The Hindu Editorial 10th October 2025 Vocabulary, Summary, Tone, Descriptive

The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary is highly useful for Bank and SSC exams, especially for the English section. Regular reading improves vocabulary, comprehension, and grammar. Editorials contain high-quality language, idioms, phrasal verbs, and advanced vocabulary frequently asked in exams. Learning 10–15 new words daily and reading the summary of the passage from editorials helps in scoring better in Cloze Tests, Reading Comprehension, Fill in the Blanks, and Synonyms-Antonyms. It also boosts your confidence in descriptive writing and interviews. Consistent practice with these words, along with usage in sentences, enhances retention. Hence, the Hindu editorials serve as a rich and reliable source for English preparation in competitive exams.

Reading Comprehension passages are an integral part of the English section of government exams. However, for beginners, such passages can seem difficult. The Hindu Editorial is an excellent tool to improve the reading and understanding of passages. The language is very similar to the passages that generally appear in the English section of government exams, and each paragraph is filled with exam-relevant vocabulary and real-world topics. First, go through the vocabulary section and read the meanings of the words, their Hindi translations, synonyms, and antonyms. Then read the summary of the passage provided to you. Once you know the meanings of the words, read the passage carefully, and you will feel that it is much easier to understand the main idea and tone of the passage. This method not only improves the understanding of reading comprehension passages but also builds a strong vocabulary base for cloze tests and sentence fillers in the exam. Doing this every day will boost your confidence in the English section and help improve your scores in sections such as Reading Comprehension, Cloze Tests, and Sentence Fillers.

The Hindu Editorial 10th October 2025

Tusks and tensions: On the Wild Life Protection (Kerala Amendment) Bill 2025

Kerala’s changes to Wildlife Act will devolve national safeguards

Kerala’s decision to amend the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 marks a turning point in the federal discourse on environmental governance. The Wild Life Protection (Kerala Amendment) Bill 2025 seeks to arm the State with powers thus far reserved for the Union government. While the ambition is rooted in a painful lived crisis, the attempt to sidestep Centre-State dissonance exposes tensions between ecological prudence and federal autonomy. The Bill asserts that the State may decide when a Schedule II animal has become ‘vermin’, and thus liable to lose protections under that Schedule for specific areas and periods. It also vests the Chief Wildlife Warden with the power to order any animal that has severely injured a person to be killed, tranquillised, captured or translocated. There have been violent confrontations with wild boars in the State’s dense mosaic of farms, settlements and forests. Assembly resolutions and ministerial trips to New Delhi to have the wild boar declared as ‘vermin’ under the Central Act have proved fruitless. Read against the ongoing expansion of human settlements into erstwhile buffer zones, the change risks normalising lethal outcomes produced by human advance rather than by animal behaviour. This said, the Centre’s power to declare vermin has too often been exercised as a veto without transparent criteria or timely engagement with States that face distinct ecologies and pressures. Kerala’s frustration is thus a federal critique.

Shifting the same blunt power to the State does not by itself cure the vice of opacity, however. A jurisprudence that ties need to circumstance must interrogate how the circumstance was produced and whether non-lethal options were credibly exhausted. Section 62 of the Central Act exists to keep indiscriminate culling from eroding conservation baselines. Wildlife lies in the Concurrent List and any State law repugnant to the Central Act requires Presidential assent. If that test can be framed as Centre versus State, it is also about whether Kerala’s recourse recreates the national safeguards in devolved form. A defensible settlement would preserve the floors, i.e., no dilution of baseline protections and international commitments; building State-level ceilings in the form of clearer, faster procedures; devolving non-lethal toolkits and accountable, data-driven thresholds; and tuning incentives to reward coexistence. Until then, declaring the wild boar to be ‘vermin’ or downgrading the bonnet macaque from Schedule I to Schedule II of the Central Act, while buying political time, may risk deepening a cycle in which governance failure begets lethal shortcuts. If the urgency is real, so too is the obligation to ensure that speed does not substitute reason and federal devolution does not become federal abdication.

