The one rule that governs everything here

Ornament loses marks. Precision wins them. Examiners reward clarity and economy and penalise decoration. Wordcraft never teaches a word so you can sound impressive. It teaches the word that is exactly right, the pair you must never swap, the verb a noun takes, and the fifteen words you can delete.

Glossary from the edition

12 words, each quoted in the sentence where it appeared in the 14 October 2026 edition. Meaning first, then the sentence, then where it came from.

disablementnoun/ dis-AY-bəl-mənt /Safe in GS answers

the state of being disabled; the process of becoming disabled

हिंदी: निःशक्तता, विकलांगता

The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want.

From NSAP Renamed PM Samajik Sahayata Yojana: 40% Disability Norm · Article 41’s own word, quoted from the Constitution in the NSAP piece. Quote the Article as written.

competentadjective/ KOM-pi-tənt /Safe in GS answers

having the power to decide something

हिंदी: सक्षम (अधिकार-प्राप्त)

Approved on 25 May 2026 "by the competent authority", after the Technical Advisory Committee on Statistics of Price and Cost of Living approved the method and it was presented before the National Statistical Commission.

From WPI Inflation September 2026: 11.39% on the 2022-23 Base

enforceverb/ in-FAWS /Safe in GS answers

to make something happen or force somebody to do something

हिंदी: लागू करवाना

Courts can enforce a timely decision.

From Madras HC on AIADMK Resignations: Defection Pleas Survive

inactionnoun/ in-AK-shən /Safe in GS answers

lack of action; the state of doing nothing about a situation or a problem

हिंदी: निष्क्रियता

Reassurance can look like inaction, observation can feel inferior to a scan, and lifestyle advice can seem less serious than medication.

From Overtreatment and Overmedication in India: Low-Value Care · The editorial’s point: careful waiting is a choice that only looks like inaction to a worried patient.

inferencenoun/ IN-fə-rəns /Safe in GS answers

something that you can find out indirectly from what you already know

हिंदी: निष्कर्ष, अनुमान

His inference is that medication reviews and deprescribing must become routine.

From Overtreatment and Overmedication in India: Low-Value Care

channelnoun/ CHAN-əl /Safe in GS answers

a method or system that people use to get information, to communicate, or to send something somewhere

हिंदी: माध्यम

The committee recommends; it does not decide, and the portal is the channel for submissions to it.

From Current Affairs Today 14 October 2026: UPSC News Roundup

participationnoun/ pah-tis-i-PAY-shən /Safe in GS answers

the act of taking part in an activity or event

हिंदी: भागीदारी

The present limit: as a CNCP, India "has limited participation in decision-making, including in key bodies such as the Scientific Committee and the Compliance Committee" (PIB).

From Current Affairs Today 14 October 2026: UPSC News Roundup

importationnoun/ im-paw-TAY-shən /Safe in GS answers

the act of bringing a product or service into one country from another

हिंदी: आयात

It authorises transactions prohibited under two US sanctions regulations, 31 CFR part 587 and 31 CFR part 589, that are "related to the sale, delivery, offloading, or importation, including importation into the United States, of diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin".

From The Other G2: US-Russia Thaw and Three Lessons for India · The formal noun for the act, typical of legal and sanctions texts such as General License 135, quoted here.

inclusiveadjective/ in-KLOO-siv /Safe in GS answers

deliberately including people, things, ideas, etc. from all sections of society, points of view, etc.

हिंदी: समावेशी

It is a model for our inclusive development and security.

From First BIMSTEC Home Ministers' Meeting: Delhi Declaration

findingnoun/ FYN-ding /Safe in GS answers

information that is discovered as the result of research into something

हिंदी: शोध-निष्कर्ष

These findings suggest it is also an intervention with economic returns.

From Legal Aid for Undertrials: Why Help Often Arrives Late

episodicadjective/ ep-i-SOD-ik /Safe in GS answers

happening occasionally and not at regular intervals

हिंदी: कभी-कभार होने वाला

Dust, vehicles and stubble are the chronic load; crackers are the episodic spike that lands on top of it.

From Green Crackers and Delhi Pollution: The Sound and the Fiery · Paired here with chronic: the chronic load is always there; the episodic spike comes on top of it.

bruntnoun/ BRUNT /Safe in GS answers

used in the phrase bear (or take) the brunt of something: to receive the main force of something unpleasant

हिंदी: मुख्य मार

The editorial notes civilians "bearing the brunt not only of the violence but also of blockades across the hill districts that restrict access to essential supplies".

From Manipur Violence: Kuki-Naga Clashes and the Work of Peace · Almost always met in the phrase bear the brunt of, used here of civilians in Manipur.

The seven lessons

One entry of each type, every day: a system, not a word list.

