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
13 words, each quoted in the sentence where it appeared in the 2 October 2026 edition. Meaning first, then the sentence, then where it came from.
A statement saying that you strongly believe something to be true; the act of stating, using or claiming something strongly.
हिंदी: दृढ़ता से किया गया दावा; अधिकार जताना
Naming a feature on an official map is a quiet assertion of administration over it.
From Ladakh: 28 Places Get Standard Names on Survey of India Map · Oxford’s second sense is the one for GS2 and GS3: the assertion of a right or a claim. A State asserts sovereignty by administering, mapping and naming. The verb is assert; an assertive foreign policy is one that states its interests firmly. Do not confuse it with aggression, which implies force.
The top inside surface of a room; the highest limit or amount of something.
हिंदी: अधिकतम सीमा
Whatever is left under the 50 per cent ceiling is the most that BCs can get, and in many States that is well short of the BC share of the population.
From AP High Court Strikes Down 34% BC Quota: 50% Cap, Triple Test · A ceiling is an upper limit set by a rule or a court: the 50 per cent ceiling on reservation comes from Indra Sawhney (1992). A cap means the same; a floor is the lower limit. In fiscal writing, a debt ceiling and a price ceiling work the same way.
(Latin, 'friend of the court') A person who is not a party to a case but assists the court, at its request or with its permission, by offering information or a view on the law (Cornell LII).
हिंदी: न्याय मित्र; अदालत की सहायता करने वाला अधिवक्ता
The senior advocate Gaurav Agrawal assists the court as amicus curiae.
From Unpaid e-Challans: Supreme Court Blocks RC, Transfer and PUC · In Indian public interest litigation the Supreme Court often appoints a senior advocate as amicus to help it monitor a case over years, as in the road safety case since 2012. The plural is amici curiae. An amicus represents neither side; that is the point of the role.
(specialist) A raw material, especially one supplied to a machine or an industrial process.
हिंदी: कच्चा माल (किसी औद्योगिक प्रक्रिया के लिए)
Farmers, cooperatives and gaushalas can earn from collection, aggregation and transport of feedstock.
From GOBARdhan Scheme: Rs 23,731 Crore Plan for Compressed Biogas · For a biogas plant the feedstock is cattle dung, crop residue, press mud or municipal waste; for an ethanol plant it is cane juice, molasses or grain. In an answer on bioenergy, feedstock security (an assured supply) is often the real constraint, more than the plant itself.
(formal) To arrange for people to come together for a formal meeting; to come together for a formal meeting.
हिंदी: (औपचारिक बैठक) बुलाना; बैठक के लिए एकत्र होना
Special Gram Sabhas were convened across the country on 2 October 2026 to launch the People’s Plan Campaign (PPC) 2026-27, titled "Sabki Yojana, Sabka Vikas", the Ministry of Panchayati Raj said.
From Current Affairs Today 2 October 2026: UPSC News Roundup · The trap is Parliament. Article 85 says the President shall summon each House, so in a constitutional answer Parliament is summoned, not convened. The noun is convention, which also means a meeting and, in another sense, an agreed practice (a constitutional convention).
(especially British English) Legal permission to go onto or through another person’s land; a public path through private land; on a road, the right to go before another vehicle.
हिंदी: मार्गाधिकार; दूसरे की ज़मीन से गुज़रने का कानूनी अधिकार
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy, in a report tabled in December 2025, named right-of-way compensation, land acquisition and environmental clearance delays as the main obstacles.
From For New Energy, Remove Old Bottlenecks: GEC Phase III · Hyphenate it before a noun (right-of-way compensation) and leave it open otherwise. For transmission lines the land is not bought: the owner keeps it but is paid for the tower base and the corridor under the wires, which is why disputes over the rate delay projects.
The right to vote in political elections.
हिंदी: मताधिकार
The history is directly examinable in GS1 (Gandhi in South Africa, the franchise question) and the principle in GS2 (adult suffrage, the Election Commission, electoral rolls).
From Gandhi's First Fight Was for the Vote: Adult Franchise · Article 326 makes elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies on the basis of adult suffrage. Franchise means the same right; universal adult suffrage stresses that no property, literacy or sex qualification applies. It has nothing to do with suffering.
(formal or law) The act of officially taking away private property from its owner for use by the government; the act of taking something that belongs to somebody and using it without permission.
हिंदी: (सरकार द्वारा) निजी संपत्ति का अधिग्रहण
A BIT protects investors from one country in the other: against expropriation without compensation, discrimination and unfair treatment, and lets them take disputes to investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), usually international arbitration.
From Model BIT 2016: A Treaty That Is Costing India Billions · Investment treaties distinguish direct expropriation (the State takes the asset) from indirect expropriation (a measure that leaves the title with the investor but destroys its value). Treaties allow expropriation for a public purpose, without discrimination and with compensation. The verb is expropriate.
