UPSC reference shelf
Landmark judgements, constitutional amendments, schemes, committees, reports and organisations, each explained from zero for UPSC.
Judgements
Landmark Supreme Court cases and what they held.
- Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala 1973
Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution but cannot alter its basic structure.
- Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India 1978
Procedure depriving a person of liberty must be just, fair and reasonable.
- Indra Sawhney v. Union of India 1992
Upheld OBC reservation with a 50% ceiling and exclusion of the creamy layer.
- S.R. Bommai v. Union of India 1994
President's Rule under Article 356 is open to judicial review.
- Shreya Singhal v. Union of India 2015
Struck down Section 66A of the IT Act, 2000.
- K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India 2017
Privacy is a fundamental right.
- Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India 2018
Decriminalised consensual same-sex relations between adults.
- Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India 2024
Struck down the electoral bond scheme.
Constitutional amendments
Landmark amendments and what they changed.
- 1st Amendment 1951
Added the Ninth Schedule and new grounds for restricting free speech.
- 42nd Amendment 1976
Added 'socialist', 'secular' and 'integrity' to the Preamble, and Fundamental Duties.
- 44th Amendment 1978
Removed the right to property from Fundamental Rights.
- 61st Amendment 1988
Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
- 73rd Amendment 1992
Gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions.
- 74th Amendment 1992
Gave constitutional status to urban local bodies.
- 86th Amendment 2002
Made elementary education a fundamental right.
- 101st Amendment 2016
Introduced the Goods and Services Tax.
- 103rd Amendment 2019
Allowed up to 10% reservation for economically weaker sections.
- 106th Amendment 2023
Reserved one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
Schemes
Major government schemes, ministry wise.
- MGNREGA 2005
Guarantees 100 days of wage employment a year to rural households.
- PM Jan Dhan Yojana 2014
Basic bank accounts for unbanked households.
- PM-KISAN 2019
Pays eligible farmer families Rs 6,000 a year in three instalments.
- Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY 2018
Health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for hospital care.
- PM Ujjwala Yojana 2016
LPG connections for women in poor households.
- Jal Jeevan Mission 2019
Functional tap water connections for rural households.
- PM Vishwakarma 2023
Credit, training and toolkits for traditional artisans.
- Production Linked Incentive schemes 2020
Incentives on incremental sales in selected manufacturing sectors.
Committees
Committees and commissions with their key recommendations.
- Balwantrai Mehta Committee 1957
Recommended a three-tier Panchayati Raj system.
- Sarkaria Commission 1983
Centre-State relations: sparing use of Article 356 and consultation on Governors.
- Punchhi Commission 2007
Centre-State relations: fixed tenure for Governors and time limits on State Bills.
- Second Administrative Reforms Commission 2005
Wide reform of public administration, ethics and local governance.
- Madhav Gadgil Panel (WGEEP) 2011
About 64% of the Western Ghats to be treated as ecologically sensitive.
- Kasturirangan Working Group 2013
About 37% of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive.
- Urjit Patel Committee 2014
Adopt CPI inflation as the nominal anchor for monetary policy.
- Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee 2017
Recommended a comprehensive data protection law.
Reports and indices
International reports and what they measure.
- Human Development Index
UNDP's measure of health, education and income.
- Multidimensional Poverty Index
UNDP and OPHI's measure of deprivation in health, education and living standards.
- Global Gender Gap Index
World Economic Forum index of economic participation, education, health and political empowerment.
- Global Hunger Index
Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe's index of undernourishment, child stunting, wasting and mortality.
- World Happiness Report
UN SDSN and partners rank countries on life evaluations from survey data.
- World Press Freedom Index
Reporters Without Borders' annual ranking of media freedom.
- Global Innovation Index
WIPO's annual measure of innovation inputs and outputs.
International organisations
Groupings, India's role and key features.
- Shanghai Cooperation Organisation 2001
India has been a full member since 2017.
- BRICS 2009
India is a founding member; the New Development Bank is in Shanghai.
- G20 1999
India held the presidency in 2023, when the African Union became a permanent member.
- Quad 2007
India, the USA, Japan and Australia.
- International Solar Alliance 2015
Launched by India and France at COP21 in Paris.
- BIMSTEC 1997
Seven Bay of Bengal states, including India.
- World Trade Organization 1995
Successor to GATT; India is a founding member.
Data sets
Data points with their source and where to use them.
- Sex ratio Census 2011
943 females per 1,000 males.
- Literacy rate Census 2011
74.04% of people aged 7 and above.
- Total fertility rate NFHS-5 (2019-21)
2.0 births per woman.
- Inflation target RBI Act, amended 2016
4% CPI inflation, with a band of 2-6%.
- States' share of the divisible pool 15th Finance Commission
41% of the divisible pool.
- Monsoon long period average IMD, 1971-2020 base
About 87 cm of rain over the season.