UPSC Prelims
6 Topics
Prelims Pinpointer
Prelims Pinpointer — August 26, 2026
Six exam-ready topics: Onam & the Sadya, UNCERD’s remarks on India, UNCCD COP17 and drought resilience, the Aravalli definition review, China’s South China Sea build-up, and DRDO’s missile technology transfer.
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Onam and the Onam Sadya
News Context
- The traditional Onam Sadya, Kerala’s grand festive feast, is costlier this year (₹250–₹1,500 at premium hotels vs ₹180–₹1,200 last year) amid rising vegetable, essentials and LPG prices and menu standardisation.
Key Facts for Prelims
- Onam is Kerala’s most important harvest festival, falling in the Malayalam month of Chingam (Aug-Sep), linked to the star Thiruvonam; celebrations span ten days from Atham to Thiruvonam.
- Mythology: Marks the annual homecoming of King Mahabali (Maveli); Lord Vishnu’s Vamana avatar pushed him to the netherworld but granted a yearly visit.
- Cultural elements: Pookalam (floral rangoli), Vallam Kali (snake boat races, Nehru Trophy at Alappuzha), Pulikali (tiger dance), Thumbi Thullal/Kaikottikali.
- Sadya: Purely vegetarian feast on a banana leaf, often 20–30 dishes including sambar, avial, thoran, and payasam.
Source: The Hindu
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UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) and India
News Context
- UNCERD expressed grave concern over reported human rights violations in India against SCs, STs, Dalits and Rohingya refugees after its eleventh periodic review of India (August 11-12).
Key Facts for Prelims
- UNCERD monitors implementation of the ICERD (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1965/1969) — a treaty-based body, not a charter body.
- Consists of 18 independent experts; India ratified ICERD in 1968.
- Concerns raised: hate speech/crimes, racial profiling, and operations targeting Rohingya after the 2017 MHA order and April 2025 Pahalgam attack.
- Rohingya: Stateless Muslim minority from Myanmar’s Rakhine State; India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol.
Source: The Hindu
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UNCCD COP17 and Drought Resilience
News Context
- Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav called for a shift from reactive relief to proactive, tech-enabled drought resilience at COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Key Facts for Prelims
- UNCCD: Adopted 1994 after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit; only legally binding pact linking environment and development to sustainable land management; 197 parties; secretariat in Bonn, Germany.
- Three Rio Conventions: UNCCD (desertification), UNFCCC (climate change), CBD (biodiversity).
- COP17 theme: “Restoring Land. Restoring Hope.”; India earlier hosted COP14 (New Delhi, 2019), producing the Delhi Declaration.
- Related concepts: Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN, linked to SDG 15), Bonn Challenge, Great Green Wall (Sahel).
India’s initiatives: Aravalli Green Wall Project, National Action Programme to Combat Desertification, and ISRO’s Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India.
Source: The Hindu
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Aravalli Range and the Aravalli Definition Review
News Context
- The Supreme Court-constituted High-Powered Committee (HPC) reviewing the Aravalli’s definition faces criticism for inadequate scientific study, field visits and public consultation, with its report due August 31.
Key Facts for Prelims
- One of the world’s oldest fold mountain systems; runs NE-SW ~692 km across Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat.
- Guru Shikhar (Mount Abu, Rajasthan) is its highest peak; acts as a natural barrier checking the Thar Desert’s eastward spread.
- Per the FSI 2025 report, Aravallis span 63 districts; sacred groves are locally called Orans.
- Protected under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Aravalli Green Wall Project aims to create a green buffer.
Source: The Hindu
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South China Sea and China’s Military Build-up
News Context
- New military installations spotted on Yagong Island near Antelope Reef (Paracel Islands) — analysts believe China is building its largest military base there, possibly an early-warning radar facility.
Key Facts for Prelims
- South China Sea is bordered by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Taiwan; connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans via the Strait of Malacca.
- Paracel Islands: China-occupied since 1974 (seized from South Vietnam). Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal are also disputed.
- China claims the sea via the Nine-Dash Line; the 2016 PCA ruling (filed by the Philippines) went against China, which rejected the verdict.
- India’s interests: freedom of navigation per UNCLOS, ONGC Videsh’s Vietnamese exploration, and the Quad’s free-and-open Indo-Pacific push.
Source: Indian Express
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Transfer of Missile Technology to Domestic Defence Industry
News Context
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved transfer of technology (ToT) for all conventional missile systems developed by DRDO to India’s defence industry, including private players, under Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Key Facts for Prelims
- Missiles transferred: ASTRA (BVR air-to-air), RUDRAM (anti-radiation), VSHORADS (short-range air defence), NAG (anti-tank), NASM (naval anti-ship).
- Excluded (strategic): Agni series (long-range ballistic) and K-series (submarine-launched ballistic missiles).
- DRDO: Established 1958, under the Ministry of Defence; motto “Balasya Mulam Vigyanam.”
| Category | Conventional | Strategic |
|---|---|---|
| Warhead | Non-nuclear | Usually nuclear-capable |
| Purpose | Regular warfare | Deterrence, long-range |
| Examples | ASTRA, NAG, RUDRAM | Agni, K-series |
Source: Indian Express