A way of dealing with or improving an unpleasant or difficult situation; a treatment or medicine; (law) a way of dealing with a problem, using the processes of the law.
हिंदी: उपाय; (कानून में) राहत पाने का कानूनी रास्ता
India’s Model BIT: adopted December 2015, used from 2016; five-year exhaustion of local remedies.
From Model BIT 2016: A Treaty That Is Costing India Billions · To exhaust local remedies is to use a country’s own courts fully before going to an international forum. The same word anchors Part III of the Constitution: Article 32 guarantees the right to move the Supreme Court for the enforcement of fundamental rights, the remedy that makes them real.
If there is a shortfall in something, there is less of it than you need or expect.
हिंदी: कमी; अपेक्षा या आवश्यकता से कम मात्रा
The monthly and regional numbers show IMD’s difficulty in getting the size of shortfalls right, most glaringly in the north-east.
From Season's End: IMD Monsoon Forecast and the Rainfall Deficit · A plain, exact word for any gap between what was expected and what came: a rainfall shortfall, a revenue shortfall, a shortfall in procurement. It is often clearer than deficit, which in economics usually means spending above income.
An official agreement that ends an argument between two people or groups; also a place where people have come to live, and the paying of money owed.
हिंदी: समझौता; विवाद सुलझाने वाला औपचारिक करार
The six-stanza mandate and criminal penalties undo that settlement.
From Two Songs and Their Nationalisms: Vande Mataram Law · Oxford lists the agreement sense first. In political writing a settlement is a compromise that holds a contested question steady, such as the constitutional settlement on language or on the National Song. In the e-challan story the same word means paying off dues: discounted settlements of old challans.
(gig, informal) A job, especially a temporary one; the gig economy is an economic system in which many short periods of work are available rather than permanent jobs.
हिंदी: अस्थायी, काम-आधारित रोज़गार (गिग कार्य)
Without factory jobs, the low-skilled and unskilled either stay on the farm or take up gig work.
From Industry Is Growing, but Isn't Creating Jobs: ASI 2024-25 · Informal in Oxford, but a legal term in India: Section 2(35) of the Code on Social Security, 2020 defines a gig worker as a person who earns from work outside the traditional employer-employee relationship. In a GS answer, gig worker and platform worker are both safe because the Code uses them.
(sometimes disapproving) The system in which a government or an employer protects the people it governs or employs by providing what they need, but does not give them any responsibility or freedom of choice.
हिंदी: संरक्षण के नाम पर स्वतंत्रता सीमित करने की नीति
In GS4, distinguish paternalism (restricting the potential victim) from responsibility (securing the space and punishing the offender).
From Other Than Outrage: Women's Safety in Public Spaces · A GS4 key word. A curfew on a women’s hostel after an assault is paternalism: it protects by limiting the person at risk. The ethical alternative secures the space and holds the offender to account. The adjective is paternalistic.
The seven lessons
One entry of each type, every day: a system, not a word list.
1 · Word roots
cedere · cessum
Latin: to go, to move; also to give way, to yield
Today’s edition keeps using one Latin verb without saying so. The Andhra Pradesh High Court struck down a quota because reservation must not exceed 50 per cent; the Supreme Court told States to apply the e-challan Standard Operating Procedure; under the Forest Rights Act the Gram Sabha starts the process, and community forest rights cover land to which a village had traditional access; and the Buxa deep dive says success needs more tigers over time. All five go back to Latin cedere. The Online Etymology Dictionary gives it two senses that run through the family: to go, and to give way.
| Word | Formed from | Literal sense | From the edition, or from the root |
|---|---|---|---|
| exceed, excess | excedere: ex, out + cedere | go beyond | edition: must not exceed 50 per cent; structural excess capacity |
| procedure, process | procedere: pro, forward + cedere | go forward | edition: the Standard Operating Procedure; the Gram Sabha initiates the process |
| access | accedere: ad, to + cedere | come to, approach | edition: traditional access; access to finance |
| success | succedere: sub, after + cedere | come after, then prosper | edition: success needs more animals |
| concede, concession | concedere | give way, yield | root |
| secede, secession | secedere: se, apart + cedere | go apart, withdraw | root |
| cease, ceasefire | cessare, a frequentative of cedere | leave off, stop | root |
| ancestor | Late Latin antecessor, from antecedere | one who goes before | root |
Go or yield. The "go" words move: you exceed a limit, proceed with a case, gain access. The "yield" words give ground: a side concedes a point, a government makes a concession, a State cedes territory. In an answer, choosing the right half of the family is a matter of meaning, not style.
Exceed or excess. Exceed is the verb (the quota exceeded the ceiling); excess is the noun or adjective (an excess of 4 per cent, excess capacity). Article 32 asks for "appropriate proceedings", another member of the family.
