Current Affairs — Wednesday, 22 July 2026

Mains themes

• UPSC can ask GST as a Prelims topic on GST Council, dual GST, destination-based taxation, and GST Network, and as a Mains topic on cooperative federalism, compliance simplification, rate rationalisation, and the trade-off between revenue buoyancy and consumer relief.
• UPSC can frame the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bal Thackeray) merger dispute around the Tenth Schedule, the distinction between a legislative party and the original political party, the Speaker’s role, and judicial handling of defection and merger disputes in legislatures.
• UPSC may ask about the balance between trade liberalisation and protection of sensitive sectors, the link between trade policy and strategic autonomy, or the impact of trade agreements on exports, services, MSMEs, and global value-chain integration.