International Affairs 

1. QS World University Rankings: Asia 2025

Overview: Recently, the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2025 ranking was published, representing 984 universities from 25 countries, including universities of the East, South, South-East and Central Asia.

Key Points:

Indian Institutes’ Performance:

• Top 50: IIT Delhi stands at 44th position, while IIT Bombay it is at 48th position.

• Top 100: Other institutes are IIT Madras (56), IIT Kharagpur (60), IISc Bangalore (62), IIT Kanpur (67) and University of Delhi (81) .

Achievements:

• IIT Delhi achieved 99% in the employer reputation, which indicates high value of the institute amongst the employers.

• IIT Bombay’s high scores: 99.both global/service sectors achieving 5% in employer reputation and 96.6% in academic reputation.

• University of Delhi – ranking raised this year to 81 from 94; 96.4% in the International Research Network indicator.

Regional Dominance: Out of thirty-one ranked institutions, ten are in India, a country that has tripled its representation since the 2015 table.

Significance for Exams:

• Make a note on India’s improvement in the field of higher education.

• Contextualised in global debates about educational quality and Indian influence on the education sphere.

National Affairs 

2. National Education Day 2024

Importance: Organized every year on November 11th, NED commemorates the birthday of the first Education Minister of Independent India, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Contributions of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad:

• Fought for any policy change for the improvement of education especially for special needs children.

• Some of them:ør Øyedal 2011) Post-independence, he got involved in the founding of several educational foundations.

Context for Exams:

• They also highlight general education for the disabled children in India.

• Useful for the matters concerning education reforms, national leaders or learning policies, for the composition of an essay.

Economy & Demographics 

3. Impacts of Declining Population

Demographic Shifts:

• With falling fertility rates, the states in southern region of India are already witnessing population aging.

• The Northern States such as Uttar Pradesh are expected to have increased in the number of seats they will be allocated as a result of population development.

Case Studies:

State Seat Redistribution:

• Increases: Uttar Pradesh may increase seven folds and could win 12 more Lok sabha seats, Bihar may get 10 more while Rajasthan may get seven more.

• Decreases: Including up to 9 from Tamil Nadu, 6 from Kerala, and 5 from Andhra Pradesh.

Global Comparison:

• Japan’s Crisis: There is a severe housing problem in Japan as there are more than 9 million empty houses (akiya) caused by low birth rate and increased average age, which even affect large megalopolises including Tokyo.

Exam Relevance:

• Premises for understanding demographic changes and its effect on social and economical fabric.

• Related to issues such as population and development, fiscal growth, and social development.

Social Initiatives

4. Free Offline Classes for Underprivileged Students

• Description: A new promising of free offline classes for fifty underprivileged students.

• Significance: It is an organization with the mission to close the gap of education and offer quality education to learners from disadvantaged background.

Relevance for Exams:

• Most appropriate for subjects of social concern and education for all.

• List of community support measures.