The impostors. Decide looks close but comes from decidere, de + caedere, to cut: to decide is to cut off the other options. Cedar comes from Greek kedros, a tree.
From the AP High Court deep dive (must not exceed 50 per cent), the e-challan deep dive (Standard Operating Procedure), the roundup (the Gram Sabha’s process; traditional access) and the Buxa deep dive (success).
2 · Look-alike words
compulsory · compulsive
required by a rule, or hard to stop
Sanjay Hegde’s column, written up in today’s edition, proposes a national prayer with "no order, no penalty, no compulsory standing", and our write-up sums up his case as "Compelled reverence is not reverence". Both adjectives share a root with compel and compulsion, but they point in different directions: one at a rule, the other at a habit.
| compulsory | compulsive | |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford | that must be done because of a law or a rule | that is difficult to stop or control; (of a person) not able to control their behaviour; so interesting that you cannot stop paying attention |
| The force comes from | outside: a law, a rule, an authority | inside: a habit or an urge |
| Typical phrases | compulsory education, compulsory standing, compulsory licensing, a compulsory subject | compulsive gambling, a compulsive liar, compulsive viewing |
| Today’s edition | no compulsory standing (the two-songs column) | root (not in today’s edition) |
The test. Ask where the pressure comes from. If a rule requires it, it is compulsory. If a person cannot stop, it is compulsive. "Compulsive voting" would describe someone who cannot stop voting, not a legal duty to vote; the duty is compulsory voting.
The family. Compel (formal) is to force somebody to do something. Compulsion has both senses: strong pressure from outside, or a strong inner urge. The opposite of compulsory is voluntary or optional.
From the two-songs editorial: "no order, no penalty, no compulsory standing" and "Compelled reverence is not reverence".
3 · Word partners
translocated · released · monitored · reinforced · reintroduced
what conservationists do when they move animals, in the IUCN’s own terms
The Environment Ministry’s release on Buxa uses this vocabulary exactly: the tigress was translocated from Valmiki, released in Buxa, and will be under post-release monitoring by telemetry and camera traps; further augmentation will follow if justified; the aim is to reintroduce tigers to Buxa. The words are not interchangeable. The IUCN’s Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations (2013) define each one, and an answer that uses them precisely reads as informed.
| Term (IUCN, 2013) | Definition | Buxa or elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| translocation | the human-mediated movement of living organisms from one area, with release in another: the overarching term | T138 translocated from Valmiki to Buxa |
| reinforcement | release into an existing population of the same species; synonyms augmentation, supplementation, re-stocking | the "augmentation" Buxa plans once tigers are established |
| reintroduction | release inside the species' indigenous range from which it has disappeared | Buxa lacked a resident tiger population |
| assisted colonisation | release outside indigenous range, to avoid extinction of the species' populations | a conservation introduction |
| ecological replacement | release outside indigenous range to perform a specific ecological function lost through extinction | a conservation introduction |
Release, then monitor. In the guidelines a translocation involves releasing organisms, and monitoring after release tells managers whether to stop, adapt or add more animals. The Buxa release follows that order: translocated, released, monitored, then augmented only "wherever scientifically justified".
Reintroduce, not introduce. Oxford gives reintroduce as to put a type of animal, bird or plant back into a region where it once lived. Introduce without the prefix is for a place the species did not live.
From the Buxa deep dive and the Environment Ministry’s release of 2 October (PIB 2318110). Terms checked against the IUCN Guidelines (2013), Section 2.
4 · Today's key term
triple test
TRIP-əl TEST · the Supreme Court’s three conditions for backward-class quotas in local bodies
Today’s AP High Court deep dive turns on it: the court set aside a 34 per cent BC quota and told the State to revisit it only after collecting data as required by Vikas Kishanrao Gawali v State of Maharashtra. In that judgment of 4 March 2021, the Supreme Court set out three steps that a State must complete before reserving seats for backward classes in local bodies. The conditions draw on the Constitution Bench ruling in K. Krishna Murthy (2010), which held that backwardness for local-body representation is political, not only social and educational.
| Limb | What the State must do (Gawali) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | set up a dedicated Commission to conduct a contemporaneous, rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of backwardness in local bodies | a general caste or household survey answers a different question |
| 2 | specify the proportion of reservation local body-wise, on the Commission’s recommendations | a uniform statewide figure is "overbroad" |
| 3 | keep reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs taken together within 50 per cent of the seats | the aggregate ceiling |
What fails it. A rigid statewide quota, data from a survey not designed for local-body representation (the AP court refused the State’s unified family survey), or any total above half the seats. Andhra Pradesh’s 34 per cent for BCs breached the third limb once SC and ST seats were added.
What it does not do. It does not stop elections. In Suresh Mahajan (2022) the Supreme Court held that polls cannot wait for the test; until it is met, the seats are filled without the OBC quota.