1 · Word roots

tenēre · to hold

a Latin verb; detain, detention, contain and tenure all keep its sense of holding

Today’s explainer on preventive detention turns on one question: for how long, and on what grounds, may the State hold a person without trial? The words it uses for that question come from one Latin verb, tenēre, to hold. Learn the family once and you can read a detention clause, a tenure rule and an argument about what is tenable with the same key.

WordBuilt fromWhat is heldIn today’s edition
detainOld French detenir (Italian detenere, Spanish detener)a person, in custodythe verb behind the next two words
detentionLatin detentio; detain + -tionthe holding itself"concerns over prolonged detention without trial" (the preventive detention explainer)
detaineedetain + -eethe person held"Clauses (1) and (2) do not apply to a preventive detainee."
containLatin continēre: con- (together) + tenērea conflict, kept within boundsthe state’s "incapacity to heal or contain schisms in the state" (Manipur editorial)
tenureLatin tentus, held, + -uraan office, for a term"whose tenure runs till March 2027" (Manipur editorial)
tenableFrench tenable, from tenir, to holdan argument that can be maintained or justifiednot in today’s edition
tenaciousLatin tenāx, holding fasta grip, or a person, that will not let gonot in today’s edition

Read the family in the explainer

One sentence of the explainer uses two of these words: "detention without trial can be prolonged" and "the Act gives a detainee no right to appear through a lawyer before the Advisory Board". The -ee ending marks the person to whom the act is done, so a detainee is the one held, never the one holding.

Why the family helps in an answer

Each word names a different part of the same act, and an answer that keeps them apart reads as precise: the State detains; detention is the act and its length; the detainee is the person whose safeguards Article 22 sets out. Tenable lets you judge an argument ("the ground is not tenable") more exactly than "not valid".

Sixty-second drillIn two sentences on preventive detention, use detention once and detainee once, and keep the State, the act and the person apart.

From the preventive detention explainer ("Clauses (1) and (2) do not apply to a preventive detainee") and the Manipur editorial ("contain schisms in the state", "whose tenure runs till March 2027"), checked against Wiktionary’s etymologies of detain, detention, detainee, contain, tenure, tenable and tenacious.

2 · Look-alike words

personal · personnel

personal: your own, private, of the body; personnel: the people who work for an organisation or a force

Both words appear in today’s edition. The roundup reports that Pema Khandu agreed in principle "to reduce the number of security personnel deployed in the Siang Valley". The food prices editorial tracks a CPI division called "Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services". A double n and a shifted stress keep them apart.

personalpersonnel
Part of speechadjectivenoun
Oxford’s senses"your own; not belonging to or relating to anyone else"; "relating to a person’s private life, rather than their job or official position"; "relating to a person’s body""the people who work for an organization or one of the armed forces"; "the department in a company that deals with employing and training people"
Stressfirst syllable: PUR-sə-nəllast syllable: pur-sə-NEL
Spellingone n, ends -aldouble n, ends -el
Today"Personal care" (food prices editorial)"security personnel" (roundup)

The test

Swap in a plainer word. If staff, troops or officers fits, write personnel. If own, private or of the body fits, write personal. "Security staff deployed in the Siang Valley" works, so personnel; "care of the body" works, so personal care.

In your answer

The preventive detention explainer gives you the phrase you will use most: the courts read the safeguards strictly "because the power strikes directly at personal liberty". Personal liberty is your own liberty, Oxford’s first sense. Security personnel are people, so the word never takes an adjective’s place.

Sixty-second drillIn two sentences on the Siang Valley protests, use personnel once and personal once, each in its own sense.

From the roundup ("security personnel deployed in the Siang Valley") and the food prices editorial ("Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services"), checked against Oxford’s entries for personal and personnel.

3 · Word partners

approve · complete

a sale passes through stages, each with its own verb, and only the last one says the bank has been sold

On 14 October 2026 the CCEA approved a Fairfax unit as the Strategic Buyer of a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank. The IDBI deep dive says it plainly: this is an "approval, not a completed sale". Each stage of the sale has its verb, and the verbs keep the tense honest.

StageVerb and partnerToday’s lineStatus on 14 October 2026
1submit an EoI"Five parties submitted an EoI"done
2qualify"four qualified"done
3submit a bid"two finally submitted techno-financial bids"done
4approve the buyer"the CCEA approved the Strategic Buyer on 14 October 2026"done
5present credentials; submit a roadmap"will be required to present its credentials to the Reserve Bank of India"still to come
6complete the sale"Once completed, this will be the largest FDI in the financial sector of our economy so far."still to come

Write the stage you can prove

"The CCEA has approved the Strategic Buyer" is true on 14 October 2026. "IDBI Bank has been sold" is not. The Government’s own claim about the largest FDI is tied to completion, so report it with its condition: once the sale is completed.

