Contemporary Issues and Current Affairs
Contemporary issues questions connect static polity with recent law and policy; they reward precise names, years and the constitutional route used.
Rights and governance
- Article 370 abrogated in 2019 and Jammu and Kashmir reorganised into two Union Territories; CAA 2019; 103rd Amendment (EWS, 2019) upheld in 2022 with an exception to the 50% cap.
- 106th Amendment (2023) reserves one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, within SC/ST quotas, for 15 years, with implementation tied to census and delimitation.
- Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023; Aadhaar; UPI.
Economy, environment, institutions
- Paris Agreement 2015; Panchamrit pledges at COP26; LiFE initiative; SDGs to 2030.
- Fiscal federalism: cess and surcharge fall outside the divisible pool; 15th Finance Commission; GST compensation.
- Simultaneous elections: Kovind committee report, 2024.
Worked example: the 106th Amendment did not apply from the 2024 general election because its own Article 334A makes commencement depend on the first census after 2023 and the subsequent delimitation; the reservation then runs for 15 years.
Traps: the 103rd Amendment concerns admission and public employment, not legislatures; Article 370 was not abrogated by a constitutional amendment under Article 368; the Paris Agreement sits within the UNFCCC, not the Kyoto Protocol.