The Hindu Editorial 10th October 2025 Vocabulary

1. Devolve (v.)
   • Meaning: To transfer power or responsibility from a higher authority to a lower one
   • Synonyms: delegate, decentralise, cede, entrust
   • Antonyms: centralise, concentrate, retain, usurp
2. Arm (v.)
   • Meaning: To equip or provide with power, tools, or authority
   • Synonyms: empower, endow, furnish, fortify
   • Antonyms: disarm, deprive, weaken, strip
3. Reserved (adj.)
   • Meaning: Kept or set aside for a specific person, group, or purpose
   • Synonyms: allocated, designated, earmarked, appropriated
   • Antonyms: shared, released, open, unrestricted
4. Ambition (n.)
   • Meaning: A strong desire or determination to achieve something significant
   • Synonyms: aspiration, drive, enterprise, pursuit
   • Antonyms: indifference, apathy, complacency, lethargy
5. Rooted in (phr. v.)
   • Meaning: Firmly established in or arising from a particular source or cause
   • Synonyms: grounded in, derived from, anchored in, embedded in
   • Antonyms: detached from, separated from, unrelated to, disconnected from
6. Painful (adj.)
   • Meaning: Causing emotional distress or suffering
   • Synonyms: distressing, agonising, grievous, excruciating
   • Antonyms: soothing, comforting, pleasant, alleviating
7. Lived (adj.)
   • Meaning: Based on real experience or direct involvement
   • Synonyms: experienced, witnessed, felt, endured
   • Antonyms: theoretical, imagined, speculative, abstract
8. Crisis (n.)
   • Meaning: A time of intense difficulty or danger requiring urgent action
   • Synonyms: emergency, turmoil, predicament, upheaval
   • Antonyms: stability, calm, peace, resolution
9. Sidestep (v.)
   • Meaning: To avoid dealing with something directly
   • Synonyms: evade, circumvent, bypass, elude
   • Antonyms: confront, address, tackle, face
10. Dissonance (n.)
    • Meaning: Lack of harmony or agreement between elements
    • Synonyms: discord, disparity, friction, incongruity
    • Antonyms: harmony, accord, consensus, congruence
11. Exposes (v.)
    • Meaning: To reveal or make visible something hidden
    • Synonyms: unveils, discloses, uncovers, reveals
    • Antonyms: conceals, obscures, hides, shrouds
12. Tensions (n.)
    • Meaning: Strained relations or conflicting pressures
    • Synonyms: strain, friction, unease, discord
    • Antonyms: ease, agreement, serenity, concord
13. Prudence (n.)
    • Meaning: The quality of being cautious and judicious
    • Synonyms: discretion, circumspection, foresight, sagacity
    • Antonyms: recklessness, imprudence, folly, rashness
14. Autonomy (n.)
    • Meaning: The right or condition of self-government
    • Synonyms: independence, self-rule, sovereignty, liberty
    • Antonyms: subordination, dependence, control, domination
15. Asserts (v.)
    • Meaning: To state or declare forcefully or confidently
    • Synonyms: affirms, proclaims, avows, maintains
    • Antonyms: denies, retracts, refutes, disavows
16. Vermin (n.)
    • Meaning: Small animals regarded as pests or harmful to humans or crops
    • Synonyms: pests, rodents, parasites, scavengers
    • Antonyms: protected species, fauna, wildlife, natives
17. Liable (adj.)
    • Meaning: Legally or morally responsible or likely to be affected
    • Synonyms: accountable, answerable, susceptible, exposed
    • Antonyms: immune, exempt, protected, absolved
18. Vests (v.)
    • Meaning: To grant power, authority, or rights formally
    • Synonyms: bestows, endows, confers, entrusts
    • Antonyms: withholds, deprives, retracts, rescinds
19. Severely (adv.)
    • Meaning: To a great or intense degree; seriously
    • Synonyms: gravely, intensely, acutely, harshly
    • Antonyms: mildly, lightly, gently, leniently
20. Translocated (v.)
    • Meaning: Moved from one place to another, especially wildlife
    • Synonyms: relocated, shifted, displaced, transferred