The same caution elsewhere

The roundup applies it to SIOFA: "But approval is not accession: until India’s accession is completed, it remains a cooperating non-Contracting Party". Approve, accede and complete are three verbs, and each names a different step.

Three more partners

The residual stakes have their own verbs. The CCEA "has delegated powers to the Alternative Mechanism to sell the GoI’s residual 15% in minority tranches through the open market", and LIC "will be free to manage its residual 19%". You delegate powers to a body; you sell a stake in tranches; you manage a holding.

Sixty-second drillIn two sentences on the IDBI Bank sale, use approved once and completed once, and keep the stage that has happened apart from the one still to come.

From the IDBI Bank deep dive ("Five parties submitted an EoI, four qualified", "the CCEA approved the Strategic Buyer on 14 October 2026", "Once completed") and the roundup ("approval is not accession"), each verb as the deep dive and the Government text it quotes use it.

4 · Today's key term

imported inflation · price pressure from abroad

inflation carried into the economy through what a country buys from outside and the currency it pays with

Our explainer sums up the claim of The Hindu’s editorial on food prices: rural households are hit hardest, food prices are spiking, and imported inflation, carried in through crude oil, a weaker rupee and foreign portfolio outflows, "is likely to keep up the pressure on prices in the months ahead". That is the term of the day: price pressure that enters from outside rather than starting at home.

ChannelHow it reaches prices at homeToday’s line
crude oilthe fuel bill rises, and fuel feeds freight, production and distributionthe Indian crude basket rose from $82.04 a barrel in July to $116.09 in September, "a 41% increase" (the editorial’s figures)
a weaker rupeeevery dollar-priced import costs more in rupees"compounded by a depreciating rupee"
foreign portfolio outflowsnamed by the editorial as a third channel"carried in through crude oil, a weaker rupee and foreign portfolio outflows"

Use it in an answer

Name the channel, then attribute the figure. "Imported inflation, through costlier crude and a weaker rupee, adds to fuel, food and transport prices" is a sound line. "Inflation is imported" on its own is not, because the same editorial puts rural households and food prices first. Pair the term with today’s WPI deep dive: wholesale inflation was 11.39% in September 2026, on the 2022-23 base.

Say whose measure it is

The editorial also gives its own measure of core inflation, "excluding food and fuel but including precious metals". MoSPI’s release does not report a core figure, so a careful answer says the figure is the editorial’s.

Sixty-second drillIn two sentences on September’s inflation, use imported inflation once and name two of its channels, attributing any figure to the editorial.

From the food prices editorial ("imported inflation", "compounded by a depreciating rupee", "a 41% increase") and the WPI deep dive (11.39% in September 2026, on the 2022-23 base).

5 · Cut the padding

is indicative of · indicates

a verb turned into an -ive adjective, then propped up with is and of

The legal aid Data Point quotes its authors: "These findings suggest it is also an intervention with economic returns." A first draft of the same thought often reads "These findings are suggestive of the fact that it is also an intervention with economic returns." The authors used the verb. So can you.

What padding looks like

The pattern is is (or are) + an adjective ending in -ive + of, standing where one verb would do: is indicative of (indicates), is reflective of (reflects), is suggestive of (suggests), is protective of (protects). It often drags "the fact that" behind it.

Why it costs marks

Each one adds two words, four with "the fact that", and moves the action out of the verb into an adjective. Four of them in a 150-word answer cost eight words or more, room for a fact or an Article number.

Fix it in three steps

  1. Find is or are, then a word ending in -ive, then of.
  2. Replace the three words with the verb the adjective came from: indicates, reflects, suggests, protects.
  3. Check that the meaning has not moved, and drop any "the fact that" left behind.

Worked example: "The data is suggestive of the fact that timing matters." (10 words) becomes "The data suggests that timing matters." (6 words). Four words saved, and the verb now does the work.

Before and after

PaddedPlainWords saved
The data is suggestive of the fact that timing matters.The data suggests that timing matters.4
The surge is reflective of costlier crude.The surge reflects costlier crude.2
Low conviction rates are indicative of weak investigation.Low conviction rates indicate weak investigation.2
The order is protective of the rights of detainees.The order protects detainees' rights.4
These delays are destructive of public trust.These delays destroy public trust.2

When not to cut

Keep representative of when it means typical of: "The sample is representative of undertrials in the State" says the sample looks like them, while "the sample represents undertrials" would suggest it speaks for them. The rule also covers only the is ... of frame. An -ive word before a noun is often the exact term, as in an indicative list or a representative sample.

Try it in your answer

Read your last paragraph for is or are followed by a word ending in -ive and then of. Replace each with its verb, and count the words you get back.

Sixty-second drillWrite two sentences on the legal aid findings with no is ... -ive of phrase: use suggest and indicate as verbs.

