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
14 words, each quoted in the sentence where it appeared in the 7 October 2026 edition. Meaning first, then the sentence, then where it came from.
Something that temporarily stops an activity or a situation (Oxford).
हिंदी: रुकावट; किसी प्रक्रिया का बीच में रुक जाना
Only 148 districts have achieved interruption of transmission, and that is pending field verification, against a projected 300.
From Break the Chain: Leprosy in India and the 2027 Goal · In leprosy policy, interruption of transmission is a term of art: the National Strategic Plan counts a district as having interrupted transmission when it reports no new indigenous child cases for five consecutive years. It is a stage, not the end of the disease, which is why the editorial adds that the 148 districts are still pending field verification. The verb is interrupt.
A wrong judgement about a situation; a wrong estimate of an amount (Oxford).
हिंदी: ग़लत आकलन; परिस्थिति को ग़लत समझ लेना
Leaders who meet four times in six months, and economic teams who meet every two months, build habits, channels and personal stakes that reduce the risk of miscalculation.
From The China-U.S. Rapprochement: Why There Is No G-2 · In strategic writing, the risk of miscalculation is the danger that one side misreads the other’s intentions and escalates by mistake. Kevin Rudd’s point is that regular meetings lower it even between rivals, which is why the column says rapprochement is not alliance. A miscalculation is an honest error; a deliberate falsehood is today’s other word, disinformation.
The careful examination of your own thoughts, feelings and reasons for behaving in a particular way (Oxford).
हिंदी: आत्मनिरीक्षण; अपने विचारों और तरीक़ों की जाँच
The authors grant the value of this introspection: it forces the question of whether India’s systems can be streamlined.
From Indian Research Can Shape the World: Beyond Catch-Up · Oxford’s sense is personal; the column extends it to a research system examining its own rules, from procurement to clinical-trial approvals. Oxford traces it to Latin introspect-, 'looked into', from introspicere: the spect- of inspect and spectator. In a GS answer, 'a review of its own procedures' is plainer.
False information that is given deliberately (Oxford).
हिंदी: दुष्प्रचार; जानबूझकर फैलाई गई झूठी जानकारी
Influence operations, disinformation and appeals over the heads of governments are now part of conflict.
From Iran War and US Midterms, the New Front: Raja Mohan · The test is intent. Policy writing uses disinformation for falsehood spread on purpose and misinformation for false information passed on whether or not anyone meant to deceive. Oxford dates disinformation to the 1950s, formed on the pattern of Russian dezinformatsiya. Raja Mohan lists it with influence operations as a tool that now reaches voters directly, over the heads of their governments.
The act of charging an important public figure with a serious crime (Oxford).
हिंदी: महाभियोग
But whether that would cost the CEC or ECs their posts is another matter: impeachment is politically fraught, and "the call of the conscience is a far cry".
From Can the ECI Untie Knots of Its Own Making? Lavasa on SIR · The Constitution uses impeachment only for the President (Article 61). A Supreme Court judge, and by Article 324(5) the Chief Election Commissioner, is removed by an address of both Houses passed by a special majority on proved misbehaviour or incapacity; the text calls that removal, though impeachment is the common word for it. Oxford traces impeach to Old French empecher, to impede, from late Latin impedicare, to catch or entangle.
The act of naming things one by one in a list; a list of this sort (Oxford).
हिंदी: गणना; एक-एक करके गिनना
Ladakh is the first to finish population enumeration, not the first to publish results.
From Census 2027: Ladakh First to Finish Population Count · In the Census, enumeration is the count itself, done by enumerators in two phases: houselisting and housing first, population enumeration second. The sentence keeps finishing the count apart from publishing it; provisional figures are expected only in March-April 2027. From Latin enumerare, from e-, out, and numerus, number (Oxford Word Origin).
To do something badly (Oxford).
हिंदी: काम बिगाड़ देना; बुरी तरह अंजाम देना
Every method of execution, however clinical, involves the state deliberately killing a person, and botched attempts show that "humane" is a label, not a fact.
From Christa Pike Case Exposes the Myth of Humane Execution · A botched execution is the standard phrase for one that fails or causes visible suffering, as Tennessee’s attempt on Christa Pike on 30 September did: she survived two doses of pentobarbital. Oxford says the verb first meant to repair, with no suggestion of clumsiness, and that its origin is unknown. In a GS answer, 'a failed execution' is plainer.
A tall tower on a farm used for storing grain; also (Oxford, sense 4) 'a system, process, department, etc. that operates separately or is thought of as separate from others'.
हिंदी: अलग-थलग काम करने वाली इकाई; (मूल अर्थ) अनाज का भंडार
Infrastructure is built in silos but used as a network.
From Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority: What ITLA Will Do · The case for ITLA in eight words: roads, railways, ports and airports are planned by separate ministries but used as one network by every consignment. Working in silos is the problem phrase; breaking down silos is its remedy. Oxford also lists the missile silo. The word came from Spanish, via Latin, from Greek siros, a corn pit.
A person who gives a message to somebody or who delivers messages to people as a job (Oxford).
हिंदी: संदेशवाहक; (खगोल) अंतरिक्ष से सूचना लाने वाला कण या तरंग
The same quality that makes neutrinos honest messengers makes them almost impossible to catch.
From Nobel Prize in Physics 2026: Halzen, IceCube and Neutrinos · Astronomers call light, cosmic rays, neutrinos and gravitational waves messengers, and combining them is multi-messenger astronomy. Neutrinos are honest because they carry no charge and barely interact, so they travel straight from their source; the same property lets almost all of them pass through a detector unseen. From Latin missus, sent, from mittere (Oxford Word Origin). Oxford’s idiom: shoot the messenger.
Used (often before a comparative or superlative adjective) when you are stating an opinion that you believe you could give reasons to support (Oxford).
हिंदी: तर्क के साथ कहा जा सकता है कि; शायद
Census 2027 is that Census, which arguably makes it the most politically consequential count since 1971.
From Census 2027: Ladakh First to Finish Population Count · Arguably is the honest hedge before a superlative: it tells the examiner that the claim is a judgement you can defend, not a fact. The reason follows in the census piece: the 84th Amendment froze the allocation of seats until the first Census taken after 2026, so this count can reopen it. Put the reason in the next sentence; arguably without one is filler.
