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UPSC study notes
History, geography, society, governance, economy, science, environment and ethics in 30 themes.
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Understand India.
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Plain-English study notes on history, democracy, the economy and public affairs. Built for curious readers, UPSC and State PCS preparation.
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Browse all subjects →Connect ideas to events
Current affairs explained
Background on policy, courts, trade, science and society. Context to help you make sense of the headlines.
Explore 100 explainersKnow your institutions
Indian democracy
Constitution, elections, Parliament, courts and citizenship, supported by a syllabus map and topic quizzes.
Read Democracy 100A few useful starting points
Open the glossary →Ancient India
The Indus Valley Civilisation: India's first cities
The Indus Valley Civilisation, also called the Harappan Civilisation, was one of the world's earliest urban cultures. Its mature phase lasted from about 2600 to 1900…
Banking
Monetary policy tools: repo, reverse repo, CRR, SLR and transmission
Monetary policy works mainly by changing the cost and availability of money. Its best-known tool in India is the repo rate, the rate at which the Reserve Bank of India…
Environment
Climate change and India's climate commitments
Climate change is driven by greenhouse gases, above all carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, which trap heat in the atmosphere and warm the planet. Its effects in…
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From the public notebook
About Public Notes →Personal essays, history and analysis by Diljot, alongside the study collections.
Lahore 1929 and the Purna Swaraj resolution
How a resolution, a public pledge and a historical moment connected.
How the protests started after Lahore
From the Dandi March to Dharasana: the people and organisation behind the movement.
Daring to think there is scope to improve
A personal reflection from the public notebook.