The padded sentences are typical answer drafts, not quotations from the edition. The plain model is the Data Point’s own sentence, from the legal aid editorial ("These findings suggest it is also an intervention with economic returns").

6 · Correct usage

cooperative · co-operative

both spellings are standard; an official name keeps the one it was given

Verdict: Style choice

Today’s roundup item on audits uses both forms, and both are right. The Ministry of Cooperation mandated the "Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Auditor’s Report) Order, 2026", and the official line the roundup quotes speaks of "Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS)". The supervisor is the "Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS)".

What people write

Two habits cause trouble: "correcting" an official name to the writer’s own spelling, and drifting between cooperative and co-operative in one answer for no reason.

What to write instead

In your own sentences, choose one form and keep it. Oxford gives cooperative as its headword and notes "British English also co-operative". When you name an Act, an Order or a body, copy its name exactly, hyphen or not: the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002; the Ministry of Cooperation.

Why

An official name is a proper noun. Change its spelling and an examiner may wonder whether you mean a different instrument. Your own prose is a style choice; the title of a statute is not yours to restyle.

A quick test

Ask: am I naming something, or describing it? Naming: copy the source. Describing: use the one form you chose, every time.

In your answer

"The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023 empowered the Central Government, under Section 73(6), to prescribe auditing and accounting standards for these cooperatives." The name keeps its hyphen because the Act’s title has one; the plain noun at the end follows the form you chose.

Sixty-second drillIn two sentences on the new audit Order, name it exactly once and then refer to the societies with the one spelling you choose.

From the roundup ("Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Auditor’s Report) Order, 2026", "Ministry of Cooperation", "Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS)"), checked against Oxford’s entry for cooperative.

7 · Idioms in answers

smoking gun · conclusive proof

something that seems to prove that somebody has done something wrong or illegal (Oxford, informal)

Where it appeared, in our explainer of The Hindu’s editorial on green crackers: Crackers are "far from the smoking gun" of Delhi’s air-quality crisis; construction dust, vehicles, stubble burning and stagnant, cold air all contribute to winter pollution.

The editorial uses it loosely, for the main culprit. In its strict sense a smoking gun is proof of who did it, not the biggest cause. Both readings point the same way here: crackers are not what makes Delhi’s winter air so bad, though they can produce an acute spike.

The family

ExpressionWhat it meansPlain equivalentRegister
smoking gunsomething that seems to prove that somebody has done something wrong or illegalconclusive proofinformal
jump the gunto do something too soon, before the right timeact too earlyidiomatic
stick to your gunsto refuse to change your mind about something even when other people are trying to persuade you that you are wronghold firmidiomatic
hold a gun to somebody’s headto force somebody to do something that they do not want to do, by making threatscoerceidiomatic
(with) all guns blazingwith a lot of energy and determinationwith full forceinformal

Where to use it

SettingUse it?How
GS answer, introductionNoOpen with the fact or the provision, not an idiom.
GS answer, bodyWith careOnly when you quote a source that uses it, in quotation marks: the editorial calls crackers "far from the smoking gun".
GS answer, conclusionWith carePrefer "the main cause" or "conclusive evidence"; keep the idiom for a quoted line.
EssayYesOnce, in its strict sense of proof.
Ethics case studyNoName the evidence plainly; an idiom can sound like a verdict.
InterviewYesSpoken register suits it; keep the strict sense.
Précis and the compulsory English paperNoUse the plain words: conclusive proof.

Model sentences

With the idiom: Crackers add an episodic spike to Delhi’s winter smog, but they are not the smoking gun; dust, vehicles and stubble are the chronic load.

Plain: Crackers are not the main cause of Delhi’s winter pollution; they add a short spike to a load that comes from dust, vehicles and stubble.

Don’t confuse

smoking gun is proof; jump the gun is acting too soon. They share a word and nothing else. And in strict use a smoking gun proves who did something; it is not a synonym for the biggest cause, which is how the editorial stretches it.

Sixty-second drillIn two sentences on Delhi’s winter air, use smoking gun once in its strict sense, then say the same thing in plain words.

From the green crackers editorial (Crackers are "far from the smoking gun" of Delhi’s air-quality crisis), checked against Oxford’s entries for smoking gun and gun.

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 · tenēre: Latin, to hold

  1. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    Which of these words is built from Latin tenēre, to hold?

    1. tenacious
    2. inference
    3. episodic
    4. brunt
    Answer

    tenacious. Tenacious comes from Latin tenāx, holding fast, from tenēre. The other three come from other roots.

  2. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    What does the ending of detainee tell you?

    1. It is the person who holds
    2. It is the period one is held for
    3. It is the person who is held
    4. It is the place where one is held
    Answer

    It is the person who is held. detain + -ee: the -ee marks the one to whom the act is done, as in employee.