To discover the facts about something; also (Oxford, sense 2) 'to make something happen in a particular way or be of a particular type'.
हिंदी: निर्धारित करना; तय करना
The fund manager, the investment committee, private co-investment and the terms on which the government’s money is deployed will determine quality and independence.
From SME Growth Fund: Rs 10,000 Crore for Small and Medium Firms · Oxford’s example for sense 2 is 'Rural voters in key states will determine the outcome.' That is the sense here: the governance of the fund will decide what kind of fund it is. Sense 1 is the inquirer’s, finding out the facts. The noun determinant, a factor that decides an outcome, gives the policy phrase social determinants of health.
To make something that has been officially decided start to happen or be used (Oxford).
हिंदी: लागू करना; क्रियान्वित करना
The ECI’s dysfunction reflects "a new way in which many state institutions now operate": officials implement changes "on the fly" through bureaucratic orders, hidden from public view, which become binding in practice once coded into the system.
From Digitising Disenfranchisement: ECINet and the Right to Vote · The false friend of today’s root lesson: implement looks like a plicare word, but Oxford traces it to Latin implere, to fill up (later, to employ), from in- and plere, to fill. The column’s complaint is about the route, not the word: changes implemented by order and code, without notice or rules. The noun meaning a tool is said IM-pli-mənt; the verb ends in a full -ment.
To encourage somebody to behave in a particular way by offering them a reward (Oxford, which spells it incentivize).
हिंदी: प्रोत्साहन देना; इनाम देकर किसी व्यवहार को बढ़ावा देना
The government has acted on this logic before, by spending Rs 1,500 crore in 2024-25 to incentivise low-value merchant payments, on the view that moving cash onto digital networks was worth paying for.
From Why Charging for UPI Changes the Math: MDR's Hidden Cost · The reward here is public money paid so that small UPI payments to merchants stay free to make; the column’s question is whether a charge now undoes what that money bought. Oxford lists the -ize spelling; Indian and British writing, and this edition, use incentivise. Either is correct; keep to one in an answer.
The ability to continue doing something painful or difficult for a long period of time without giving up (Oxford).
हिंदी: सहनशक्ति; (नौसेना) बिना ईंधन भरे समुद्र में टिके रहने की क्षमता
The government says the ships will strengthen the Navy’s reach, endurance and operational effectiveness in the Indian Ocean Region.
From Fleet Support Ship Surya Launched: What It Means for the Navy · Navies use the word for ships: how long or how far a ship can operate before it needs fuel and stores. A fleet support ship extends the endurance of the whole group by refuelling and resupplying it at sea, so warships need not return to port. Oxford traces endure through Old French endurer to Latin indurare, to harden, from durus, hard: the dur- of durable.
The seven lessons
One entry of each type, every day: a system, not a word list.
1 · Word roots
plicare · applicare · implicare
Latin: to fold; to fold towards, fasten to; to fold in (Oxford Word Origin)
Today’s science column measures how fast an idea now travels: "Now, the distance and time from curiosity to application are short." Kevin Rudd’s write-up asks the reader to "examine its implications for India". The write-up of the Christa Pike column sets two faces of the state side by side: "In one place, authorities apply chemicals intended to cause death; in another, doctors employ their expertise to preserve the same life." C. Raja Mohan notes that "Military deployments give him more options if diplomacy fails", and the ECINet write-up says "Automated flags catch duplicate and dead entries that manual checks miss." Every one of those words folds back to one Latin verb, plicare, "to fold". Oxford’s Word Origin notes trace applicable to applicare, "fold, fasten to", and implicate to implicatus, "folded in".
| Word | Formed from | Meaning | From the edition, or from the root |
|---|---|---|---|
| apply, application | applicare, "fold, fasten to": ad- "to" + plicare | application: "the practical use of something, especially a theory, discovery, etc." (Oxford) | edition: "from curiosity to application" (the science column); "authorities apply chemicals" (the Pike write-up) |
| imply, implication | implicare, "fold in": in- + plicare | implication: "a possible effect or result of an action or a decision" (Oxford) | edition: "examine its implications for India" (the Rudd write-up) |
| employ | the same implicare, through French; Oxford’s note on implicate says "compare with employ and imply" | (formal) "to use something such as a skill, method, etc. for a particular purpose" (Oxford) | edition: "doctors employ their expertise" (the Pike write-up) |
| deploy, deployment | French déployer, from Latin displicare and late Latin deplicare, "unfold or explain" | "to move soldiers or weapons into a position where they are ready for military action" (Oxford) | edition: "Military deployments" (Raja Mohan); the parachute "deployed at 15,500 ft" (the roundup) |
| duplicate, duplication | duplicare, from duplic- "twofold": duo "two" + plicare | (verb) "to make an exact copy of something" (Oxford) | edition: "duplicate and dead entries" (the ECINet write-up); "Coverage and duplication" (the Census deep dive) |
| reply, pliable | reply from replicare, re- "back" + plicare; pliable from French plier, "to bend" | to answer; easily bent | root |
Imply folds the meaning in. To imply is to fold a meaning inside the words instead of stating it: Oxford’s first sense is "to suggest that something is true or that you feel or think something, without saying so directly". An implication can be what is folded in, the hint, or what unfolds later, and Oxford lists the second first: "a possible effect or result of an action or a decision". A Mains directive that says "examine its implications for India" asks for effects, not hints.
Deploy unfolds. Here the prefix undoes the fold. Oxford takes deploy through French déployer to Latin displicare and deplicare, "unfold or explain", and adds "compare with display". Troops are unfolded into position, and a parachute opens out when it is deployed at 15,500 ft. Oxford’s second sense, marked formal, is "to use something effectively", as in "to deploy arguments/resources".
Duplicate: folded in two. Duo plus plicare gives a thing folded into two identical layers. The ECINet write-up’s "de-duplication" is the database task of finding the second record of one elector and removing it; the Census deep dive’s "duplication" is the risk that a population counted on different dates is counted twice somewhere.
The false friends. Comply, supply and implement look like members and are not. Oxford traces comply back to Latin complere, "fill up", supply to supplere, and implement to implere, "fill up", later "employ": all three come from plere, "to fill". So the science column’s "freedom from GFR compliance" and the roundup’s "GST outward supplies" belong to another family, and implement, in today’s glossary, fills rather than folds.