    • Antonyms: retained, kept, fixed, settled
21. Confrontations (n.)
    • Meaning: Hostile or argumentative encounters
    • Synonyms: clashes, altercations, skirmishes, disputes
    • Antonyms: agreements, reconciliations, truces, accords
22. Dense (adj.)
    • Meaning: Closely packed or crowded together
    • Synonyms: compact, thick, concentrated, impenetrable
    • Antonyms: sparse, thin, scattered, porous
23. Mosaic (n.)
    • Meaning: A complex pattern of different elements forming a whole
    • Synonyms: medley, patchwork, amalgam, montage
    • Antonyms: uniformity, homogeneity, monotony, consistency
24. Fruitless (adj.)
    • Meaning: Failing to achieve results; unproductive
    • Synonyms: futile, ineffectual, barren, abortive
    • Antonyms: successful, productive, effective, fruitful
25. Ongoing (adj.)
    • Meaning: Continuing or still in progress
    • Synonyms: continuing, persistent, sustained, unceasing
    • Antonyms: concluded, discontinued, halted, terminated
26. Erstwhile (adj.)
    • Meaning: Former or previous
    • Synonyms: previous, former, bygone, antecedent
    • Antonyms: current, present, contemporary, ongoing
27. Normalising (v.)
    • Meaning: To make something considered abnormal seem acceptable or routine
    • Synonyms: legitimising, regularising, standardising, institutionalising
    • Antonyms: condemning, rejecting, prohibiting, stigmatising
28. Lethal (adj.)
    • Meaning: Capable of causing death
    • Synonyms: fatal, deadly, mortal, pernicious
    • Antonyms: harmless, benign, safe, curative
29. Outcomes (n.)
    • Meaning: The results or consequences of actions
    • Synonyms: consequences, ramifications, repercussions, corollaries
    • Antonyms: causes, sources, origins, antecedents
30. Advance (n.)
    • Meaning: The forward movement or expansion of something
    • Synonyms: progression, encroachment, expansion, march
    • Antonyms: retreat, withdrawal, regression, recession
31. Exercised (v.)
    • Meaning: To apply or put into effect (a right or power)
    • Synonyms: wielded, implemented, enforced, invoked
    • Antonyms: neglected, ignored, abandoned, renounced
32. Transparent (adj.)
    • Meaning: Open and clear, with nothing hidden
    • Synonyms: lucid, candid, unambiguous, forthright
    • Antonyms: opaque, secretive, cryptic, clandestine
33. Distinct (adj.)
    • Meaning: Clearly separate or different in nature
    • Synonyms: discrete, divergent, dissimilar, singular
    • Antonyms: similar, identical, alike, indistinct
34. Critique (n.)
    • Meaning: A detailed analysis or evaluation
    • Synonyms: appraisal, assessment, evaluation, commentary
    • Antonyms: praise, endorsement, approval, commendation
35. Blunt power (n. phr.)
    • Meaning: Crude or unrefined authority applied without nuance
    • Synonyms: brute force, coercion, authoritarianism, arbitrariness
    • Antonyms: restraint, diplomacy, subtlety, moderation
36. Vice (n.)
    • Meaning: A moral or administrative fault or weakness
    • Synonyms: flaw, defect, shortcoming, depravity
    • Antonyms: virtue, integrity, rectitude, excellence
37. Opacity (n.)
    • Meaning: Lack of transparency or clarity
    • Synonyms: obscurity, ambiguity, concealment, murkiness
    • Antonyms: clarity, lucidity, openness, transparency
38. Jurisprudence (n.)
    • Meaning: The theory or philosophy of law
    • Synonyms: legal theory, legal philosophy, doctrine, adjudication
    • Antonyms: lawlessness, anarchy, disorder, illegality
39. Circumstance (n.)
    • Meaning: A condition or fact connected with an event or situation
    • Synonyms: condition, situation, context, milieu
    • Antonyms: essence, cause, independence, abstraction
40. Interrogate (v.)
    • Meaning: To question closely and critically
    • Synonyms: examine, probe, scrutinise, cross-examine
    • Antonyms: accept, ignore, overlook, disregard
