Daily Briefing Current Affairs

GS-3GDP METHODOLOGY AND THE SHIFT TO DOUBLE DEFLATION

A negative number isn't always a broken one - what India's GDP deflators are actually telling you

The debate follows public concerns raised by former Finance Secretary S.C. Garg and former Chief Statistician Pronab Sen over whether India's statistical system can reliably support double deflation, particularly given thin producer-price data for services and the unorganised sector. NITI Aayog's Lahiri pushed back on the criticism this week and MoSPI has also shifted its input measure for double deflation from CPI/WPI…

Sub TopicECONOMY - NATIONAL INCOME ACCOUNTING AND REAL GVA…SourceTHE HINDU, INDIAN EXPRESS, PIB…
UPSC Relevance9/10
Time to Read3 min read
Total Views31,597
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GS-3LIVESTOCK ECONOMY AND FEED-COST-DRIVEN FOOD INFLATION

Livestock Nearly Caught Up With Crops - Then Its Own Feed Bill Turned Against It

Egg, chicken and milk prices remain elevated because feed ingredient costs - chiefly maize and soyabean meal - have surged sharply over the past year, squeezing poultry and dairy farmer margins even as consumer demand and livestock sector output keep growing. Spiralling costs of feed ingredients like maize and soyabean meal are keeping egg, chicken and milk prices high, threatening the profitability of India's booming…

Sub TopicAGRICULTURAL STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION AND INPUT-COST…SourceINDIAN EXPRESS, SR PUBLICATION
UPSC Relevance8/10
Time to Read3 min read
Total Views35,807
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GS-3STRATEGIC CHOKEPOINTS AND INFORMATION ASYMMETRY IN OIL MARKETS

Nobody Knows How Much Oil Moved Through Hormuz Yesterday - And That's the Story

Oil prices are rising even as the physical scale of any supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz remains genuinely unknown. Tankers disabling their Automatic Identification System transponders, combined with a US request to delay satellite imagery of the Gulf, have created a data vacuum that markets are pricing as risk.

Sub TopicENERGY SECURITY AND THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ CRISISSourceINDIAN EXPRESS, MOCHA TRADE…
UPSC Relevance9/10
Time to Read3 min read
Total Views37,532
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GS-3INDIGENOUS OCEAN RESEARCH CAPABILITY AND THE DEEP OCEAN MISSION

Sagar Manthan: The Ship That Closes a 43-Year Gap in India's Ocean Capability

Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers launched Sagar Manthan in Kolkata, marking India's shift from operating a foreign-built ocean research vessel since 1983 to designing and constructing its own. The vessel is built under Vertical-4 (Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration) of the Deep Ocean Mission and was virtually launched by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Sub TopicMARITIME SELF-RELIANCE AND DEEP-SEA MINERAL EXPLORATIONSourcePIB, THE HINDU, THE PRINT, TIMES…
UPSC Relevance8/10
Time to Read3 min read
Total Views36,424
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GS-3RENEWABLE ENERGY AND AGRIVOLTAICS UNDER PM-KUSUM 2.0

PM-KUSUM 2.0's Agrivoltaics Bet: Can One Acre Really Pay a Farmer Thrice?

Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi confirmed that PM-KUSUM 2.0 is close to a formal announcement, with agrivoltaics as its centrepiece addition. The statement was made at the curtain-raiser event for the 7th Agrivoltaics World Conference 2026, an international gathering on combining farming with solar power generation, to be hosted in New Delhi in October.

Sub TopicLAND-USE OPTIMISATION IN SOLAR ENERGY EXPANSIONSourcePIB, THE HINDU, DD NEWS
UPSC Relevance8/10
Time to Read3 min read
Total Views40,285
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GS-3ENERGY SECURITY AND UNDER-RECOVERIES AMID OIL PRICE SURGE

The ₹23-a-Litre Loss No One Is Paying at the Pump - Yet

Escalating military tensions between Iran and the United States, including a direct exchange between their vessels, pushed Brent crude to a three-and-a-half-month high this week, with India's crude oil basket averaging $108.91 per barrel on September 8 - putting fresh strain on state oil marketing companies that continue to sell fuel at retail prices frozen for over three months.

Sub TopicECONOMY - RETAIL PRICE FREEZE, OMC LOSSES AND IMPORTED…SourcePPAC, TRADING ECONOMICS, TIMES…
UPSC Relevance9/10
Time to Read3 min read
Total Views32,852
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