UPSC Editorials Quiz : 16 June 2026

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is correct: The ESI Scheme is a multi-dimensional social security system set up under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948. It was the first major legislation on social security for workers in independent India.
• Statement 2 is correct: Unlike commercial health insurance, which only covers hospitalization, ESIC provides an integrated package. It combines full medical protection (without monetary ceilings) with cash benefits to compensate for wage loss during sickness, maternity, temporary or permanent disablement, and unemployment.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: The scheme is self-financing. The financial corpus is built out of fixed monthly contributions from employers and employees. The central government does not fund the regular corpus through budgetary allocations, though state governments contribute a minor percentage (1/8th) toward the cost of medical benefits.

Solution: D

• The Global Peace Index (GPI) 2026 is published annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), an international think tank, rather than SIPRI. The index measures national peacefulness across three primary domains: societal safety and security, ongoing domestic and international conflict, and militarisation.
• In the 2026 edition, India’s ranking declined to 127th place (down from 115th in 2025), as its overall peacefulness score deteriorated by 2.9%. This decline reflects a broader, highly concerning global trend: the number of active, state-based conflicts has reached its highest level since the end of World War II, making international conflicts increasingly interconnected and harder to resolve.
• In South Asia, India was placed behind several peers but ahead of Pakistan. At the top of the rankings, Iceland retained its position as the most peaceful country in the world for the 19th consecutive year, followed by New Zealand and Switzerland.

Source

Solution: B

Article 224A of the Constitution of India empowers the Chief Justice of a High Court, with the previous consent of the President, to request a retired judge of that High Court or of any other High Court to sit and act as a judge of the High Court for that State.

This provision is intended to help address shortages of judges and reduce the backlog of cases in High Courts. A retired judge who accepts such a request enjoys the powers, jurisdiction, and privileges of a High Court judge while serving in that capacity, though they are not deemed to be a permanent judge of the court.

• Article 222 – Deals with the transfer of judges from one High Court to another.
• Article 226 – Empowers High Courts to issue certain writs for enforcement of fundamental rights and other purposes.
• Article 130 – Relates to the seat of the Supreme Court of India.

Solution: B

• The PCPNDT Act was passed in 1994 as a strict legislative response to the rapid decline in India’s child sex ratio (ages 0 to 6), which fell from 962 girls per 1,000 boys in 1981 to 945 in 1991. The expansion of ultrasound technology during this period led to widespread pre-natal sex determination and subsequent sex-selective abortions.
• Unlike other nations that allow sex determination but outlaw sex-selective abortions, Indian law strictly prohibits both under this Act. The law operates as a strict liability statute, meaning that any procedural or record-keeping error by diagnostic clinics is treated as a severe violation, regardless of administrative intent.

Source

Solution: C

• Statement 1 is Correct. A person whose name is already included in the electoral roll enjoys a legal presumption of eligibility, including citizenship, unless the entry is lawfully challenged and removed. Electoral rolls are official public records, and previously registered voters are generally not required to re-establish their eligibility from scratch.
• Statement 2 is Incorrect. Article 324 grants the Election Commission of India supervisory and administrative powers over elections. It does not confer judicial authority to finally adjudicate and determine citizenship status. The Supreme Court has observed that the Commission may inquire into citizenship-related issues for electoral purposes, but it cannot act as the final judicial authority on citizenship.
• Statement 3 is Correct. A major criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process has been that it places the practical burden of proving eligibility on individual citizens by requiring them to furnish documents, rather than relying primarily on State-led verification mechanisms. This concern has been widely discussed in constitutional and electoral law debates.