41. Credibly (adv.)
    • Meaning: In a believable or trustworthy manner
    • Synonyms: plausibly, convincingly, reliably, dependably
    • Antonyms: doubtfully, implausibly, questionably, unreliably
42. Exhausted (v.)
    • Meaning: Used up or completely applied
    • Synonyms: depleted, drained, consumed, expended
    • Antonyms: renewed, replenished, restored, conserved
43. Indiscriminate (adj.)
    • Meaning: Done without careful judgment or distinction
    • Synonyms: arbitrary, haphazard, aimless, unselective
    • Antonyms: selective, deliberate, discriminating, methodical
44. Culling (n.)
    • Meaning: Selective killing or removal of animals to control population
    • Synonyms: elimination, reduction, slaughter, eradication
    • Antonyms: preservation, conservation, protection, propagation
45. Eroding (v.)
    • Meaning: Gradually wearing away or weakening
    • Synonyms: deteriorating, corroding, undermining, diminishing
    • Antonyms: strengthening, reinforcing, fortifying, consolidating
46. Repugnant (adj.)
    • Meaning: In conflict with or incompatible with something
    • Synonyms: contradictory, inconsistent, antagonistic, irreconcilable
    • Antonyms: compatible, harmonious, congruent, agreeable
47. Assent (n.)
    • Meaning: Official approval or agreement
    • Synonyms: consent, sanction, endorsement, concurrence
    • Antonyms: dissent, refusal, opposition, disapproval
48. Defensible (adj.)
    • Meaning: Justifiable or capable of being supported by reason
    • Synonyms: tenable, rational, sustainable, vindicable
    • Antonyms: indefensible, untenable, unjustifiable, baseless
49. Preserve (v.)
    • Meaning: To maintain or keep intact
    • Synonyms: safeguard, conserve, uphold, perpetuate
    • Antonyms: destroy, neglect, impair, abandon
50. Dilution (n.)
    • Meaning: The weakening or reduction in strength or quality
    • Synonyms: attenuation, diminution, enfeeblement, mitigation
    • Antonyms: strengthening, intensification, concentration, fortification
51. Incentives (n.)
    • Meaning: Things that motivate or encourage action
    • Synonyms: inducements, stimuli, enticements, catalysts
    • Antonyms: deterrents, disincentives, discouragements, obstacles
52. Downgrading (v.)
    • Meaning: Reducing the importance or status of something
    • Synonyms: demoting, devaluing, depreciating, diminishing
    • Antonyms: promoting, elevating, enhancing, upgrading
53. Bonnet macaque (n.)
    • Meaning: A species of monkey native to southern India
    • Synonyms: bonnet monkey, Indian macaque, primate, simian
    • Antonyms: — (No direct antonyms for a species name)
54. Deepening (v.)
    • Meaning: Becoming more intense or severe
    • Synonyms: intensifying, aggravating, escalating, heightening
    • Antonyms: easing, alleviating, diminishing, lightening
55. Begets (v.)
    • Meaning: To cause or produce as a result
    • Synonyms: engenders, generates, precipitates, provokes
    • Antonyms: halts, suppresses, stifles, terminates
56. Obligation (n.)
    • Meaning: A moral or legal duty to do something
    • Synonyms: responsibility, duty, compulsion, accountability
    • Antonyms: freedom, exemption, discretion, immunity
57. Substitute (v.)
    • Meaning: To replace one thing with another
    • Synonyms: supplant, replace, exchange, interchange
    • Antonyms: retain, preserve, maintain, keep
58. Devolution (n.)
    • Meaning: The transfer of power to a lower level, especially from central to local government
    • Synonyms: decentralisation, delegation, transfer, distribution
    • Antonyms: centralisation, consolidation, accumulation, concentration
59. Abdication (n.)
    • Meaning: The act of renouncing or failing to fulfil responsibility or power
    • Synonyms: relinquishment, resignation, renunciation, desertion
    • Antonyms: assumption, retention, acceptance, undertaking