From the AP High Court deep dive: the ruling of 1 October 2026 and the case-law ladder from Indra Sawhney to Gawali.
5 · Cut the padding
the doubled cause
the reason why ... is because; the reason for ... is due to the fact that
What padding looks like
Today’s edition is full of causes: a quota fell because it broke a ceiling, fines went unpaid because they carried no cost, tigers left Buxa because prey declined. Answers often wrap each cause twice: "The reason why the High Court struck down the quota is because it exceeded the 50 per cent ceiling." Reason and because both announce a cause, so one of them is padding.
Why it costs marks
In a 150-word answer, a doubled cause spends four to eight words on scaffolding in every sentence that explains something, and explanation is most of a Mains answer. It also pushes the actor and the verb, which carry the meaning, away from the start of the sentence.
Fix it in three steps
- Find the cause frame: the reason why, the reason for, is because, is due to the fact that, the reason behind this was.
- Replace it with one word, because, and put the actor and verb first.
- Check that the cause, the effect and any qualifier (partly, mainly) are still there.
Worked example. Start: "The reason why the High Court struck down the quota is because it exceeded the 50 per cent ceiling." (19 words). Find: the reason why ... is because. Replace: "The High Court struck down the quota because it exceeded the 50 per cent ceiling." (15 words). Check: actor, action and cause are all there.
Before and after
| Padded | Plain | Words saved |
|---|---|---|
| The reason why the High Court struck down the quota is because it exceeded the 50 per cent ceiling. (19) | The High Court struck down the quota because it exceeded the 50 per cent ceiling. (15) | 4 |
| The reason for the low recovery of fines is due to the fact that challans carried no cost. (18) | Recovery of fines was low because challans carried no cost. (10) | 8 |
| Tigers vanished from Buxa, and the reason behind this was the decline in prey. (14) | Tigers vanished from Buxa because prey declined. (7) | 7 |
| One of the main reasons why net FDI is low is because of high repatriation. (15) | Net FDI is low partly because of high repatriation. (9) | 6 |
| The reason why women’s safety schemes failed is that CCTV cameras were not monitored. (14) | Women’s safety schemes failed because CCTV cameras were not monitored. (10) | 4 |
Note the fourth row: one of the main reasons becomes partly, not mainly, so the claim is no stronger after the cut than before it.
When not to cut
Keep the reason when the reason itself is your subject: "The reason for the 50 per cent ceiling is that reservation is an exception to equality, not the rule" defines something. Keep it when you list several causes ("Three reasons explain the shortfall"). And the reason ... is that is standard English; it is the reason ... is because that says the same thing twice.
Try it in your answer
Cut this sentence on today’s GOBARdhan story: "The reason why the CBG sector grew slowly is because of uncertain prices and offtake." The model is in the exercises.
From the AP High Court deep dive, the e-challan deep dive, the Buxa deep dive and the Model BIT column: four causes, each written as it might appear in an answer.
6 · Correct usage
emphasise, not emphasise on
the verb takes its object directly; the noun takes on
Verdict: Avoid in exams
What people write
"The editorial emphasises on outcome-based policing." "The court stressed on timely elections." "The scheme emphasises on community participation."
What to write instead
"The editorial emphasises outcome-based policing." "The court stressed the need for timely elections." "The scheme places emphasis on community participation." The Indian Express’s editorial on the Green Energy Corridor uses the noun correctly: "The emphasis on intra-state networks is particularly significant."
Why
Oxford gives emphasize (British English also emphasise) as a transitive verb, "to give special importance to something": you emphasise something, with no preposition. The preposition belongs to the noun: emphasis on, lay emphasis on, place emphasis on. Stress works the same way: Oxford’s verb sense is "to emphasize a fact, an idea, etc.", so you stress a point, but you lay stress on it. "Emphasise on" is common in Indian speech and office English, and an examiner reads it as a slip. The -ise or -ize spelling is a style choice; pick one and stay with it.
A quick test
Verb or noun? If you wrote the verb (emphasise, stress), delete on. If you want on, use the noun: emphasis on, stress on.
In your answer
"The Supreme Court’s order emphasises certainty of collection over higher fines." "The IUCN guidelines place emphasis on monitoring after release."
From The Indian Express editorial on the Green Energy Corridor, which uses the noun correctly ("The emphasis on intra-state networks"), and the way answers on today’s editorials are often written.
7 · Idioms in answers
the bearer of bad news
the person who brings unwelcome information
Today’s Season’s End editorial ends with a charge against the India Meteorological Department: "It should improve its sub-regional forecast systems and not shy from being the bearer of ill-news, if needed." Oxford gives bearer as "a person who brings a message, a letter, etc.", so the bearer of bad news is simply the one who delivers it. The phrase is about a duty: someone has to say it, and it is often a public institution.