From the science column ("from curiosity to application"), the Rudd write-up ("examine its implications for India"), the Pike write-up (apply, employ), Raja Mohan’s column ("Military deployments"), the ECINet write-up ("duplicate and dead entries"), the roundup ("deployed at 15,500 ft") and the Census deep dive ("Coverage and duplication"), checked against Oxford’s Word Origin notes.
2 · Look-alike words
elusive · illusory
difficult to find, define or achieve; not real, although seeming to be (Oxford)
Today’s Nobel deep dive says of the neutrino: "The particle was so elusive that it was first caught only in 1956, by Clyde Cowan and Frederick Reines, using a nuclear reactor as a powerful source." The West Asia write-up sets the Mains question "Three years after the 7 October 2023 attack, a durable peace in Gaza remains elusive." The leprosy write-up uses the noun of the other word: after 2005, "The result was a statistical illusion: prevalence fell while transmission continued." The two adjectives sound alike, and both describe something you cannot get hold of. But one says the thing is real and hard to reach; the other says it is not there, or not as it seems.
| elusive | illusory | |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford | "difficult to find, define or achieve" | "not real, although seeming to be" |
| Oxford’s example | "Eric, as elusive as ever, was nowhere to be found." | "an illusory sense of freedom" |
| Is the thing real? | yes: it exists, or can be achieved, but is hard to catch | no, or not in the way it seems |
| Origin (Oxford) | Latin eludere: e- plus ludere, "to play" (early 18th century) | Latin illudere, "to mock" (late 16th century) |
| The family | elude: "to manage to avoid or escape from somebody/something, especially in a clever way" (Oxford) | illusion: "something that seems to exist but in fact does not, or seems to be something that it is not" (Oxford) |
| In the edition | the neutrino; peace in Gaza | the fall in leprosy prevalence after 2005 ("a statistical illusion") |
Elusive: real, but out of reach. The neutrino existed all along; it was only hard to catch, which is why Pauli’s proposal of 1930 waited until 1956 for a detection. A durable peace in Gaza is possible but has not been achieved. Write elusive when the thing is real or attainable and the difficulty lies in reaching it: an elusive consensus, an elusive target.
Illusory: it only seemed so. The leprosy editorial’s point is that the fall in prevalence after 2005 owed much to how cases were counted: shorter treatment meant patients stayed on the register for less time, while transmission went on. The gain was illusory, not elusive: the figure was reached, but it did not mean what it seemed to mean.
A memory aid from the shared root. Both words go back to Latin ludere, "to play". The elusive thing plays away from you and escapes; the illusory thing plays with you and mocks you. One you have not caught yet; the other you only think you have.
In an answer. "Elusive" admits that the goal is still worth chasing; "illusory" says the goal, or the progress, was never what it looked like. Calling peace "illusory" is a much stronger claim than calling it "elusive", so choose the word you can defend.
From the Nobel deep dive ("The particle was so elusive"), the West Asia write-up ("a durable peace in Gaza remains elusive") and the leprosy write-up ("a statistical illusion"), checked against Oxford Learner’s.
3 · Word partners
keel laid · launched · delivered · commissioned
the milestones in a warship’s life, from the first frame on the slipway to service in the fleet
Today’s fleet support ship deep dive reports a day of milestones at Hindustan Shipyard, Visakhapatnam. The Raksha Mantri "launched FSS-1 'Surya'", the yard marked the "Keel laying of FSS-5", and he summed it up: "The launch of FSS1 is a symbol of achievement, keel laying of FSS5 is a symbol of resolve and the new Slipway is a symbol of our growing capability." Each verb names a fixed stage, and naval reporting uses them in a fixed order. Saying a ship was "commissioned" on the day it was launched is an easy slip in a defence answer.
| Step | The verb | The source’s wording |
|---|---|---|
| the backbone is set on the slipway | the keel is laid; the ship is laid down; a keel-laying | Oxford, keel: "the long piece of wood or steel along the bottom of a ship, on which the frame is built"; the deep dive: "Keel laying of FSS-5 | The fifth and last ship of the class" |
| the hull enters the water for the first time | the ship is launched, and named | Oxford, launch: "to put a ship or boat into the water, especially one that has just been built"; the deep dive: FSS-1 "Named 'Surya' ... entered the Bay of Bengal" |
| equipment goes in; the ship is tested | the ship is fitted out and runs sea trials | general naval usage; not in today’s edition |
| the builder hands the ship over | the ship is delivered to the Navy | our 4 May 2026 deep dive: the frigate Mahendragiri "was delivered to the Indian Navy (April 30, 2026) at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd" |
| the ship enters service | the ship is commissioned; the naval ensign is hoisted and it takes the prefix INS | Indian naval usage; Oxford Learner’s gives the verb only for officers: "to choose somebody as an officer in one of the armed forces" |
Launched is not commissioned. A launch puts an unfinished hull into the water. Surya now floats, but it will be fitted out and tried at sea before Hindustan Shipyard delivers it, and only at commissioning does it join the fleet. "The Navy commissioned FSS-1 Surya on 6 October" is wrong: on that day the ship was launched.
Laid, never lain. The keel is laid, the past participle of lay, so the event is a keel-laying and the ship "was laid down". Lain belongs to lie and has no place here. The same verb gives the first entry in any ship’s record: laid down, launched, commissioned.
Delivered has two senses in one deep dive. A builder delivers a ship to the Navy, as Mazagon Dock did with Mahendragiri. A fleet support ship delivers fuel and stores: the deep dive says a navy far from home needs "fuel, water, food, ammunition and spares delivered at sea". And the same day "HAL’s Koraput Division delivered its 2,000th aero-engine", the handover sense again.
History in the same verbs. The deep dive recalls that "the first ship built in independent India, 'Jala Usha', was launched at Visakhapatnam in 1948". Jala Usha was a merchant ship, so it was launched and delivered to its owners but never commissioned: commissioning is for ships that enter naval service.
From the fleet support ship deep dive ("launched FSS-1 'Surya'", "Keel laying of FSS-5", the Raksha Mantri’s three symbols, "delivered at sea", Jala Usha) and the 4 May 2026 Mahendragiri deep dive (delivered), with Oxford’s definitions of keel, launch and commission.