Summary for Bank Mains Descriptive Practice:

Kerala’s amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 seeks to transfer certain powers from the Centre to the State, allowing the latter to declare animals such as wild boars as ‘vermin’ and to authorise the killing or relocation of animals that attack humans. The proposal arises from repeated human–animal conflicts and the Centre’s delay in granting permission for culling. However, this shift raises concerns about weakening national safeguards and normalising lethal responses to ecological problems caused by human expansion. While the State’s frustration reflects issues of federal imbalance, the amendment does not address the lack of transparency and accountability that already exists in wildlife governance. Any decentralisation of powers must ensure that conservation standards are maintained, data-based assessments are used, and non-lethal alternatives are prioritised. Balancing ecological prudence with federal autonomy remains the core challenge. Without adequate safeguards, quick administrative responses could lead to the erosion of national commitments and an increase in governance shortcuts that undermine long-term conservation goals.

Student-Friendly Summary for Easy Understanding:

Kerala wants to change the Wildlife Protection Act so it can make its own decisions about animals that harm people or crops, like wild boars. The State feels the Centre takes too long to respond to such local problems. The new Bill would let Kerala decide when an animal becomes a ‘vermin’ and give its officers the power to control or even kill such animals. However, experts worry that giving these powers to the State may weaken national wildlife protections and encourage harmful shortcuts instead of long-term solutions. Human settlements have already spread into forest areas, and killing animals might worsen the problem instead of solving it. The issue highlights a bigger question—how to give States more control without reducing environmental safety standards. The key is to ensure transparency, promote non-lethal methods, and make sure decentralisation does not turn into carelessness or misuse of power.

The Hindu Editorial 10th October 2025 – Tone Analysis

The tone of the passage is analytical, cautionary, and balanced.

It examines Kerala’s amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act by weighing the need for federal autonomy against the risk of ecological compromise. The author adopts an objective and policy-oriented tone, analysing both the rationale behind Kerala’s move and its potential implications for wildlife governance.

There is a clear note of caution throughout the passage, warning that decentralising authority without safeguards could lead to opacity, misuse, and erosion of conservation standards. The writer’s language reflects a measured and evaluative tone, acknowledging Kerala’s frustration with the Centre’s inaction while urging the importance of prudence, transparency, and accountability in environmental decision-making.

Overall, the tone combines federal sensitivity (understanding State concerns) with ecological restraint (emphasising the need to preserve national conservation norms). It avoids emotional appeal and instead maintains a reasoned and judicial tone, suitable for discussing governance reforms and legal implications in environmental policy.

The Hindu Editorial 10th October 2025: Comprehension Exercise

Passage: 

The structure of work is undergoing a major transformation worldwide. Advances in technology, especially automation and artificial intelligence, are reshaping industries, altering job profiles, and creating new forms of employment. Routine tasks in manufacturing and services are increasingly performed by machines or software, leading to higher productivity but also to job displacement in traditional sectors.

At the same time, the digital economy has opened vast opportunities for freelance, remote, and gig-based work. Platforms connecting workers with short-term assignments have grown rapidly, offering flexibility and global reach. However, these jobs often lack job security, social protection, and long-term benefits. The growing divide between highly skilled digital professionals and those with limited technical skills has widened income inequality and created new social challenges.

Education and skill development now play a crucial role in ensuring employability. Workers must continually upgrade their capabilities to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving labour market. Governments and businesses are focusing on reskilling initiatives, lifelong learning programs, and policies that support fair working conditions for digital workers.

The future of work will likely be defined by adaptability rather than stability. Balancing technological progress with social inclusion will be essential to ensure that innovation benefits the wider population. A sustainable labour ecosystem must not only embrace automation but also protect human dignity and economic fairness.

Comprehension Questions and Answers

Questions:

1. How are technology and automation transforming global employment patterns?

2. What advantages and drawbacks are associated with gig and freelance work?

3. How has the rise of digital work contributed to social inequality?

4. Why is continuous skill development important in the modern labour market?

5. What key balance must societies achieve for the future of work to remain sustainable?

Answers:

1. Automation and AI are replacing repetitive tasks, increasing productivity, and reshaping industries. While they generate new opportunities, they also displace workers in traditional roles, forcing economies to adapt to changing employment structures.

2. Gig work provides flexibility and global opportunities but lacks long-term job security, social protection, and stable income, making it less reliable compared to conventional employment.

3. Digital work has expanded opportunities for skilled professionals while leaving low-skilled workers behind, thereby widening income inequality and deepening the social divide between technological “haves” and “have-nots.”

4. Continuous skill development helps workers stay relevant amid technological shifts, ensuring employability and enabling them to adapt to new job requirements in dynamic and competitive labour markets.

5. Societies must balance technological innovation with social inclusion, ensuring that economic growth and automation coexist with fair wages, worker protection, and human dignity in employment practices.

Banking Exams Free Mock Test

Join our exclusive Telegram group, where our experts are ready to answer all your queries, guide you in banking exam preparation, and give personalised tips to boost your success. Get access to real-time solutions, expert advice, and valuable resources to improve your study journey.

Our Banking Preparation Package includes topic tests, sectional tests, rank boosters for prelims, previous year paper tests, e-books, CA tests, Quizzes, live tests, PDF Course, and more. Discover our banking and insurance packages in detail from the link provided below!

• Sign Up on Practicemock for Updated Current Affairs, Topic Tests and Mini Mocks
• Sign Up Here to Download Free Study Material