  3. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    The Act gives a ___ no right to appear through a lawyer before the Advisory Board.

    1. detention
    2. tenure
    3. tenant
    4. detainee
    Answer

    detainee. The right belongs to a person, so the noun is the person held: detainee.

  4. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    The Manipur editorial reads the killings as a sign of the state government’s "incapacity to heal or ___ schisms in the state".

    1. retain
    2. contain
    3. sustain
    4. detain
    Answer

    contain. To contain a schism is to keep it within bounds. Detain takes a person, and the other two do not fit a schism.

  5. Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.

    Match each word to its sense.

    1. tenable
    2. tenacious
    3. detainee
    4. contain
    1. to keep within bounds
    2. unwilling to yield or give up
    3. someone who is held in custody
    4. capable of being maintained or justified
    Answer
    • tenable: capable of being maintained or justified
    • tenacious: unwilling to yield or give up
    • detainee: someone who is held in custody
    • contain: to keep within bounds

    Each sense keeps the idea of holding: an argument held up, a grip held fast, a person held, a conflict held in.

  6. Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.

    One word is wrong. Find it.

    The State called its case tenacious, but the court found it weak.

    Answer

    tenacious, → tenable,. An argument that can be maintained is tenable. Tenacious describes a person or a grip that will not let go.

  7. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    Which sentence uses tenure correctly?

    1. The court found his argument full of tenure.
    2. Her tenure for the exam lasts three full hours.
    3. He held on to the rope with great tenure.
    4. Her tenure as Chief Secretary ends next year.
    Answer

    Her tenure as Chief Secretary ends next year.. Tenure is the term for which an office is held, as in "whose tenure runs till March 2027".

Look-alike words · personal / personnel

  1. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    Pema Khandu agreed in principle to reduce the number of security ___ deployed in the Siang Valley.

    1. personality
    2. personae
    3. personnel
    4. personal
    Answer

    personnel. The people deployed are personnel.

  2. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    ___ care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services eased to 13.75% from 15.17%.

    1. Personnel
    2. Persona
    3. Personal
    4. Personage
    Answer

    Personal. Care of the body: Oxford’s sense of personal, "relating to a person’s body".

  3. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    Where does the stress fall in personnel?

    1. On the second syllable
    2. On no syllable at all
    3. On the last syllable
    4. On the first syllable
    Answer

    On the last syllable. pur-sə-NEL. Personal stresses the first syllable: PUR-sə-nəl.

  4. Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.

    One word is wrong. Find it.

    The ministry sent extra personal to the border posts.

    Answer

    personal → personnel. The people sent are personnel.

  5. Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.

    One word is wrong. Find it.

    She spoke in her personnel capacity, not as a minister.

    Answer

    personnel → personal. Private, "rather than their job or official position": personal.

  6. Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.

    Match each phrase to its sense.

    1. security personnel
    2. personal care
    3. personnel department
    4. personal capacity
    1. private, not official
    2. the people in a force
    3. the office that deals with employing staff
    4. care of the body
    Answer
    • security personnel: the people in a force
    • personal care: care of the body
    • personnel department: the office that deals with employing staff
    • personal capacity: private, not official

    Personnel is always people or the office that hires them; personal is always about one person.

  7. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    Which sentence is correct?

    1. The personnels were moved to the new camp.
    2. The personnel were moved to the new camp.
    3. A personnel was moved to the new camp.
    4. The personal were moved to the new camp.
    Answer

    The personnel were moved to the new camp.. Personnel names the people as a group, so it takes no -s and no "a".

Word partners · the verbs of a strategic sale: qualify, bid, approve, present, complete

  1. Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.

    Put the stages of the IDBI Bank sale in order.

    • The buyer presents its credentials to the RBI
    • Four parties qualify
    • Five parties submit an EoI
    • The sale is completed
    • Two parties submit techno-financial bids
    • The CCEA approves the Strategic Buyer
    Answer
    1. Five parties submit an EoI
    2. Four parties qualify
    3. Two parties submit techno-financial bids
    4. The CCEA approves the Strategic Buyer
    5. The buyer presents its credentials to the RBI
    6. The sale is completed

    The first four are done; the last two are still to come on 14 October 2026.

  2. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    On 14 October 2026 the CCEA ___ the Strategic Buyer for IDBI Bank.

    1. approved
    2. acquired
    3. sold
    4. completed
    Answer

    approved. The CCEA approved the buyer; the sale is not yet completed.

  3. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    Which sentence is accurate on 14 October 2026?

    1. IDBI Bank has been sold to a Fairfax unit for Rs 52,878.08 crore.
    2. The RBI has cleared the buyer, so the sale is now done.
    3. The CCEA has approved a buyer; the sale is yet to be completed.
    4. The Fairfax unit has completed its purchase of IDBI Bank.
    Answer

    The CCEA has approved a buyer; the sale is yet to be completed.. The deep dive calls it an "approval, not a completed sale"; the RBI step is still to come.

