UPSC CSE Prelims 2026 Compendium - Beast-Mode Revision

A comprehensive vocabulary flashcard set covering historical background, constitutional provisions, economic aggregates, ecological concepts, and world geography for the UPSC 2026 examination.

Regulating Act 1773

The first step taken by the British Parliament to regulate East India Company affairs, which created the office of Governor-General of Bengal with Warren Hastings as the first occupant.

Pitt's India Act 1784

An act that distinguished between the political and commercial functions of the East India Company and established a double government system via the Board of Control and Court of Directors.

Charter Act 1833

The final step toward centralization in British India, which converted the Governor-General of Bengal into the Governor-General of India ($William Bentinck$) and added a Law Member ($Macaulay$) to the council.

Dyarchy

A system of double government introduced in the Provinces by the GOI Act $1919$ and later proposed for the Center by the GOI Act $1935$, splitting subjects into transferred and reserved categories.

Cabinet Mission Plan 1946

A framework comprising $Pethick-Lawrence$, $Stafford Cripps$, and $A.V. Alexander$ that provided for the composition of the Constituent Assembly with $389$ total seats.

Objectives Resolution

A resolution moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on $13\,Dec\,1946$ that served as the foundational basis for the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

Basic Structure Doctrine

A judicial principle established in the Kesavananda Bharati case ($1973$) stating that Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution except for its core, fundamental features.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

A judicial order meaning 'to have the body,' issued against illegal detention by either the State or private individuals.

Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)

Non-justiciable guidelines found in Part IV (Articles $36\text{--}51$) borrowed from Ireland, described as the 'conscience of the Constitution' by Granville Austin.

61st Constitutional Amendment Act 1988

The amendment that reduced the minimum voting age in India from $21$ years to $18$ years.

73rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1992

An act that gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions by inserting Part IX and the 11th Schedule containing $29$ functional items.

Attorney General (Art 76)

The first law officer of India who has the right to speak in Parliament but no right to vote, holding office during the pleasure of the President.

Money Bill (Art 110)

A bill dealing exclusively with taxation or government spending that must originate in the Lok Sabha on the President's recommendation and is certified by the Speaker.

GDP Deflator

An implicit price index calculated as $(\frac{\text{Nominal GDP}}{\text{Real GDP}}) \times 100$, widely considered the most comprehensive measure of inflation.

Broad Money (M3)

A measure of money supply calculated as M1 plus time deposits with banks, serving as the headline money supply aggregate in India.

Fiscal Deficit

The total expenditure minus total receipts (excluding borrowings), representing the total net borrowing requirement of the government.

Gini Coefficient

A measure of income or wealth distribution inequality where a value of $0$ represents perfect equality and a value of $1$ represents perfect inequality.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A composite index by the UNDP measuring life expectancy, expected and mean years of schooling, and GNI per capita in PPP terms.

MSP (Minimum Support Price)

A price floor for $23$ crops recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices ($CACP$) ensuring farmers a margin of at least $50\,\%$ over their paid-out costs and family labor.

Blue Carbon

Carbon captured and stored by coastal and marine ecosystems, specifically mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes.

Coriolis Force

A force arising from the Earth's rotation that deflects moving air to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, reaching zero at the equator.

International Date Line (IDL)

A line approximately following the $180^{\circ}$ meridian that bends to accommodate political boundaries, where crossing from East to West requires adding a day.

Thermohaline Circulation

The deep-ocean 'conveyor belt' circulation driven by differences in water density caused by variations in temperature and salinity.

Ecotone

A transition zone between two distinct biological communities, such as an estuary or a mangrove forest, which often displays high species diversity.

Keystone Species

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance, such as a sea otter or a fig tree.

Critically Endangered (CR)

The highest IUCN Red List threat category for wild species, which includes the Great Indian Bustard and the Hangul in India.

Kyoto Protocol 1997

An international treaty under the UNFCCC that established legally binding emission reduction targets for developed (Annex I) countries.

Montreal Protocol 1987

The only universally ratified treaty, providing a binding phase-out of ozone-depleting substances ($ODS$) like CFCs and halons.

BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand)

The amount of oxygen consumed by bacteria while decomposing organic matter under aerobic conditions, used as a proxy for water pollution levels.

Article 371A

A special constitutional provision for $Nagaland$ protecting religious/social practices, customary law, and land ownership from Acts of Parliament unless the State Assembly concurs.

Zonal Councils

Statutory bodies created under the States Reorganisation Act $1956$ to encourage inter-state cooperation, chaired by the Union Home Minister.

FDI (Foreign Direct Investment)

An investment defined by a threshold of at least $10\,\%$ equity stake in a company, representing a long-term interest and management control.

Laffer Curve

An economic theory showing the relationship between tax rates and tax revenue, suggesting that increasing tax rates beyond a certain point will decrease total revenue.

Project Cheetah

India's initiative launched in $2022$ at Kuno National Park to reintroduce the cheetah, which was declared extinct in India in $1952$.

Ramsar Convention 1971

An intergovernmental treaty providing the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands, with India currently having $89$ designated sites.

Montreux Record

A register of Ramsar wetland sites under threat from ecological change, currently including India's Loktak Lake and Keoladeo National Park.

Sdr (Special Drawing Rights)

An international reserve asset created by the IMF whose value is based on a basket of five currencies: USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, and CNY.

Microplastics

Plastic fragments measuring less than $5\,mm$ in length, originating from microbeads, synthetic fibers, or the degradation of larger plastic debris.

AtmaNirbhar Bharat

A primary policy initiative launched in $2020$ focused on self-reliance through five pillars: Economy, Infrastructure, System, Demography, and Demand.

Kharif Crops

Summer season crops sown at the beginning of the southwest monsoon (June-July), such as Rice, Maize, Cotton, and Groundnut.