The family
| Expression | What it means | Plain equivalent | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| the bearer of bad news | the person who brings unwelcome news | the one who reports a problem | neutral; slightly literary |
| shoot the messenger | to blame the person who gives the news that something bad has happened, instead of the person who is really responsible (Oxford) | blame whoever reports the problem | informal; often in the negative, "don’t shoot the messenger" |
| sugar-coat | to do something that makes an unpleasant situation seem less unpleasant (Oxford) | soften the truth | informal; critical |
Where to use it
| Setting | Use it? | How |
|---|---|---|
| GS answer, introduction | No | Open with the fact: the season ended at 87 per cent of normal against a "below normal" forecast. |
| GS answer, body | With care | Once, after the data: "a statistical agency must be free to be the bearer of bad news". |
| GS answer, conclusion | With care | Only if the body has shown a softened forecast or a withheld figure; otherwise say "report unwelcome findings". |
| Essay | Yes | One or two in the essay; it can frame a section on institutions and truth if the next sentence explains it. |
| Ethics case study | No | State the action plainly: "I would publish the forecast and explain its uncertainty." |
| Interview | Yes | Spoken register: one natural use is fine. |
| Précis and the compulsory English paper | No | None in a précis; in that paper’s essay, as for any essay. |
Model sentences
"The IMD forecast a below-normal season although its models pointed to a deficiency, and the monsoon ended at 87 per cent of normal; a forecaster must be willing to be the bearer of bad news." The same point in plain words for a GS answer: "A forecaster should warn of a deficit when its own models show one."
Don’t confuse
Bear the brunt of something is to receive its main force (Oxford): farmers bear the brunt of a failed monsoon. It is about suffering the blow, not announcing it. And bearer on a cheque or a share means whoever holds it, a different sense.
From The Hindu’s Season’s End editorial: "not shy from being the bearer of ill-news, if needed".
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 · cedere, cessum: to go, to yield
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs taken together must not ___ 50 per cent of the seats in a local body.
- accede
- concede
- exceed
- excess
Answer
exceed. Exceed is the verb for going beyond a limit. Excess is a noun or adjective, accede means to agree or to join, and concede means to admit or give way.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Under the Forest Rights Act, community rights can cover forests to which a village had traditional ___.
- excess
- access
- assess
- success
Answer
access. Access is the right or way of reaching and using something. Assess (to judge) is a different word and excess means too much.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the misspelt word.
States must apply the Standard Operating Proceedure framed by MoRTH.
Answer
Proceedure → Procedure. Procedure has one e after the c: proc-e-dure. The double e belongs to proceed, which is why the slip is so common.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its literal Latin sense.
- exceed
- access
- secede
- concede
- give way
- go beyond
- come to, approach
- go apart
Answer
- exceed: go beyond
- access: come to, approach
- secede: go apart
- concede: give way
Each prefix sends cedere, to go or to yield, in a different direction (Online Etymology Dictionary).
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which of these words does NOT come from Latin cedere?
- concede
- ancestor
- decide
- success
Answer
decide. Decide comes from decidere, from caedere, to cut. Concede, success and ancestor (via antecessor) all go back to cedere.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
In 'the Government conceded the point in Parliament', what did the Government do?
- admitted that it was right
- went beyond what it promised
- asked for a fresh vote
- withdrew from the House
Answer
admitted that it was right. To concede is to give way: here, to admit that the point is true. Going beyond is exceed; withdrawing is secede or recede.
Look-alike words · compulsory / compulsive
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The writer proposes a national prayer with no order, no penalty and no ___ standing.
- complacent
- compulsive
- compulsory
- compelling
Answer
compulsory. Standing required by a rule is compulsory. Compulsive describes a habit a person cannot control, and compelling means persuasive or forceful.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
A ___ gambler finds it very hard to stop, even when he is losing heavily.
- compulsory
- compliant
- compulsive
- complimentary
Answer
compulsive. Compulsive behaviour is difficult to stop or control (Oxford). Compulsory means required by a rule.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that says the wrong thing.
Some countries make voting a legal duty through compulsive voting.
Answer
compulsive → compulsory. A legal duty to vote is compulsory voting. Compulsive voting would describe a person who cannot stop voting.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its meaning.
- compulsory
- compulsive
- compel
- voluntary
- done by choice, not required
- required by a law or a rule
- force somebody to do something
- difficult to stop or control
Answer
- compulsory: required by a law or a rule
- compulsive: difficult to stop or control
- compel: force somebody to do something
- voluntary: done by choice, not required
Oxford’s senses for the pair, the verb they share a root with, and the opposite of compulsory.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which question settles compulsory or compulsive?
- Is the sentence formal or informal in tone?
- Is the writer using British or American English?
- Does the word describe a person or a thing?
- Does the pressure come from a rule or an urge?