  4. Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.

    One word is wrong. Find it.

    On 14 October 2026 the CCEA completed the Strategic Buyer for IDBI Bank.

    Answer

    completed → approved. You approve a buyer; you complete a sale, and that has not happened yet.

  5. Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.

    Match each verb to who did it, or must still do it.

    1. qualified
    2. submitted bids
    3. approved the buyer
    4. must present credentials
    1. the CCEA
    2. two parties
    3. the successful bidder
    4. four of the five parties
    Answer
    • qualified: four of the five parties
    • submitted bids: two parties
    • approved the buyer: the CCEA
    • must present credentials: the successful bidder

    Each verb has its own subject, and the last one is still in the future.

  6. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    "Once ___, this will be the largest FDI in the financial sector of our economy so far."

    1. approved
    2. proposed
    3. announced
    4. completed
    Answer

    completed. The Government ties the claim to completion, which has not yet happened.

  7. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    The roundup says of SIOFA that "approval is not accession". What does it warn against?

    1. Reporting a decision to join as if India had already joined
    2. Treating SIOFA as a body India may never join
    3. Calling the accession a decision of Parliament itself
    4. Reporting the Cabinet decision before it was made public
    Answer

    Reporting a decision to join as if India had already joined. Until accession is completed, India remains a cooperating non-Contracting Party.

Today's key term · imported inflation

  1. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    In the editorial, imported inflation is carried in through

    1. higher support prices, rural wages and state taxes
    2. crude oil, a weaker rupee and foreign portfolio outflows
    3. GST rate changes, new tariffs and port charges
    4. a good monsoon, a stronger rupee and FDI inflows
    Answer

    crude oil, a weaker rupee and foreign portfolio outflows. The editorial names three channels: crude oil, a weaker rupee and foreign portfolio outflows.

  2. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    A depreciating rupee makes every dollar-priced import ___ in rupee terms.

    1. costlier
    2. cheaper
    3. scarcer
    4. tax-free
    Answer

    costlier. More rupees buy the same dollar, so the import costs more at home.

  3. Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.

    Match each item to its place in the lesson.

    1. crude oil
    2. a weaker rupee
    3. foreign portfolio outflows
    4. 11.39% in September 2026
    1. the WPI reading
    2. the capital-flow channel
    3. the commodity channel
    4. the exchange-rate channel
    Answer
    • crude oil: the commodity channel
    • a weaker rupee: the exchange-rate channel
    • foreign portfolio outflows: the capital-flow channel
    • 11.39% in September 2026: the WPI reading

    Three channels from the editorial, and the wholesale figure from the WPI deep dive.

  4. Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.

    One word is wrong. Find it.

    Imported inflation can be carried in by a stronger rupee.

    Answer

    stronger → weaker. A weaker rupee carries inflation in; a stronger one makes imports cheaper.

  5. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    Which sentence attributes a figure correctly?

    1. The RBI says crude caused all of the rise in food prices.
    2. The Hindu’s editorial puts the rise in the crude basket at 41%.
    3. MoSPI’s core inflation figure rose to 4.6% in September.
    4. The crude basket rose 41%, which proves all inflation is imported.
    Answer

    The Hindu’s editorial puts the rise in the crude basket at 41%.. The 41% is the editorial’s figure. MoSPI reports no core figure, and nothing in the edition says crude "proves" or "caused all" of anything.

  6. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    Inflation that enters through costlier imports and a weaker currency is called ___ inflation.

    1. imported
    2. headline
    3. food
    4. retail
    Answer

    imported. Imported inflation: pressure from abroad, carried in through crude and the rupee.

Cut the padding · the -ive of habit: is indicative of, is reflective of, is suggestive of

  1. Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.

    Cut the padding in 6 words or fewer.

    The data is suggestive of the fact that timing matters.

    Word limit 6

    Model

    The data suggests that timing matters. Restore the verb suggests and drop "the fact that".

  2. Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.

    Cut the padding in 5 words or fewer.

    The surge is reflective of costlier crude.

    Word limit 5

    Model

    The surge reflects costlier crude. is reflective of becomes reflects.

  3. Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.

    Cut the padding in 5 words or fewer.

    These delays are destructive of public trust.

    Word limit 5

    Model

    These delays destroy public trust. are destructive of becomes destroy.

  4. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    Which is the plainest version?

    1. Rising bail grants are suggestive of a change in practice.
    2. Rising bail grants are reflective of a change in practice.
    3. Rising bail grants indicate a change in practice.
    4. Rising bail grants are indicative of a change in practice.
    Answer

    Rising bail grants indicate a change in practice.. One verb, indicate, does the work of three words.

  5. Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.

