Welcome to the Day-Wise UPSC Current Affairs Series for the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2026 — your one-stop source for daily, relevant, and exam-focused updates.
Each day’s content is carefully curated from The Hindu and The Indian Express, India’s most trusted newspapers for UPSC preparation. Our goal is to simplify and summarize the most important national, international, economic, environmental, and political developments that matter for both Prelims and Mains.
This series doesn’t just list news — it connects every headline with the UPSC syllabus, providing key facts, analytical insights, and exam-ready notes. Whether you’re revising for GS papers, current affairs questions, or essay preparation, these daily updates will help you stay consistent and confident.
Start your day smart — one news at a time, one step closer to your UPSC goal!
What is SIR in Elections?
SIR stands for Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. It is a large-scale verification and update process conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure that the voter list is accurate, updated, and inclusive. Unlike the routine annual summary revision, SIR involves a house-to-house verification of every voter to add eligible citizens and remove ineligible or duplicate entries.
Legal Basis
SIR is conducted under the powers given by Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which allows the ECI to revise electoral rolls “for reasons to be recorded.”
Purpose of SIR
- To remove names of deceased, shifted, or duplicate voters.
- To include all eligible citizens, especially new voters who turned 18.
- To ensure a clean and transparent voter database before elections.
- To strengthen the integrity and inclusiveness of India’s electoral process.
Current Context (2025–26)
The Election Commission has launched Phase II of the SIR exercise in 12 states and Union Territories, including West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry.
- Draft rolls will be published on 9 December 2025, and
- Final rolls are expected by 7 February 2026.
- The move comes after a successful SIR in Bihar, which cleaned voter lists for the first time in 22 years.
For Prelims:
- Constitutional Article: Article 324 (ECI powers).
- Law: Representation of the People Act, 1950.
- Definition and difference between summary revision and special intensive revision.
For Mains (GS Paper II):
- Ensures free and fair elections and democratic inclusiveness.
- Reflects administrative reforms in election management.
- Raises debates on exclusion errors, documentation, and voter rights.
Challenges in Implementation
- Risk of exclusion of genuine voters, especially migrants and urban poor.
- Documentation gaps during verification.
- Political concerns over timing and process transparency.
- Resource intensity—SIR can take several months to complete effectively.
Way Forward
- Strengthen coordination between ECI and state governments.
- Ensure transparency in voter deletion and inclusion.
- Conduct awareness campaigns to encourage voter verification.
- Use Aadhaar linkage and digital platforms with proper safeguards to reduce duplication.
Conclusion
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) marks a crucial step toward ensuring clean, inclusive, and transparent electoral rolls in India. For UPSC aspirants, understanding SIR is vital to link constitutional provisions, electoral reforms, and governance ethics — all core to the UPSC syllabus.
Sources: The Hindu, The Indian Express, The Economic Times, and Times of India (November 2025).
Indira Canteens in Karnataka provide affordable, hygienic meals to the urban poor, daily wage workers, and underprivileged citizens. By offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner at minimal prices, they ensure food security, reduce hunger, and promote social equality — a key step toward inclusive urban welfare and dignity for all.
Kerala’s Story: Eradicating Extreme Poverty
On its 69th formation day (November 1), Kerala achieved a remarkable milestone — declaring the eradication of extreme poverty through the Extreme Poverty Eradication Programme (EPEP), launched in 2021.
The initiative, led by the Local Self-Government Department with strong community participation, identified 64,006 extremely poor families (over 1 lakh individuals) based on access to food, health, livelihood, and housing. Instead of a uniform policy, each family received a custom micro-plan ensuring essentials like IDs, housing, palliative care, and livelihood support.
With poverty dropping from 59.8% (1973–74) to 11.3% (2011–12), and only 0.55% of the population now multidimensionally poor (NITI Aayog 2023), Kerala stands as India’s least impoverished state.
However, poverty eradication remains a continuous mission — hence EPEP 2.0, aimed at preventing relapse and addressing tribal and vulnerable groups. While critics highlight slow growth and unemployment, Kerala’s focus on green industries, infrastructure, and skill development shows that welfarism and economic growth can coexist.
Kerala’s inclusive, community-driven approach is a living example of how decentralised governance and compassion can redefine development — a Kerala story worth emulating.
What is Cloud Seeding?
Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique used to artificially induce or enhance rainfall. It involves dispersing substances like silver iodide, sodium chloride (salt), or dry ice into clouds, which act as nuclei around which water droplets can form. When enough droplets cluster together, they fall as rain.
How It Works
- Identification of suitable clouds — those that already contain moisture.
- Aircraft, drones, or rockets release seeding agents into the atmosphere.
- These particles encourage condensation, accelerating rain formation.
Purpose and Benefits
- To increase rainfall in drought-prone or water-scarce regions.
- To recharge groundwater and support agriculture.
- To reduce air pollution (as seen in Delhi and other cities).
- To manage weather for events or mitigate heat and dust storms.
Challenges and Concerns
- Effectiveness varies with cloud type and weather conditions.
- Environmental concerns over chemicals used in the process.
- High costs and uncertain long-term impacts.
Cloud Seeding in India
States like Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan have experimented with cloud seeding to tackle drought. Recently, Delhi considered the method to combat severe air pollution by inducing rain for temporary relief.
Conclusion
Cloud seeding represents an innovative blend of science and climate adaptation, offering hope in managing water scarcity and pollution. However, it should be viewed as a supplementary measure, not a substitute for sustainable environmental practices and responsible climate policy.
Challenges with the High Seas Treaty
The High Seas Treaty, adopted under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 2023, aims to protect marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions — covering nearly two-thirds of the world’s oceans. While historic, its implementation faces several challenges.
1. Lack of Enforcement Mechanisms
There is no clear global authority to enforce rules or penalize violations. Without effective monitoring, illegal fishing, deep-sea mining, and pollution may continue unchecked.
2. Funding and Resource Inequality
Developing nations lack the financial and technological capacity for marine research and conservation. The treaty’s benefit-sharing clause for marine genetic resources remains vague and could cause disputes between rich and poor nations.
3. Overlapping Jurisdictions
The treaty must align with existing maritime frameworks like UNCLOS, the International Seabed Authority (ISA), and regional fisheries agreements — creating complexity and possible conflicts over authority.
4. Scientific and Technical Gaps
Monitoring ecosystems in deep oceans requires advanced technology and data-sharing, which many countries lack. Limited oceanic research hampers conservation and compliance assessment.
5. Political Will and Ratification
The treaty needs ratification by at least 60 countries to come into force. Diverging national interests — especially between industrialized and developing nations — delay implementation and weaken global consensus.
Conclusion
The High Seas Treaty is a landmark step toward ocean conservation, but success depends on global cooperation, fair funding, and transparent enforcement. Without bridging the North–South divide and strengthening technology sharing, its promise of protecting marine biodiversity may remain unrealized.
Link to GS Paper III (Environment, Biodiversity) and GS Paper II (Global Governance, Treaties).
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