Answer
Does the pressure come from a rule or an urge?. A rule makes it compulsory; an inner urge makes it compulsive. Register and nationality do not decide it, and both words can describe actions.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
In 'compelled reverence is not reverence', what does compelled mean?
- freely chosen
- forced by authority
- rarely shown
- deeply heartfelt
Answer
forced by authority. To compel is to force somebody to do something (Oxford). The writer’s point is that respect forced by law is not real respect.
Word partners · the verbs of a conservation translocation: translocated, released, monitored, reinforced, reintroduced
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Adding tigers to a reserve that already has a breeding population is, in IUCN terms, ___.
- reintroduction
- ecological replacement
- assisted colonisation
- reinforcement
Answer
reinforcement. Reinforcement is release into an existing population of the same species. Reintroduction is release where the species had disappeared; the other two are releases outside its indigenous range.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The tigress was ___ from Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar to Buxa in West Bengal.
- translocated
- colonised
- reinforced
- repatriated
Answer
translocated. Translocation is the movement of an organism from one area to another for release. Reinforced describes the population that receives animals; repatriated is used for people or money.
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Arrange the steps in the order the Buxa release describes them.
- prey base and grassland restored
- further augmentation if justified
- post-release monitoring by telemetry
- tigress translocated from Valmiki
- tigress released in Buxa
Answer
- prey base and grassland restored
- tigress translocated from Valmiki
- tigress released in Buxa
- post-release monitoring by telemetry
- further augmentation if justified
The release records eight years of habitat and prey work, then translocation, release and monitoring, with more animals only where monitoring and expert advice justify it.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each IUCN term to its definition.
- translocation
- reinforcement
- reintroduction
- assisted colonisation
- release where the species had disappeared
- release outside range to avoid extinction
- movement and release in another area
- release into an existing population
Answer
- translocation: movement and release in another area
- reinforcement: release into an existing population
- reintroduction: release where the species had disappeared
- assisted colonisation: release outside range to avoid extinction
IUCN Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations (2013), Section 2.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Why is Buxa a reintroduction and not a reinforcement?
- the release was made during Wildlife Week
- Buxa lies outside the tiger’s natural range
- the tigress came from another Indian State
- Buxa had no stable resident tiger population
Answer
Buxa had no stable resident tiger population. Reintroduction is release inside the indigenous range from which the species has disappeared. The source State and the date do not decide it, and Buxa is within the tiger’s range.
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Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that uses the wrong term.
Bringing a species back to a forest where it once lived is called reinforcement.
Answer
reinforcement. → reintroduction.. Putting a species back where it once lived is reintroduction (Oxford; IUCN). Reinforcement adds animals to a population that still exists.
Today's key term · triple test
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Under the triple test, who must study backwardness before a local-body quota is fixed?
- the National Commission for Backward Classes
- the High Court of the State concerned
- a dedicated Commission set up for the purpose
- the State Election Commission at each election
Answer
a dedicated Commission set up for the purpose. The first limb requires a dedicated Commission to conduct a contemporaneous, rigorous empirical inquiry. The State Election Commission runs the polls; it does not fix the quota.
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The third limb caps reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs taken together at ___ per cent of the seats.
- 27
- 50
- 60
- 33
Answer
50. Gawali: the reservation shall not exceed an aggregate of 50 per cent of the total seats. One-third is the women’s quota and 27 per cent the OBC quota in central jobs.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Why did the AP High Court reject the State’s unified family survey as the basis?
- it was conducted by a private agency
- it was older than the 2011 Census
- it was not an inquiry into backwardness in local bodies
- it counted only Scheduled Castes
Answer
it was not an inquiry into backwardness in local bodies. The test asks about political backwardness in local bodies, which a general household survey does not measure. The others are not the court’s reasons.
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Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each case to what it decided.
- K. Krishna Murthy (2010)
- Vikas Kishanrao Gawali (2021)
- Suresh Mahajan (2022)
- Indra Sawhney (1992)
- the 50 per cent ceiling in public jobs
- political backwardness differs from social backwardness
- polls cannot wait for the test
- the mandatory triple test
Answer
- K. Krishna Murthy (2010): political backwardness differs from social backwardness
- Vikas Kishanrao Gawali (2021): the mandatory triple test
- Suresh Mahajan (2022): polls cannot wait for the test
- Indra Sawhney (1992): the 50 per cent ceiling in public jobs
The case-law ladder in today’s deep dive.
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Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that makes the sentence wrong.
Under the triple test, the OBC quota is fixed statewide.
Answer
statewide. → local body-wise.. The second limb requires the proportion to be specified local body by local body, so that it is not overbroad. A single statewide figure fails it.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which statement about the triple test is correct?
