence explains it. |
| Ethics case study | No | State the action and its justification plainly. |
| Interview | Yes | Spoken register: one natural use is fine; never a string of them. |
| Précis and the compulsory English paper | No | None in a précis; in that paper’s essay, as for any essay. |
Model sentences
"Seventeen States now pay monthly sums, often to women; for the poorest, a two-year package of an asset, training and mentoring can turn that safety net into a springboard to a livelihood." The same point in plain words for a GS answer: "Monthly transfers protect poor households against shocks; a two-year package of an asset, training and mentoring helps the poorest build a livelihood."
Don’t confuse
A safety valve is a way of letting out anger or pressure without causing harm (Oxford), not protection against hardship: public protest can be a safety valve; a pension is a safety net. To slip through the net (Oxford also gives fall through the cracks) is what happens when a system meant to find someone misses them. The Indian Express headline on today’s women’s safety column plays on it: safety "falls through the gap between intention and policy".
From the cash-transfer editorial: Cash Is a Safety Net, Not Yet a Springboard.
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 · legere, lectum (to gather, to choose, to read)
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Under Article 14, a law may classify people only if the classification rests on an ___ differentia with a rational nexus to its object.
- intelligent
- ineligible
- intellectual
- intelligible
Answer
intelligible. The test is intelligible differentia: a difference that can be understood. Intellectual and intelligent describe minds, and ineligible means not qualified.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which of these words does NOT come from Latin legere?
- election
- electricity
- collection
- selection
Answer
electricity. Electricity comes from Greek ēlektron, amber, through Latin electrum; the other three are from legere.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that says the opposite of what is meant.
The inquiry found gross diligence in the upkeep of the drains.
Answer
diligence → negligence. Diligence is careful effort; the failure an inquiry finds is negligence, from nec, not, + legere.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its sense.
- select
- elect
- collect
- neglect
- bring together from different places
- choose from a group, usually by a system
- choose by voting
- fail to take care of
Answer
- select: choose from a group, usually by a system
- elect: choose by voting
- collect: bring together from different places
- neglect: fail to take care of
Oxford’s senses; each keeps the old idea of picking or gathering.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What must the State show to defend free RuPay cards with no limit, when UPI is free only up to Rs 2,000?
- any difference, as courts do not review economic policy
- a difference that the executive prefers as policy
- a clear basis for the difference, linked to the law’s aim
- a difference approved by the payments network itself
Answer
a clear basis for the difference, linked to the law’s aim. Both limbs of the Article 14 test: an intelligible differentia and a rational nexus with the object of the law. Preference, approval by a network or judicial deference are not the test.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
India should pursue ___ self-reliance: owning critical technologies and buying the rest.
- selective
- eligible
- elective
- collective
Answer
selective. Selective means chosen with care from among many; elective means chosen by vote or optional, eligible means qualified, and collective means shared by a group.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Intelligible most likely comes from inter- + legere. What does that combination suggest?
- gathering people in one place
- reading aloud to a whole group
- picking out the best candidate
- choosing between, and so understanding
Answer
choosing between, and so understanding. Inter-, between + legere, to choose: to distinguish between things, and so to understand them. Wiktionary gives this as the most likely origin.
Look-alike words · assent / consent
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Under Article 111, the President may give or withhold ___ to a Bill passed by both Houses.
- dissent
- consent
- ascent
- assent
Answer
assent. Article 111 says the President assents to the Bill or withholds assent.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Under the DPDP Act, a platform needs the verifiable ___ of a parent before processing a child’s data.
- assent
- ascent
- consent
- dissent
Answer
consent. Consent is permission given by the person with authority over the matter, here the parent.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the misspelt word.
The Governor gave his ascent to the Bill.
Answer
ascent → assent. Ascent is a climb; the Governor’s formal approval of a Bill is assent (Article 200).
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its meaning.
- assent
- consent
- dissent
- ascent
- disagreement, including a judge’s minority opinion
- formal approval that completes a Bill’s passage
- a climb or rise
- permission given by a person or authority
Answer
- assent: formal approval that completes a Bill’s passage
- consent: permission given by a person or authority
- dissent: disagreement, including a judge’s minority opinion
- ascent: a climb or rise
Oxford’s senses for four words that share the same ending.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Article 258 lets the President entrust Union functions to a State. On what condition?
- with the assent of the State’s Governor
- after a resolution of the Rajya Sabha
- after an order of the Supreme Court
- with the consent of the State Government
Answer
with the consent of the State Government. Article 258(1) reads: with the consent of the Government of a State.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence uses both words correctly?
- The Bill got ascent; patients must give consent.
- The Bill got consent; patients must give assent.
- The Bill got assent; patients must give ascent.
