What to read in Indian Express
17 November 2025
| Headline | Section / Page | GS Paper & Topic | Theme / Issue | UPSC Relevance / Analytical Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| After tax havens, dirty money finds a new home: Cryptocurrency | Front Page | GS 3 – Economy / Money-laundering & Technology | Financial regulation & crypto anonymity | Highlights shift of illicit finance from offshore tax havens to digital assets. Links to PMLA 2002, FATF crypto guidelines, and global regulatory cooperation. |
| New crypto adds many blindfolds to old hawala | Front Page | GS 3 – Internal Security / Cyber Finance | Crypto-hawala nexus & national security | Explains digital hawala routes, privacy coins, and blockchain misuse. Useful for Internal Security (terror financing, black money). |
| CAG to assess ‘Ease of Living’ in 101 major cities | Front Page | GS 2 – Governance / Urban Development | Measuring urban governance outcomes | Evaluates urban service delivery under Smart Cities Mission. Connects to Sustainable Urbanisation (SDG-11) and data-driven performance audit. |
| A catastrophe averted by a hair’s breadth, a long road ahead (Editorial) | Page 10 | GS 3 – Disaster Management | Prevented industrial / nuclear accident | Reflects preparedness & near-miss analysis. Useful for risk reduction frameworks under Sendai Framework 2015–30. |
| EC has trust issues, but Congress needs a mirror (Editorial) | Page 10 | GS 2 – Polity / Elections & Accountability | Institutional credibility & opposition crisis | Critiques Election Commission’s independence and opposition’s strategic vacuum. Useful for Electoral Reforms & Transparency questions. |
| People demand right to good air days, that’s step one and a big leap (Editorial) | Page 10 | GS 3 – Environment / Pollution | Environmental rights & civic activism | Discusses Right to Clean Air as implicit under Article 21; citizen mobilisation as democratic environmentalism. |
| Rethink on quality control orders is timely (Editorial) | Page 10 | GS 3 – Economy / Trade & Standards | Industrial policy & export competitiveness | Calls for balanced quality assurance policy under BIS Act 2016, aligning with Ease of Doing Business & Make in India. |
| Key to Bihar’s victory script is the new grammar of Modi politics, governance (Ideal Page) | Page 11 | GS 2 – Polity / Political Dynamics | Electoral governance model | Analyses “Modi governance narrative” merging welfare, nationalism & delivery. Illustrates transformative populism for Essay / GS 2 answers. |
| China’s dominance rests on fragile foundations (Ideal Page) | Page 11 | GS 2 – International Relations / Global Economy | Structural weaknesses in Chinese economy | Dissects China’s debt, demography & over-capacity. Useful for comparative economy & multipolarity discussions. |
| Deeper trade ties will help internationalise the rupee (Ideal Page) | Page 11 | GS 3 – Economy / External Sector | De-dollarisation & rupee trade | Advocates rupee-settled trade to reduce dollar dependency. Links to India–UAE Dirham-Rupee mechanism, Bilateral Payment Systems, and Reserve currency ambition. |
| The hurdles in India’s fight to eliminate TB (Explained) | Page 22 | GS 2 – Health / Welfare Schemes | TB elimination mission & implementation gaps | Reviews National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP), treatment resistance, funding shortfalls, and Nikshay portal data issues. |
| Why universities are boycotting global rankings: ‘Black boxes, work as closed systems’ (Explained) | Page 22 | GS 2 – Education / Governance | Transparency & autonomy in higher education | Universities challenge opaque global ranking metrics; links to NAAC, NIRF, and HEI reforms under NEP 2020. |
| Why buying bhaang is legal but growing cannabis at home isn’t (Explained) | Page 22 | GS 2 – Polity / Governance & Law | Drug regulation & federal legislation | Explains legal framework under NDPS Act 1985—difference between regulated public sale (bhaang) vs illegal cultivation. Useful for Prelims & Ethics (law–morality interface). |