- it is written into Article 243D of the Constitution
- it applies only to municipal corporations
- it lets a State exceed 50 per cent with enough data
- it governs OBC seats; SC and ST seats follow population
Answer
it governs OBC seats; SC and ST seats follow population. SC and ST seats are reserved by population under Articles 243D(1) and 243T(1); the triple test governs the enabling backward-class quota. It comes from case law, not the text, and covers panchayats and municipalities.
Cut the padding · the doubled cause: the reason why ... is because
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Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.
Cut the doubled cause in eleven words or fewer.
The reason why the CBG sector grew slowly is because of uncertain prices and offtake.
Word limit 11
Model
The CBG sector grew slowly because of uncertain prices and offtake. The reason why ... is because becomes because. The sector, the slow growth and both causes stay.
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Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.
Cut the doubled cause in twelve words or fewer.
The reason behind the AP High Court’s order to hold polls is due to the fact that terms had ended.
Word limit 12
Model
The AP High Court ordered polls because the terms had ended. The reason behind ... is due to the fact that becomes because, and the noun order becomes the verb ordered. Court, polls and cause stay.
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Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that doubles the cause.
The reason the quota fell is because it broke the ceiling.
Answer
because → that. The reason ... is that is standard; the reason ... is because says the cause twice. Better still, drop the frame: the quota fell because it broke the ceiling.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which is the plainest version?
- Recovery of fines was low because challans carried no cost
- The reason why recovery was low is due to challans costing nothing
- The reason for the low recovery was because challans cost nothing
- Low recovery was due to the fact that challans carried no cost
Answer
Recovery of fines was low because challans carried no cost. Because carries the cause in one word, with the effect first. The others wrap the same cause in a frame.
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Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each padded frame to its plain replacement.
- the reason why X is because Y
- is due to the fact that
- one of the main reasons why X is Y
- the reason behind this was
- because
- X partly because of Y
- X because Y
- because
Answer
- the reason why X is because Y: X because Y
- is due to the fact that: because
- one of the main reasons why X is Y: X partly because of Y
- the reason behind this was: because
One word, or a short phrase, carries each cause without changing the claim.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
When should 'the reason' stay in the sentence?
- When the answer is still under its word limit
- When the sentence begins with a figure
- When the reason itself is what you are defining
- When the cause comes from a court judgment
Answer
When the reason itself is what you are defining. A sentence that defines the reason, or lists several, needs the noun. Room under the limit and the source of the cause do not.
Correct usage · emphasise or emphasise on
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Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the phrase that needs fixing.
The editorial emphasises on outcome-based policing.
Answer
emphasises on → emphasises. Emphasise is transitive: the editorial emphasises outcome-based policing. Only the noun takes on.
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The court laid particular emphasis ___ holding elections on time.
- over
- at
- on
- for
Answer
on. The noun emphasis takes on: lay or place emphasis on something (Oxford).
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence is correct?
- The judges stressed on the need for timely polls
- The judges stressed about the need for timely polls
- The judges stressed the need for timely polls
- The judges stressed upon the need for timely polls
Answer
The judges stressed the need for timely polls. Stress as a verb is transitive (Oxford: to emphasize a fact, an idea). The preposition belongs only to the noun: lay stress on.
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The IUCN guidelines ___ monitoring after every release.
- emphasis on
- emphasise over
- emphasise
- emphasise on
Answer
emphasise. The verb takes its object directly. Emphasis on is the noun phrase and needs a verb before it, such as place emphasis on.
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Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each phrase to its correct use.
- emphasise
- emphasis on
- lay stress on
- stress
- the noun stress after a verb
- a verb with a direct object
- a verb meaning to emphasise
- a noun with its preposition
Answer
- emphasise: a verb with a direct object
- emphasis on: a noun with its preposition
- lay stress on: the noun stress after a verb
- stress: a verb meaning to emphasise
Verbs take the object directly; the nouns take on.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does the quick test ask?
- Is it the verb or the noun?
- Is the object a person or a thing?
- Is the sentence active or passive?
- Is it British or American English?
Answer
Is it the verb or the noun?. The verb takes no preposition; the noun takes on. Spelling (-ise or -ize) is a separate style choice.
Idioms in answers · the bearer of bad news
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does 'the bearer of bad news' mean?
- the person who brings unwelcome news
- the person who hides the bad news
- the person who caused the bad news
- the person who suffers most from bad news
Answer
the person who brings unwelcome news. Oxford gives bearer as a person who brings a message. Suffering the blow is bearing the brunt; causing or hiding the news is something else.
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
When a survey shows rising unemployment, the government should not ___ by blaming the statistics office.
- bear the brunt
- sugar-coat the data
- shoot the messenger
- break the ice
Answer
shoot the messenger. To shoot the messenger is to blame the person who brings the bad news (Oxford). Sugar-coating is softening the truth, which is the opposite of blaming its bearer.
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Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each expression to its meaning.