- The Bill got assent; patients must give consent.
Answer
The Bill got assent; patients must give consent.. A Bill receives assent; a patient gives consent to treatment. Ascent is a climb.
Word partners · the verbs of a House resolution: move, pass, agree to, approve, disapprove
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
No resolution to remove a Speaker shall be ___ unless at least fourteen days' notice has been given.
- lodged
- issued
- moved
- signed
Answer
moved. Articles 94 and 179: no resolution for the purpose shall be moved unless at least fourteen days' notice has been given.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which verb does Article 67(b) use for the Lok Sabha’s part in removing the Vice-President?
- endorsed
- assented to
- agreed to
- ratified
Answer
agreed to. Article 67(b): a resolution passed by the Council of States and agreed to by the House of the People.
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Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each Article to its resolution.
- Article 249
- Article 356(3)
- Article 352(7)
- Article 169
- a resolution disapproving the Proclamation
- a resolution to create or abolish a Legislative Council
- declared by resolution, two-thirds present and voting
- approved by resolutions of both Houses
Answer
- Article 249: declared by resolution, two-thirds present and voting
- Article 356(3): approved by resolutions of both Houses
- Article 352(7): a resolution disapproving the Proclamation
- Article 169: a resolution to create or abolish a Legislative Council
Each verb is quoted from the Article’s text.
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Arrange the steps for removing a Speaker by resolution in order.
- a member gives notice of the intention to move it
- at least fourteen days pass
- the House passes it by a majority of all the then members
- the resolution is moved in the House
Answer
- a member gives notice of the intention to move it
- at least fourteen days pass
- the resolution is moved in the House
- the House passes it by a majority of all the then members
Article 179 requires fourteen days' notice before the resolution is moved, and a majority of all the then members to pass it.
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Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the verb the Constitution would not use here.
The Assembly assented a resolution seeking full statehood.
Answer
assented → passed. A House passes (or adopts) a resolution; assent is the President’s or a Governor’s act on a Bill.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What is the legal effect of an Assembly resolution demanding statehood?
- It becomes law unless the President objects in a month
- It binds the Union Government under Article 3 at once
- It records a demand; statehood needs a law of Parliament
- It restores statehood once the Lieutenant Governor signs
Answer
It records a demand; statehood needs a law of Parliament. Changing a State’s or a Union Territory’s status needs a law of Parliament under Articles 3 and 4; the resolution expresses the House’s view.
Today's key term · void ab initio
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does void ab initio mean?
- void only for the weaker party
- valid once both parties ratify it
- valid until a court sets it aside
- void from the beginning, never valid
Answer
void from the beginning, never valid. Ab initio is Latin for from the beginning; a void agreement never had legal effect.
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
A contract induced by fraud is ___: the party deceived may choose to end it.
- void ab initio
- illegal
- voidable
- null
Answer
voidable. Section 19: consent caused by fraud makes the contract voidable at the option of the party deceived.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each term to its meaning under the Contract Act.
- void agreement
- voidable contract
- valid contract
- contract that becomes void
- enforceable at one party’s option
- enforceable by all the parties
- not enforceable by law
- ceases to be enforceable later
Answer
- void agreement: not enforceable by law
- voidable contract: enforceable at one party’s option
- valid contract: enforceable by all the parties
- contract that becomes void: ceases to be enforceable later
Section 2(g), (i) and (j), with a valid contract for contrast.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the phrase that misstates the law.
An agreement with a minor is voidable at the minor's option.
Answer
voidable at the minor's option. → void from the beginning.. Mohori Bibee (1903) held a minor’s agreement void ab initio, not voidable, because Section 11 makes a minor incompetent to contract.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Why does the doctrine of eclipse not save a post-Constitution law that violates fundamental rights?
- It is void ab initio, so nothing exists to revive
- It stays valid until Parliament repeals it
- It is voidable only at the citizen’s option
- It is saved by Article 13(1) instead
Answer
It is void ab initio, so nothing exists to revive. Deep Chand (1959): such a law is stillborn under Article 13(2); eclipse applies to pre-Constitution laws under Article 13(1).
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What did the Bench ask the Centre to use, while hearing the plea on children’s accounts?
- a reference to the Law Commission
- a new amendment to Article 21
- directions under the Intermediary Rules
- an ordinance under Article 123
Answer
directions under the Intermediary Rules. Justice Bagchi asked the government to pass directions under the Intermediary Rules so that platforms conform to the 18-year threshold.
Cut the padding · stacked purpose verbs: aims to ensure, seeks to promote, helps to facilitate
-
Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.
Cut the stack in six words or fewer.
The Code aims to ensure that workers are able to report hazards.