    Match each padded phrase to its verb.

    1. is indicative of
    2. is reflective of
    3. is suggestive of
    4. is protective of
    1. protects
    2. indicates
    3. suggests
    4. reflects
    Answer
    • is indicative of: indicates
    • is reflective of: reflects
    • is suggestive of: suggests
    • is protective of: protects

    Each -ive adjective came from a verb; give the verb back.

  6. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    In which sentence should the -ive phrase stay?

    1. The trend is suggestive of rising demand for rural credit.
    2. The sample is representative of undertrials in the State.
    3. The ruling is reflective of the court’s settled caution on bail.
    4. The delay is indicative of poor case management in courts.
    Answer

    The sample is representative of undertrials in the State.. Representative of means typical of here; "represents" would change the meaning. The others cut to indicates, suggests and reflects.

  7. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    These findings ___ it is also an intervention with economic returns.

    1. suggestive of
    2. suggests
    3. suggest
    4. are suggestive that
    Answer

    suggest. The authors' own verb, plural to agree with findings.

Correct usage · cooperative or co-operative: write the official name as it is

  1. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    You are naming the 2002 Act in an answer. Which form should you write?

    1. Multi State Cooperative Society Act 2002
    2. Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002
    3. Multistate Co-op Societies Act, 2002
    4. Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002
    Answer

    Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002. Copy the Act’s title as it stands, hyphen included.

  2. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    Which is the ministry’s name as written?

    1. Ministry of Co-operation
    2. Ministry of Co-operative Affairs
    3. Ministry of Cooperation
    4. Ministry of Cooperatives
    Answer

    Ministry of Cooperation. The roundup gives it as the Ministry of Cooperation, with no hyphen. A name is copied, not restyled.

  3. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    An answer uses cooperative in its first paragraph. Which form fits the third?

    1. cooperative, to keep one form throughout
    2. co-operative, because it is the British form
    3. co-op, because it is the shortest form
    4. either, changing as each sentence needs
    Answer

    cooperative, to keep one form throughout. Both spellings are standard; the house style is to choose one and keep it.

  4. Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.

    Match each official name to how it is written.

    1. Ministry of Cooperation
    2. Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002
    3. Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies
    4. Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Auditor’s Report) Order, 2026
    1. the ministry: no hyphen
    2. the supervisor: no hyphen
    3. the principal law: hyphen
    4. the audit Order: hyphen
    Answer
    • Ministry of Cooperation: the ministry: no hyphen
    • Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002: the principal law: hyphen
    • Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies: the supervisor: no hyphen
    • Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Auditor’s Report) Order, 2026: the audit Order: hyphen

    Each name keeps the spelling it was given.

  5. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    When you name an Act, copy its ___ exactly, hyphens included.

    1. gist
    2. spirit
    3. purpose
    4. title
    Answer

    title. A title is a proper noun; you copy it, not paraphrase it.

  6. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    Which statement fits the house style for your own prose?

    1. Always hyphenate, even when an official name has no hyphen
    2. Never hyphenate, even when an official name carries one
    3. Pick one form and keep it; copy official names as written
    4. Mix the forms freely to show that you know both of them
    Answer

    Pick one form and keep it; copy official names as written. Your prose is a style choice made once; an official name is copied.

Idioms in answers · smoking gun

  1. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    In strict use, a smoking gun is

    1. a warning given too early to act on
    2. evidence that seems to prove wrongdoing
    3. a threat used to force a decision
    4. the largest single cause of a problem
    Answer

    evidence that seems to prove wrongdoing. Oxford: "something that seems to prove that somebody has done something wrong or illegal".

  2. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    The minister refused to back down and ___ despite the protests.

    1. jumped the gun
    2. found the smoking gun
    3. stuck to his guns
    4. held a gun to his head
    Answer

    stuck to his guns. Refusing to change your mind under pressure is sticking to your guns.

  3. Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.

    The agency ___ by announcing the results before the count was complete.

    1. jumped the gun
    2. came in all guns blazing
    3. found a smoking gun
    4. stuck to its guns
    Answer

    jumped the gun. Acting before the right time is jumping the gun.

  4. Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.

    Match each expression to its plain equivalent.

    1. smoking gun
    2. jump the gun
    3. stick to your guns
    4. hold a gun to somebody’s head
    5. all guns blazing
    1. conclusive proof
    2. hold firm
    3. with full force
    4. coerce
    5. act too early
    Answer
    • smoking gun: conclusive proof
    • jump the gun: act too early
    • stick to your guns: hold firm
    • hold a gun to somebody’s head: coerce
    • all guns blazing: with full force

    Every idiom in the family has a plain twin; use the twin in a GS answer.

  5. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    Where should you avoid the idiom altogether?