4 · Today's key term
infructuous
in-FRUK-choo-əs · of a case or a petition: no longer able to serve any purpose, because the dispute behind it has gone
Today’s roundup reports that a seven-judge Constitution Bench "disposed of the long-pending reference on legislative privilege and free speech as infructuous, in under half an hour." Its Facts Corner gives the working definition: "A matter becomes infructuous when the cause of action no longer exists, so a decision would serve no purpose." The word is built from in- (not) and fructuous, a rare word for fruitful, from Latin fructuosus. Wiktionary labels infructuous "obsolete or Pakistan, India", with the sense "not fruitful": it has dropped out of general English but lives on in the courts of South Asia, where "dismissed as infructuous" is a common order.
| Term | What it means | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| infructuous | a matter that can no longer serve any purpose, so the court closes it without deciding it | the roundup: "disposed of ... as infructuous" |
| cause of action | the facts that give a party the right to go to court; here, the 2003 resolution | the roundup’s Facts Corner |
| reference | a question of law sent to a larger Bench for an answer | the roundup: "the long-pending reference" |
| left open | not decided, so that a future case may take the question up | the roundup: "left the larger questions of law open" |
| disposed of | closed by the court; the phrase says nothing about who won | the roundup, of the reference |
Why it applied here. In 2003 the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution to arrest editors of The Hindu over an editorial criticising the then Chief Minister, treating it as a breach of privilege of the House under Article 194. On 5 October, senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, for the Assembly, told the Court that the resolution had been withdrawn in 2004. With no resolution, there was nothing left to decide: the Bench declined a "prolonged academic exercise" and left the larger questions of law open for an appropriate future case.
Not a ruling on the merits. A matter closed as infructuous is closed without a decision on the question it raised. The Court did not rule on privilege versus free speech, so whether a legislature’s uncodified power to punish for breach of privilege must yield to Article 19(1)(a) is still unsettled. An answer that says "the Supreme Court upheld press freedom against legislative privilege" would be wrong.
In an answer. Use the word for a case, petition or reference that events have overtaken: an order withdrawn, a law repealed, a date that has passed. Give the reason with it ("as the resolution had been withdrawn in 2004") and say what stays open.
From the roundup ("disposed of the long-pending reference on legislative privilege and free speech as infructuous", "A matter becomes infructuous when the cause of action no longer exists"), with Wiktionary’s entries for infructuous and fructuous.
5 · Cut the padding
the padded time phrase
in the month of, in the year, at this point in time, during the course of: a wrapper round a date that names what the date already is
What padding looks like
A date or a period needs a preposition and nothing more: in October 2026, in 2011, from 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027. The padded version wraps the date in words that only say what kind of time it is: "in the month of October", "in the year 2011". October is a month and 2011 is a year, so the reader learns nothing from the wrapper. The same goes for at this point in time (four words for now, which the tense often already says), during the course of (for during or in) and on a yearly basis (for a year).
Why it costs marks
A current affairs answer is full of dates: when a scheme was approved, when a count ran, when an officer takes over. Each wrapper costs two to four words, and four of them in a 150-word answer cost about ten words, room for one more fact. They also push the date, the part the examiner is looking for, further from the verb.
Fix it in three steps
- Find a time word (month, year, time, course, basis, period) wrapped round a date or a period.
- Delete the wrapper, keeping the preposition the date needs: in, from ... to, during.
- Check that the date and the tense still read correctly, and that nothing else has gone.
Worked example. Start: "In the year 2027, the Census will count the population of most of the country in the month of February." (20 words). Find: in the year and in the month of. Delete: "The Census will count the population of most of the country in February 2027." (14 words). Check: the month and year now sit together, and will count keeps the future. Six words saved, no fact lost.
Before and after
| Padded | Plain | Words saved |
|---|---|---|
| The Cabinet approved the SME Growth Fund in the month of October 2026. (13) | The Cabinet approved the SME Growth Fund in October 2026. (10) | 3 |
| IceCube reached its full size in the year 2011. (9) | IceCube reached its full size in 2011. (7) | 2 |
| At this point in time, only 148 districts have achieved interruption of transmission. (13) | Only 148 districts have achieved interruption of transmission. (8) | 5 |
| During the course of September, enumerators covered 5,292 enumeration blocks in the snow-bound areas. (14) | In September, enumerators covered 5,292 enumeration blocks in the snow-bound areas. (11) | 3 |
| HAL is raising AL-31FP output from 30 to 50 engines on a yearly basis. (14) | HAL is raising AL-31FP output from 30 to 50 engines a year. (12) | 2 |
The edition itself writes the plain form: the HAL table has "Raised from 30 to 50 engines a year", and the Nobel deep dive "full size in 2011".
When not to cut
Keep the time word when it tells the reader something the number does not. The financial year 2025-26 says which kind of year is meant, and a financial year and a calendar year are different periods. In the month of Kartik helps a reader who may not know that Kartik is a month. And keep at the time when it marks a contrast between then and now: the Court made the reference in August, and at the time it did not know the resolution had been withdrawn.
Try it in your answer
Cut the padded time phrase from this sentence on today’s census deep dive: "The poll-bound States will count their population during the course of the period from 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027." The model is in the exercises.
Typical answer sentences on the day’s topics: the SME fund deep dive, the Nobel deep dive ("full size in 2011"), the leprosy write-up (148 districts), the census deep dive (5,292 enumeration blocks; 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027), the defence deep dive ("30 to 50 engines a year") and the roundup (the next Chief of the Air Staff).
6 · Correct usage
between ... and, from ... to
a range opened with between closes with and; one opened with from closes with to
Verdict: Error
What people write
"Population enumeration in the poll-bound States will run between 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027." "IceCube’s sensors sit from 1,450-2,450 metres below the surface."
What to write instead
Today’s census deep dive has it right: the count is "to run from 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027". So does the Nobel deep dive: the sensors are "placed between 1,450 and 2,450 metres below the surface". In a table, a heading or a Facts Corner the bare range is fine, and the edition uses it there: "at 1,450-2,450 m depth".