Word limit 6
Model
The Code lets workers report hazards. Report is the action; aims to ensure that ... are able to adds no fact. The Code does give the right, so no purpose verb is needed.
-
Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.
Cut the stack in seven words or fewer.
The new series seeks to ensure the capture of emerging products in a better manner.
Word limit 7
Model
The new series captures emerging products better. Free the verb (captures) and drop seeks to ensure and in a better manner; MoSPI says the new basket does add emerging products.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
The portal was launched this week, and no claims data are in. Which sentence is honest and plain?
- The portal speeds up claim settlement.
- The portal has already cut claim settlement times.
- The portal aims to speed up claim settlement.
- The portal seeks to help facilitate faster settlement of claims.
Answer
The portal aims to speed up claim settlement.. One purpose verb is right because the effect is not yet known; the second and fourth claim results, and the third stacks three verbs.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the padded phrase to replace.
The scheme seeks to ensure the promotion of exports.
Answer
seeks to ensure the promotion of → promotes. Seeks to ensure the promotion of hides the verb promote; the scheme promotes exports.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each padded phrase to its plain form.
- seeks to promote and encourage
- helps to enable households to
- aims to ensure the protection of
- is able to notify
- aims to protect
- helps households
- promotes
- can notify
Answer
- seeks to promote and encourage: promotes
- helps to enable households to: helps households
- aims to ensure the protection of: aims to protect
- is able to notify: can notify
Each stack shrinks to one verb, keeping a single aims to where the goal is not yet met.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
When should a purpose verb stay in the sentence?
- When the verb is in the passive voice
- When the sentence names a ministry
- When the goal has not yet been achieved
- When the answer is under its word limit
Answer
When the goal has not yet been achieved. Aims to marks an intention; dropping it would turn a hope into a claim of success.
Correct usage · will or would for a scheduled event
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
A meeting is fixed for 1 October. Which sentence states it most clearly?
- The meeting would have been held on 1 October.
- The meeting was being held on 1 October.
- The meeting will be held on 1 October.
- The meeting would be held on 1 October.
Answer
The meeting will be held on 1 October.. Will states a fixed plan without doubt; would suggests a condition or a reported speaker; would have been means it did not happen; was being held is past.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Why is would right in 'The Court recorded the Centre’s statement that statehood would be restored'?
- It shows the event is certain to happen
- It reports a statement made in the past
- It marks an order issued by the Court
- It is the polite form of the present tense
Answer
It reports a statement made in the past. After a reporting verb in the past (recorded), would is the past form of will (Oxford).
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Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each sentence to what would or will is doing.
- The ministry said the team would visit.
- If asked, the team would visit.
- The team will visit on 3 October.
- The team would have visited, but for the rain.
- an event that did not happen
- reported speech
- an imagined result
- a scheduled fact
Answer
- The ministry said the team would visit.: reported speech
- If asked, the team would visit.: an imagined result
- The team will visit on 3 October.: a scheduled fact
- The team would have visited, but for the rain.: an event that did not happen
Oxford’s uses of would, set against will for a plan.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
An edition dated 29 September reports a meeting fixed for 1 October. Which verb fits?
- had chaired
- will chair
- chaired
- has chaired
Answer
will chair. The meeting is after the edition date, so it is scheduled: will chair. The other three report it as done.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which is the best quick test for choosing would?
- Is the event more than a week away?
- Is there an 'if' or a 'said' behind it?
- Is the sentence too short without it?
- Is the sentence about the government?
Answer
Is there an 'if' or a 'said' behind it?. Would needs a condition or a reporting verb; distance in time and the subject do not decide it.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence would a reader anywhere take as a fixed plan?
- The team had visited Karnataka on 3 October.
- The team would have visited Karnataka by now.
- The team will visit Karnataka from 3 October.
- The team would visit Karnataka from 3 October.
Answer
The team will visit Karnataka from 3 October.. Only will states the plan plainly; the others add a condition, a counterfactual or a past event.
Idioms in answers · a safety net
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does 'a safety net' mean in social policy?
- a first step towards a better position
- a system that misses those it should find
- a way of releasing public anger harmlessly
- protection against falling into hardship
Answer
protection against falling into hardship. Oxford: an arrangement that helps to prevent disaster if something goes wrong. The others describe a stepping stone, a safety valve and slipping through the net.
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
For the poorest, a graduation package can be a ___ to a sustainable livelihood.
- blind alley
- safety net
- springboard
- safety valve
Answer
springboard. A springboard helps you start something; a safety net catches you, a safety valve releases pressure, and a blind alley leads nowhere.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each expression to its meaning.