    1. Nowhere; it suits every setting
    2. In the interview
    3. In the introduction of a GS answer
    4. In an essay paragraph
    Answer

    In the introduction of a GS answer. An introduction opens with the fact or the provision. Essays and the interview can carry it.

  6. Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.

    One word is wrong. Find it.

    He stuck to his gun despite the criticism.

    Answer

    gun → guns. The idiom is plural: stick to your guns.

  7. Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.

    The editorial says crackers are "far from the smoking gun". What does it mean?

    1. Crackers have no effect at all on Delhi’s air quality in winter
    2. Crackers are not the main cause of Delhi’s air-quality crisis
    3. Crackers are the main cause of winter pollution in Delhi
    4. Crackers were banned too early in the season to matter
    Answer

    Crackers are not the main cause of Delhi’s air-quality crisis. Not the main culprit, though crackers can still produce an acute spike.

Reading in the CSAT shape

A passage quoted from Legal Aid for Undertrials: Why Help Often Arrives Late, then inference questions on it.

To begin with, programme participants obtain bail far more often than the average applicant.

By helping undertrials file bail applications, coordinate with advocates, gather documents and meet release conditions, the programme appears to cut through the procedural frictions that prolong detention.

Timing, however, matters a great deal.

Legal aid is usually seen as a matter of rights. These findings suggest it is also an intervention with economic returns.

Programme participants are not randomly selected, so the comparisons are descriptive rather than causal. Wage and time losses are accounting estimates of the value of time spent in custody: predicted daily wages from the PLFS 2017-18 multiplied by days detained. Since undertrials differ from the general population, they should be read as upper-bound estimates.

  1. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

    1. The programme has been proven to shorten detention for every undertrial it reaches.
    2. Undertrials lose more in wages than convicts do, because their trials run longer.
    3. Legal aid should be judged only as a matter of rights, not of economic returns.
    4. The figures describe outcomes but do not show that the programme caused them.
    Answer

    The figures describe outcomes but do not show that the programme caused them.. Participants "are not randomly selected, so the comparisons are descriptive rather than causal". The second option is too extreme, the third is out of scope, and the fourth reverses the passage.

  2. The authors say their wage-loss figures "should be read as upper-bound estimates". Which assumption does that reading rest on?

    1. The PLFS 2017-18 data understates the wages of the general population.
    2. Undertrials would probably have earned more than the predicted daily wages used.
    3. Programme participants were chosen at random from among all undertrials.
    4. Undertrials would probably have earned less than the predicted daily wages used.
    Answer

    Undertrials would probably have earned less than the predicted daily wages used.. A figure is an upper bound only if the true value is likely to be lower. Because undertrials "differ from the general population", the authors take their earnings to be below the PLFS-based wage. The second option is the reverse, the third would make the figures a lower bound, and the fourth contradicts the passage.

  3. Which statement best captures the crux of the passage?

    1. Courts should grant bail to every undertrial at the very first hearing itself.
    2. Legal aid has failed, because it reaches nearly every undertrial far too late.
    3. Wage losses in custody are too small to justify any spending on legal aid.
    4. Legal aid appears to help undertrials get out sooner, and when it arrives matters.
    Answer

    Legal aid appears to help undertrials get out sooner, and when it arrives matters.. Participants obtain bail more often, the programme "appears to cut through" delays, and "Timing, however, matters a great deal". The others are too extreme, out of scope, or the reverse.

  4. If the programme reached undertrials soon after arrest rather than months later, what would the passage lead you to expect?

    1. Every participant would obtain bail at the very first hearing.
    2. No change at all, since the passage says timing hardly matters.
    3. Daily wages across the general population would begin to rise.
    4. Fewer days in custody, and so smaller wage and time losses.
    Answer

    Fewer days in custody, and so smaller wage and time losses.. Timing "matters a great deal", and losses are wages "multiplied by days detained", so fewer days mean smaller losses. The second option reverses the passage, the third is too extreme, and the fourth is out of scope.

  5. Which message does the passage convey about legal aid?

    1. It can be argued for on economic grounds as well as on grounds of rights.
    2. It costs the State more than keeping undertrials in custody does.
    3. Its case on grounds of rights has now been shown to be mistaken.
    4. It should now be argued for on economic grounds instead of on rights.
    Answer

    It can be argued for on economic grounds as well as on grounds of rights.. "These findings suggest it is also an intervention with economic returns": also, not instead. The second option drops "also", the third is not in the passage, and the fourth reverses its opening sentence.

Writing task · Report the IDBI Bank sale at the right stage

In 100 words or fewer, report where the IDBI Bank strategic sale stood on 14 October 2026: what has been done, what is still to come, and why an answer should not yet call the bank sold. Use at least three of today’s word partners, and no is ... -ive of padding.

Companion to Vocab Builder (what a word scores in a GS answer) and Key Terms. Wordcraft is the language itself.