Why
Each opener has a partner. Between names two points and joins them with and, as it does for two countries or two people: between India and China. From names a starting point and needs to, till or until for the end. "Between 16 November to 4 January" leaves between without its partner.
The dash stands for to. In "2023-27" the hyphen (printed books use an en dash) is read as to. Put from in front of it and the opener’s partner is a punctuation mark; put between in front of it and the pairs are mixed. The Chicago Manual of Style (6.78) advises against the dash after from or between: after from, write to, through or until; after between, write and.
Choose the form for the setting. Words in prose: "from 2023 to 2027". The bare range in tables, headings, titles and Facts Corners: the leprosy write-up names the National Strategic Plan and Roadmap for Leprosy 2023-27, a title, in exactly that form.
A quick test
Read the range aloud with its opener. If you say between, the next linking word must be and; if you say from, it must be to. If you hear yourself say "from 2023 dash 27", replace the dash with to and write both years in full.
In your answer
"Population enumeration in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa will run from 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027, ahead of their Assembly elections." "IceCube’s 5,160 sensors sit between 1,450 and 2,450 metres below the surface of the Antarctic ice."
From the census deep dive ("to run from 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027"), the Nobel deep dive ("placed between 1,450 and 2,450 metres below the surface"; "at 1,450-2,450 m depth" in its Facts Corner) and the leprosy write-up (Roadmap 2023-27), with the Chicago Manual of Style, 6.78.
7 · Idioms in answers
in tandem
in TAN-dəm · working together, or happening at the same time (Oxford Learner’s)
Today’s leprosy write-up reports the editorial’s argument about children: "Because child cases reveal recent transmission, the editorial says the child-focused and adult-focused efforts must move in tandem." Oxford Learner’s explains the idiom: "if somebody/something works or happens in tandem with somebody/something else, they work together or happen at the same time", with the example "The two systems are designed to work in tandem." A picture helps: Oxford’s first sense of tandem is "a bicycle for two riders, one behind the other", two people pedalling one machine at one pace.
The family
| Expression | What it means | Plain equivalent | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| in tandem | working together or happening at the same time | together; at the same time | neutral; safe in GS answers |
| go hand in hand | of two things: closely related, with one causing the other | are linked | neutral |
| in step / out of step | having ideas that are the same as, or different from, other people’s | in agreement / at odds | neutral |
| in lockstep | happening at the same time or changing at the same rate | moving exactly together | neutral; good for two trends |
| at cross purposes | not understanding each other because each is aiming at something different, without realising it | talking past each other | neutral; useful in case studies |
| hand in glove | working closely with somebody, especially in a secret or illegal way | colluding | critical: it implies wrongdoing |
Where to use it
| Setting | Use it? | How |
|---|---|---|
| GS answer, introduction | No | Open with the fact: in 2025-26, leprosy incidence overshot projections by 41 per cent. |
| GS answer, body | Yes | Name the two efforts and say why they must move together: child screening and adult contact tracing, because child cases reveal recent transmission. |
| GS answer, conclusion | With care | Only in a way-forward line that names both arms, such as surveillance and treatment. |
| Essay | Yes | A natural phrase for coordination between institutions, levels of government or policies. |
| Ethics case study | Yes | For offices that must act together: "the district health officer and the panchayat must act in tandem on contact screening". |
| Interview | Yes | Spoken register; useful in a reply on Centre-State coordination, with one example ready. |
| Précis and the compulsory English paper | With care | In a précis, keep it only if the passage turns on coordination; in that paper’s essay, as for any essay. |
Model sentences
"Because child cases reveal recent transmission, screening for children and contact tracing among adults must run in tandem." On today’s logistics story: "Infrastructure is built in silos but used as a network, so the planning of roads, railways, ports and waterways has to move in tandem." And the family’s precise member, for the leprosy write-up’s point about the years after 2005: "After 2005, prevalence and transmission stopped moving in lockstep: prevalence fell while transmission continued."
Don’t confuse
In tandem is neutral; hand in glove is not. Oxford gives hand in glove as "working closely with somebody, especially in a secret and/or illegal way": write that the Centre and the States worked in tandem on screening, never hand in glove, unless you mean collusion. Nor is in tandem the same as go hand in hand. Two efforts move in tandem because people coordinate them; two conditions go hand in hand because one leads to the other, as in Oxford’s example "Poverty and poor health often go hand in hand."
From the leprosy write-up ("the child-focused and adult-focused efforts must move in tandem"; "prevalence fell while transmission continued") and the ITLA deep dive ("Infrastructure is built in silos but used as a network."), with Oxford Learner’s for each idiom.
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 · plicare: to fold
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The science column says the distance and time from curiosity to ___ are now short.
- application
- duplication
- implication
- complication
Answer
application. Application is "the practical use of something, especially a theory, discovery, etc." (Oxford): the column’s point is that discovery now turns into use within a few years. The other three share the root but not the sense.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
A Mains directive that says "examine its ___ for India" asks for possible effects.
- complications
- applications
- implications
- deployments
Answer
implications. Oxford’s first sense of implication is "a possible effect or result of an action or a decision". Applications are uses, deployments are movements of troops or resources, and complications are difficulties.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that says the wrong thing.
The parachute was duplicated at 15,500 ft.
Answer
duplicated → deployed. A parachute is deployed, unfolded into use, as the roundup has it. Duplicated means copied, which makes no sense here.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its meaning.
- application
- implication
- deployment
- duplicate
- moving troops into position
- an exact copy
- a possible effect or result
- the practical use of something
Answer
- application: the practical use of something
- implication: a possible effect or result
- deployment: moving troops into position
- duplicate: an exact copy
All four meanings are Oxford Learner’s; all four words fold back to plicare.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
In "doctors employ their expertise", what does employ mean?
- give somebody a job for payment
- use something for a purpose
- move troops into position
- fold a meaning inside words
Answer
use something for a purpose. Oxford’s second sense, marked formal: "to use something such as a skill, method, etc. for a particular purpose". The first sense, to give somebody a paid job, does not fit expertise; the other two describe deploy and imply.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which word does NOT come from Latin plicare, 'to fold'?
- duplicate
- deploy
- comply
- employ
Answer
comply. Oxford traces comply back to Latin complere, "fill up", from plere, "to fill". Employ comes through French from implicare, deploy from displicare, and duplicate from duo plus plicare.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does the prefix in deploy do to the Latin fold?