- a safety net
- a springboard
- a stepping stone
- a safety valve
- a harmless outlet for pressure
- protection against hardship
- something that helps you start
- a stage on the way to a goal
Answer
- a safety net: protection against hardship
- a springboard: something that helps you start
- a stepping stone: a stage on the way to a goal
- a safety valve: a harmless outlet for pressure
Oxford’s senses for the day’s family and its look-alike.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that breaks the meaning.
Old-age pensions act as a safety valve for the elderly poor.
Answer
valve → net. A pension protects against hardship, which is a safety net; a safety valve lets out pressure.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which placement follows the house style for a GS answer?
- Twice, in the introduction and conclusion
- Once, after stating the transfer amounts
- In every paragraph, to link the ideas
- In the first sentence, to catch attention
Answer
Once, after stating the transfer amounts. At most one idiom in a GS answer, never in the first sentence, and only after the fact it sums up.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What happens when someone 'slips through the net'?
- they move up to a better position
- a system meant to find them misses them
- they escape punishment by a clever trick
- they are rescued just before a disaster
Answer
a system meant to find them misses them. Oxford: an organization or a system fails to find them and deal with them.
Reading in the CSAT shape
A passage quoted from The Paradox of Defence Atmanirbharta: Self-Reliance Is the Costliest Way to Buy a Weapon, then inference questions on it.
Autarky is expensive. Up to 40 per cent of the cost of "Indian" platforms, including the Tejas, naval warships and many tactical missiles, goes to imported materials, components and systems. Developing every element at home would raise costs unacceptably.
The world's best do not try. Leading defence manufacturers keep control of key technologies and buy the rest from established specialists. About 50 to 55 per cent of the world's combat aircraft use ejection seats from Britain's Martin-Baker, including the F-35.
Know what is critical. The Tejas's edge is its manoeuvrability, from an unstable design controlled by a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire flight control system. India developed that software and is extending it to the Tejas Mark 2 and the AMCA.
Interdependence deters. Embargoes can be deterred by making Indian firms important links in the global supply chains of foreign manufacturers, creating mutual vulnerability. And a middle power dependent on imported oil cannot be fully self-sufficient anyway.
Which of the following can be most validly inferred from the passage?
- A platform built in India may still rely heavily on imports
- Foreign ejection seats are more reliable than Indian ones
- Every advanced fighter programme designs its own systems
- India has stopped importing components for its fighter jets
Answer
A platform built in India may still rely heavily on imports. The passage says up to 40 per cent of the cost of 'Indian' platforms goes to imports. The second contradicts it, the third is not stated, and the fourth reverses the point that the world’s best buy from specialists.
The advice to focus self-reliance on what is critical rests on which assumption?
- Developing flight control software costs almost nothing
- Imported components are always cheaper than Indian ones
- Some parts of a platform matter more than others to its edge
- Foreign suppliers will never impose an embargo on India
Answer
Some parts of a platform matter more than others to its edge. Singling out critical technologies only makes sense if some parts give the platform its edge and others do not. The second and fourth are extreme, and the third contradicts the passage’s concern with embargoes.
Which of the following best captures the crux of the passage?
- Martin-Baker dominates the world market for ejection seats
- Own the technologies that matter; buy the rest and build ties
- India should import all its weapons in order to save money
- Only complete self-sufficiency can protect India in war
Answer
Own the technologies that matter; buy the rest and build ties. The four paragraphs move from the cost of autarky to buying from specialists, owning critical technology and using interdependence as a shield. The second and third are extremes the passage rejects; the fourth is a supporting detail.
Which policy would be most consistent with the passage?
- Buy every platform off the shelf from abroad
- Stop exporting defence components to other countries
- Ban all imported parts in Indian defence platforms
- Identify critical systems early and develop those at home
Answer
Identify critical systems early and develop those at home. The passage wants critical technologies mastered at home and the rest sourced from specialists. A ban on imports and buying everything abroad are the two extremes it argues against, and stopping exports would weaken the interdependence it values.
What is the main message of the passage?
- Foreign suppliers cannot be trusted in any case
- Selective self-reliance and interdependence beat autarky
- Oil imports make defence self-reliance pointless
- India must end all defence imports within a decade
Answer
Selective self-reliance and interdependence beat autarky. The author’s case is for choosing what to make at home and using supply-chain ties as a deterrent. The second is not suggested, the third overstates the remark about oil, and the fourth is an extreme the passage does not make.
Writing task · Should merchants pay for large UPI payments?
In no more than 100 words, explain what changes for merchants from 15 October and whether the new charge is fair. Use will for what is scheduled, and no stacked purpose verbs such as aims to ensure, seeks to promote or helps to facilitate.
Companion to Vocab Builder (what a word scores in a GS answer) and Key Terms. Wordcraft is the language itself.