- the bearer of bad news
- shoot the messenger
- sugar-coat
- bear the brunt of
- blame whoever reports the problem
- make bad news seem better
- receive the main force of something
- the one who brings unwelcome news
Answer
- the bearer of bad news: the one who brings unwelcome news
- shoot the messenger: blame whoever reports the problem
- sugar-coat: make bad news seem better
- bear the brunt of: receive the main force of something
Oxford’s senses for the family and its look-alike.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which placement follows the house style for a GS answer?
- Twice, in the introduction and the conclusion
- In every paragraph, to link the argument
- Once, after the forecast figures it sums up
- In the first sentence, to set the tone
Answer
Once, after the forecast figures it sums up. 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.
Which plain sentence says the same as the editorial’s charge?
- The IMD should warn of a deficit when its models show one
- The IMD should forecast more rain to reassure farmers
- The IMD should leave regional forecasts to the States
- The IMD should stop issuing forecasts before the monsoon
Answer
The IMD should warn of a deficit when its models show one. The editorial asks the IMD to deliver unwelcome forecasts honestly. The others are not its argument.
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Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that does not fit.
Rain-fed farmers will be the bearers of the failed monsoon's worst effects.
Answer
bearers → victims. Farmers suffer the failed monsoon; they do not bring news of it. Victims fits; the idiom for suffering the main force is bear the brunt of.
Reading in the CSAT shape
A passage quoted from Unpaid e-Challans: Supreme Court Blocks RC, Transfer and PUC, then inference questions on it.
A fine that need not be paid deters no one. Electronic detection has multiplied the number of challans, but collection has lagged, and repeat offenders have learnt that unpaid dues carry no cost. Linking dues to services that every vehicle owner eventually needs closes that gap without more roadside stops.
The 2019 amendment raised penalties; this order raises the probability of paying them. Deterrence research consistently finds certainty matters more than the size of the fine.
Camera-based challans can be wrong: misread number plates, cloned plates, uncalibrated devices, or a vehicle sold but not transferred. Blocking services makes quick grievance redressal and the right to contest a challan essential.
Periodic waivers and discounted settlements of old challans teach motorists to wait. Consistent collection is the only way the new system keeps its teeth.
Which of the following can be most validly inferred from the passage?
- Most camera-based challans are issued in error
- Roadside stops collect fines better than service blocks
- Higher fines achieve little if they are seldom collected
- Electronic detection has reduced traffic offences sharply
Answer
Higher fines achieve little if they are seldom collected. The passage says a fine that need not be paid deters no one and that certainty matters more than size. The second is not stated, the third is too extreme (it says challans can be wrong), and the fourth reverses its point that service blocks avoid more roadside stops.
The case for blocking services rests on which assumption?
- Waivers raise the total amount collected
- Every e-challan issued so far has been correct
- Larger fines deter more than certain fines
- Motorists respond to how likely they are to pay
Answer
Motorists respond to how likely they are to pay. Blocking services works only if raising the likelihood of payment changes behaviour, which the passage takes for granted. The second contradicts its point about wrong challans, the third reverses its claim about certainty, and the fourth reverses its point about waivers.
Which of the following best captures the crux of the passage?
- Technology can now replace traffic police on the roads
- Old challans should be settled at a discount to clear dues
- Traffic fines should be raised again to deter offenders
- Certain collection, with fair safeguards, makes fines work
Answer
Certain collection, with fair safeguards, makes fines work. The excerpts move from unpaid fines to certainty of payment, then to grievance redressal and consistent collection. The second is not argued, the third reverses its point, and the fourth is what it criticises.
Which course of action is most consistent with the passage?
- Double the penalty for every traffic offence
- Pair service blocks with a quick way to contest a challan
- Announce a one-time waiver of all old challans
- Stop issuing challans until every device is recalibrated
Answer
Pair service blocks with a quick way to contest a challan. The passage says blocking services makes quick redressal and the right to contest essential. Waivers teach motorists to wait, halting all challans is too extreme, and higher penalties miss its point about certainty.
What is the main message of the passage?
- Enforcement deters when payment is certain and fair
- Owners should avoid roads monitored by cameras
- Electronic enforcement has failed and should be abandoned
- Repeat traffic offenders cannot be made to change
Answer
Enforcement deters when payment is certain and fair. The passage argues for certain collection with safeguards. The second reverses its view, the third goes beyond it, and the fourth misreads its point about cameras.
Writing task · Should India move tigers from crowded reserves to empty ones?
In no more than 100 words, argue for or against translocating tigers from crowded reserves to reserves that have lost them. Use at least one of today’s word partners (translocated, released, monitored, reinforced or reintroduced), and avoid the doubled cause (the reason why ... is because, due to the fact that) and emphasise on.
Companion to Vocab Builder (what a word scores in a GS answer) and Key Terms. Wordcraft is the language itself.