- It fastens it: deploy is to fold towards
- It undoes it: deploy is to unfold
- It hides it: deploy is to fold in
- It doubles it: deploy is to fold twice
Answer
It undoes it: deploy is to unfold. Oxford takes deploy to displicare and deplicare, "unfold or explain", with dis- and de- meaning "un-". Folding twice is duplicate, folding towards is apply, and folding in is imply.
Look-alike words · elusive / illusory
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The neutrino was so ___ that it was first caught only in 1956.
- evasive
- exclusive
- illusory
- elusive
Answer
elusive. Elusive: difficult to find or catch, though real. Illusory would say there was no particle to catch; evasive describes a person who avoids answering; exclusive means restricted.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Shorter treatment cut the time patients stayed on the register, so part of the fall in prevalence was ___.
- elusive
- illusory
- eluded
- evasive
Answer
illusory. The fall seemed real but partly reflected the counting, not the disease: not real in the way it seemed, which is illusory (Oxford).
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that says more than the write-up means.
A durable peace in Gaza remains illusory three years on.
Answer
illusory → elusive. The write-up’s point is that peace has not been achieved, not that it is unreal. Elusive keeps the goal real but out of reach.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its meaning.
- elusive
- illusory
- elude
- illusion
- to escape, especially in a clever way
- a false idea or belief
- not real, although seeming to be
- difficult to find, define or achieve
Answer
- elusive: difficult to find, define or achieve
- illusory: not real, although seeming to be
- elude: to escape, especially in a clever way
- illusion: a false idea or belief
All four are Oxford Learner’s senses; the first pair share the root ludere, to play.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence uses illusory correctly?
- The suspect proved illusory and escaped the police for weeks
- A Gaza consensus remains illusory but is still within reach
- The fall was illusory: the counting changed, not the disease
- The neutrino was illusory until a reactor gave a strong source
Answer
The fall was illusory: the counting changed, not the disease. Illusory fits a gain that only seemed real. The neutrino was real but hard to catch, a consensus within reach is elusive, and a suspect who escapes is elusive too.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which Latin verb lies behind both elusive and illusory?
- lucere, 'to shine'
- luere, 'to wash'
- legere, 'to read'
- ludere, 'to play'
Answer
ludere, 'to play'. Oxford takes elusive to eludere (e- plus ludere) and illusory to illudere, both built on ludere, to play. The others are distractors.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Why is elusive the right word for the neutrino?
- It was found, lost and found again
- It was real but hard to detect
- It existed in theory, never in fact
- It fooled physicists into seeing it
Answer
It was real but hard to detect. Pauli proposed it in 1930 and Cowan and Reines caught it in 1956: a real particle that was hard to catch. The other options describe an illusion or invent a history.
Word partners · the verbs of a warship: keel laid, launched, delivered, commissioned
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Put a warship’s milestones in order.
- the keel is laid
- the ship is fitted out and tried at sea
- the ship is launched
- the builder delivers the ship to the Navy
- the ship is commissioned
Answer
- the keel is laid
- the ship is launched
- the ship is fitted out and tried at sea
- the builder delivers the ship to the Navy
- the ship is commissioned
Keel first, then the hull goes into the water, then equipment and trials, then handover, and only then service in the fleet.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
On 6 October the Raksha Mantri ___ FSS-1 'Surya' at Hindustan Shipyard.
- laid
- commissioned
- launched
- delivered
Answer
launched. Surya was launched: the hull entered the Bay of Bengal and was named. It has not yet been delivered or commissioned, and a keel is laid, not a whole ship.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the verb that gets the stage wrong.
The Navy commissioned FSS-1 Surya at Visakhapatnam on 6 October.
Answer
commissioned → launched. On 6 October the ship was launched. Commissioning comes after fitting out, trials and delivery.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each milestone to what happens.
- keel-laying
- launch
- delivery
- commissioning
- the hull first enters the water
- the backbone is set on the slipway
- the ship joins the fleet
- the builder hands the ship over
Answer
- keel-laying: the backbone is set on the slipway
- launch: the hull first enters the water
- delivery: the builder hands the ship over
- commissioning: the ship joins the fleet
The four milestones in order; Oxford defines keel and the launch of a ship, and naval usage supplies the rest.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
In "spares delivered at sea", what does delivered mean?
- passed to warships at sea
- handed over by the builder
- taken into naval service
- named at a launch ceremony
Answer
passed to warships at sea. This is the replenishment sense: a fleet support ship passes fuel and stores to warships alongside. Handover by the builder is the other sense of delivered; naming happens at launch; entering service is commissioning.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence is accurate?
- Jala Usha’s keel was lain at Visakhapatnam in 1948
- Jala Usha was commissioned as a warship in 1948
- Jala Usha was launched at Visakhapatnam in 1948
- Jala Usha was delivered to the Navy at Kolkata in 1948
Answer
Jala Usha was launched at Visakhapatnam in 1948. The deep dive: the first ship built in independent India was launched at Visakhapatnam in 1948. It was a merchant ship, so never commissioned; lain is the wrong participle; and the yard was at Visakhapatnam.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which stage did FSS-5 reach on 6 October?
- It was launched into the Bay of Bengal
- Its keel was laid: the hull begins
- It was commissioned as the last of class
- It was delivered after its sea trials
Answer
Its keel was laid: the hull begins. The deep dive lists the keel laying of FSS-5, "the fifth and last ship of the class". FSS-1 was the ship launched that day.
Today's key term · infructuous
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does it mean when a court disposes of a matter as infructuous?
- It can serve no purpose, so it closes undecided
- It is sent on to a larger Bench for a final answer
- The petitioner wins because the other side did not appear
- It is decided against the State on the merits
Answer
It can serve no purpose, so it closes undecided. The roundup’s definition: the cause of action no longer exists, so a decision would serve no purpose. Nobody wins on the merits, and nothing is sent on; the reference was already before a larger Bench.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
A matter becomes infructuous when the cause of ___ no longer exists.
- action
- dispute
- relief
- petition
Answer
action. Cause of action is the legal phrase: the facts that give a party the right to go to court. Here it was the 2003 resolution, withdrawn in 2004.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Why did the privilege reference become infructuous?
- The 2003 resolution had been withdrawn in 2004
- The seven-judge Bench ruled for free speech
- Parliament codified legislative privileges by law
- The editors of The Hindu apologised to the House
Answer
The 2003 resolution had been withdrawn in 2004. Raju Ramachandran told the Court on 5 October that the resolution had been withdrawn in 2004. Privileges remain uncodified, no apology is reported, and the Bench did not rule on the merits.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that gets the outcome wrong.
By declaring the reference infructuous, the Bench decided the larger questions.
Answer
decided → left open. An infructuous matter is closed without a decision. The Bench left the larger questions of law open for a future case.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each term to its meaning.
- infructuous
- cause of action
- left open
- fructuous
- the facts that give the right to go to court
- no longer able to serve any purpose
- fruitful (rare)
- not decided, for a future case
Answer
- infructuous: no longer able to serve any purpose
- cause of action: the facts that give the right to go to court
- left open: not decided, for a future case
- fructuous: fruitful (rare)
Infructuous is in- plus fructuous, a rare word for fruitful (Wiktionary); cause of action and left open are the roundup’s own terms.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which petition is most likely to be dismissed as infructuous?
- A challenge to an order since withdrawn
- An appeal against a High Court bail judgment
- A plea filed by a sitting member of a House
- A challenge to a law that is still in force
Answer
A challenge to an order since withdrawn. Once the order is withdrawn, a ruling on it would serve no purpose. A law still in force is a live dispute; who files a plea, or which court is appealed from, does not make it infructuous.
Cut the padding · the padded time phrase: in the month of, in the year, at this point in time, during the course of
-
Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.
Cut the padded time phrase in sixteen words or fewer.
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit will take over as Chief of the Air Staff in the month of October 2026.
Word limit 16
Model
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit will take over as Chief of the Air Staff in October 2026. The month of adds nothing: October is a month. The preposition in stays, and will take over keeps the future.
-
Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.
Cut the padded time phrase in fifteen words or fewer.
The poll-bound States will count their population during the course of the period from 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027.
Word limit 15
Model
The poll-bound States will count their population from 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027. From ... to already marks the period, so during the course of the period can go whole. The census deep dive writes it this way: "to run from 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027".
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the words that can be replaced by one word.
Enumerators finished the count in Ladakh during the course of September.
Answer
during the course of → in. During the course of September says no more than in September.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which is the plainest accurate version?
- The Cabinet approved the fund in the month of October 2026
- The Cabinet approved the fund in October 2026
- At this point in time, the Cabinet has approved the fund in October 2026
- The Cabinet approved the fund during the course of October 2026
Answer
The Cabinet approved the fund in October 2026. In October 2026 is all the date needs. The other three wrap it in the month of, during the course of or at this point in time, and the last also clashes with its own tense.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
In which phrase should the time word stay?
- the financial year 2025-26
- during the course of September
- in the year 2011
- in the month of October
Answer
the financial year 2025-26. Financial says which kind of year: April to March, not January to December. In the other three, the wrapper names what the date already is.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each padded phrase to its plain form.
- in the month of October
- in the year 2011
- during the course of September
- on a yearly basis
- in September
- in 2011
- a year
- in October
Answer
- in the month of October: in October
- in the year 2011: in 2011
- during the course of September: in September
- on a yearly basis: a year
Each wrapper goes; the preposition the date needs stays. A year is the edition’s own phrase: "30 to 50 engines a year".
-
Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Put the three steps of the fix in order.
- delete the wrapper, keeping the preposition the date needs
- check the date and the tense still read correctly
- find a time word wrapped round a date or period
Answer
- find a time word wrapped round a date or period
- delete the wrapper, keeping the preposition the date needs
- check the date and the tense still read correctly
Find, delete, check: the method of every concision lesson, applied to time phrases.
Correct usage · between X and Y, from X to Y: never between X to Y
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that breaks the pair.
Enumeration will run between 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027.
Answer
to → and. Between closes with and. The alternative fix is to change between to from and keep to, as the census deep dive does.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The sensors are placed between 1,450 ___ 2,450 metres below the surface.
- to
- and
- till
- through
Answer
and. Between takes and. To, till and through partner from, not between.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The count in the poll-bound States is to run ___ 16 November 2026 to 4 January 2027.
- since
- between
- from
- by
Answer
from. To needs from. Between would need and; since and by do not open a range at all.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence is correct?
- The roadmap runs between 2023 to 2027
- The roadmap runs from 2023 to 2027
- The roadmap runs between 2023-27
- The roadmap runs from 2023-27
Answer
The roadmap runs from 2023 to 2027. From pairs with to. The second mixes the pairs, and the last two put the dash, which stands for to, after from or between.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Where is the bare range 2023-27 acceptable?
- Nowhere: it is always an error
- After from, as in from 2023-27
- In a table, a heading or a title
- After between, as in between 2023-27
Answer
In a table, a heading or a title. The bare range is standard in tables, headings and titles, as in Roadmap 2023-27. The error is the dash after from or between.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each opening to the right ending.
- between 1,450
- from 16 November 2026
- Roadmap
- from 2023-27
- and 2,450 metres
- to 4 January 2027
- rewrite: from 2023 to 2027
- 2023-27, in a title
Answer
- between 1,450: and 2,450 metres
- from 16 November 2026: to 4 January 2027
- Roadmap: 2023-27, in a title
- from 2023-27: rewrite: from 2023 to 2027
Between takes and, from takes to, and the bare range belongs in titles and tables. After from, the dash gives way to to.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does the Chicago Manual of Style (6.78) advise for "from 2023-27"?
- Replace the dash with and: from 2023 and 2027
- Replace from with between and keep the dash
- Leave it: the dash is correct after from
- Drop the dash: write from 2023 to 2027
Answer
Drop the dash: write from 2023 to 2027. Chicago advises against the dash after from or between. From takes to, through or until; between takes and, so between 2023-27 is no better.
Idioms in answers · in tandem
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
In the leprosy write-up, what does "must move in tandem" mean?
- The child effort must wait until the adult one ends
- The two efforts must run together, at the same time
- The adult effort must be folded into the child one
- Both efforts must be handed to the same ministry
Answer
The two efforts must run together, at the same time. In tandem means working together or happening at the same time (Oxford). The write-up wants both efforts at once, because child cases reveal recent transmission; it says nothing of merging them or of ministries.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Poverty and poor health often go hand in ___.
- hand
- step
- glove
- tandem
Answer
hand. Oxford’s own example: two things go hand in hand when they are closely related and one causes the other. Hand in glove means collusion.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each expression to its meaning.
- in tandem
- out of step
- in lockstep
- at cross purposes
- changing at the same rate
- aiming at different things unknowingly
- working together or at the same time
- having ideas different from others'
Answer
- in tandem: working together or at the same time
- out of step: having ideas different from others'
- in lockstep: changing at the same rate
- at cross purposes: aiming at different things unknowingly
All four meanings are Oxford Learner’s.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the phrase that suggests wrongdoing.
The Centre and the States worked hand in glove to screen contacts.
Answer
hand in glove → in tandem. Hand in glove means working closely, especially in a secret or illegal way. For lawful coordination, write in tandem.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Where does "in tandem" belong in a GS answer?
- In every paragraph, to show the links
- In the first sentence, to set the tone
- Nowhere: examiners mark down every idiom used
- In the body, naming the two things and why
Answer
In the body, naming the two things and why. The body is its place, with both efforts named and the reason given. Never in the first sentence, and once is enough; a plain, exact idiom costs no marks.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which sentence uses hand in glove correctly?
- The two ministries worked hand in glove on the census
- The officials worked hand in glove with the smugglers
- Screening for children and adults ran hand in glove
- Prevalence and transmission fell hand in glove
Answer
The officials worked hand in glove with the smugglers. Hand in glove implies secret or illegal cooperation, which fits officials and smugglers. The other three describe lawful coordination or two trends, where in tandem or in lockstep is meant.
Reading in the CSAT shape
A passage quoted from Break the Chain: Leprosy in India and the 2027 Goal, then inference questions on it.
Once prevalence fell below 1 per 10,000 and India declared that it had eliminated leprosy as a public health problem, the government "became complacent" and folded the dedicated surveillance programme into the general health system. Specialised staff and skills thinned. At the same time, shorter MDT regimens reduced the period for which patients stayed formally registered. The result was a statistical illusion: prevalence fell while transmission continued.
Disability due to leprosy began to rise in the early 2010s, which meant patients were reaching care late, with nerve damage already done. This prompted door-to-door screening.
Because child cases reveal recent transmission, the editorial says the child-focused and adult-focused efforts must move in tandem.
Only 148 districts have achieved interruption of transmission, and that is pending field verification, against a projected 300.
Research shows that many patients already have nerve damage by the time they seek care, largely because of stigma. Many clinicians are unfamiliar with the disease and misdiagnose it as a skin condition. Both delay treatment, and every month of delay is a month of possible spread and of irreversible damage.
Resist the temptation to ease detection or revise targets. Incidence overshot projections by 41 per cent, child incidence by 91.6 per cent and the grade-2 disability rate by 34 per cent. The answer is to redouble investment to meet the existing 2026-27 projections, not to move the goalposts.
Concentrate effort on the places and social settings where late diagnosis and transmission remain entrenched.
Which of the following can be most validly inferred from the passage?
- Shorter MDT regimens made leprosy harder to cure
- A falling prevalence figure need not mean transmission has stopped
- Door-to-door screening caused the rise in disability
- Leprosy has been eliminated as a public health problem in every State
Answer
A falling prevalence figure need not mean transmission has stopped. Prevalence fell partly because patients stayed registered for less time, while transmission continued: the passage calls it a statistical illusion. Nothing says shorter regimens cure less, the elimination declaration was national and says nothing of every State, and the rise in disability came before the screening it prompted.
The claim that child cases reveal recent transmission assumes which of the following?
- Adult cases no longer matter for leprosy control
- India has more children than any other country
- Children are more likely than adults to be misdiagnosed
- A child with leprosy was most likely infected recently
Answer
A child with leprosy was most likely infected recently. A case in a child can show recent spread only if the infection happened recently, within the child’s short life. Misdiagnosis is about clinicians, not children; the passage wants adult efforts to move in tandem, so adults still matter; and the size of the child population is not part of the argument.
Which of the following best captures the crux of the passage?
- Stigma alone explains why leprosy persists in India
- Leprosy has become a disease of children rather than adults
- Leprosy control must aim at transmission, not at the prevalence count
- India should revise its leprosy targets to match the new incidence data
Answer
Leprosy control must aim at transmission, not at the prevalence count. The passage shows prevalence misleading the programme after 2005 and asks for effort on interrupting transmission. Revising targets is the temptation it rejects, children are the measure but not the only patients, and stigma is one cause of late care, alongside misdiagnosis.
If the passage is right, what is most likely to happen if detection is eased to bring the figures closer to the projections?
- Districts would no longer need field verification
- Transmission could go on while the figures look better
- Child incidence would fall below the projections by 2027
- Grade-2 disability would stop rising within a year
Answer
Transmission could go on while the figures look better. Easing detection lowers the count, not the spread, which repeats the illusion the passage describes after 2005. Nothing suggests child incidence would actually fall, verification is a separate check on the 148 districts, and late detection would add to disability rather than stop it.
What is the main message of the passage?
- India’s leprosy programme has failed and should be wound up
- Leprosy is best handled as a skin condition in primary care
- Keep the targets and fight transmission where it is entrenched
- Digital surveillance has made door-to-door screening unnecessary
Answer
Keep the targets and fight transmission where it is entrenched. The passage ends on its prescription: do not revise the targets, redouble investment and concentrate effort where transmission remains entrenched. It never calls the programme a failure to be ended, misdiagnosis as a skin condition is a problem it names, and screening is not dismissed.
Writing task · Surya is in the water: what happens next?
In no more than 100 words, explain what the launch of the fleet support ship Surya means for the Navy and what must still happen before it serves the fleet. Use at least one of today’s warship verbs (keel laid, launched, delivered or commissioned), give every date without a wrapper (no in the month of or in the year), and write any range with from ... to or between ... and.
Companion to Vocab Builder (what a word scores in a GS answer) and Key Terms. Wordcraft is the language itself.
