Why in news?

A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, leading to widespread tsunami warnings across the Pacific.

The quake, centered 119 km southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a shallow depth of 19.3 km, was initially reported as 8.0 but later upgraded. It was followed by a strong 6.9 aftershock.

This marks the strongest global quake since Japan’s devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake in March 2011 that triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Understanding Earthquake Magnitude and Measurement
• Kamchatka: A High-Risk Seismic Zone
• Kamchatka and the Pacific Ring of Fire
• Tectonic Forces Behind the Ring of Fire
• Global Earthquake Zones and Their Impact

Understanding Earthquake Magnitude and Measurement

• The 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Kamchatka is classified as a great earthquake, a rare event globally.
• According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), earthquakes of this scale release immense energy — with each whole-number increase in magnitude corresponding to roughly 31.6 times more seismic energy.
• For instance, the Kamchatka quake released over 30 times more energy than Myanmar’s 7.7 magnitude quake in March 2024.
• While “magnitude” refers to the measured energy released by an earthquake, “intensity” describes the perceived shaking at specific locations.
• Earthquake movements are recorded using a seismograph, which tracks the relative motion between the Earth’s surface and a suspended mass to determine seismic activity.

Kamchatka: A High-Risk Seismic Zone

• The Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone regions.
• This 1,250-km landmass has witnessed several powerful quakes in recent history — including those in 2020, 2006, 1959, 1952, and 1923 — many of which triggered tsunamis.
• Historical accounts also mention similar events in 1841 and 1737.
• Frequent Earthquakes Fuelled by Tectonic Plate Movements
  • The region’s high seismic activity is due to the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Okhotsk microplate.
    • Subduction is a geological process where a denser tectonic plate slides beneath a lighter one, causing stress at plate boundaries.
    • This stress, when released, results in earthquakes.
    • The Himalayas were formed by the Indian plate pushing under the Eurasian plate through subduction, making the region highly earthquake-prone.
  • This tectonic interaction forms the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, which reaches depths of nearly 10 km.
  • As the Pacific Plate descends at a rate of around 86 mm per year, stress builds up along the megathrust fault line, periodically releasing as massive earthquakes and resulting tsunamis in the North Pacific.

Kamchatka and the Pacific Ring of Fire

• 
• The Kamchatka Peninsula is part of the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped belt of intense seismic and volcanic activity encircling the Pacific Plate.
• Stretching over 40,000 km, this zone marks the boundaries of multiple tectonic plates — including the Eurasian, North American, Indian, Australian, and others — making it one of the most geologically active regions on Earth.
• The Ring of Fire spans more than 15 countries, including Russia, Japan, Indonesia, the US, Chile, and the Philippines, all of which frequently experience earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis due to constant tectonic movements.

Tectonic Forces Behind the Ring of Fire

• The intense seismic and volcanic activity in the Ring of Fire is driven by constant tectonic plate movement.
• Plates frequently slide past, collide, or subduct beneath one another.
• When rough plate edges get stuck while the rest of the plate continues moving, stress builds up until it suddenly releases, causing an earthquake — as seen in the recent Kamchatka quake and tsunami.
• Volcanoes in this zone also form due to subduction, where a denser plate sinks beneath a lighter one, creating deep ocean trenches and magma build-up that fuels eruptions.

Global Earthquake Zones and Their Impact

• The Circum-Pacific Belt (Ring of Fire) is Earth’s most active seismic zone, generating around 80% of major earthquakes.
• The second-most active is the Alpide Belt, stretching from Indonesia through the Himalayas to Turkey, contributing 15–17% of quakes.
  • Though less active, it runs through densely populated regions, making its quakes more deadly.
  • E.g., the sparsely populated Kamchatka Peninsula, despite facing a powerful 8.8 quake, saw no casualties, unlike Nepal’s 7.6 magnitude quake in 2015 that killed over 15,000.
• The third major zone, the mid-Atlantic ridge, lies deep underwater and causes moderate, less impactful quakes.
• Earthquake strength is also influenced by fault-line length; a magnitude 9.5 quake is likely the upper limit, as no fault-line spans the Earth to enable a stronger quake.

Why in news?

A special POCSO court in Mumbai recently granted bail to a 40-year-old teacher accused of sexually assaulting a minor, citing consensual relations. The order has renewed focus on the complexities of bail under the POCSO Act, which is stricter than standard criminal law.

Unlike regular cases where the prosecution must prove guilt, in POCSO cases the burden shifts to the accused to prove innocence. This reversal makes securing bail—especially in the early stages of investigation—particularly difficult.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• POCSO Act
• Judicial Discretion and Bail in POCSO Cases
• Consent and Legal Grey Zones Under POCSO

POCSO Act

• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 is a special law enacted to safeguard children (individuals below 18 years of age) from sexual offences.
• It provides a comprehensive legal framework to address sexual abuse, harassment, and exploitation of minors.
• Key features of the Act
  • Gender-neutral protection: Applies to both boys and girls.
  • Wide range of offences: Covers penetrative and non-penetrative assault, sexual harassment, and pornography involving children.
  • Special courts: Mandates the establishment of child-friendly Special Courts for speedy trial.
  • Mandatory reporting: Any person who has knowledge of child sexual abuse is legally required to report it.
  • Presumption of guilt: The accused must prove innocence, reversing the general legal principle of “innocent until proven guilty.”
  • Confidentiality: Protects the identity of the child during investigation and trial to avoid further trauma.
  • Support for Victims: It provides a framework for supporting and rehabilitating victims of sexual offenses.
  • Child-Friendly Procedures: The act emphasizes child-friendly procedures for recording statements, medical examinations, and court appearances.

Judicial Discretion and Bail in POCSO Cases

• Offences under the POCSO Act are cognizable and non-bailable, meaning arrests can occur without a warrant and bail is not guaranteed.
• However, the Act does not lay down specific bail criteria.
• Courts rely on Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 439 CrPC), which considers factors like the gravity of the offence, potential punishment, flight risk, and risk of evidence tampering.
• Over time, courts have introduced additional considerations.
  • In Dharmander Singh (2020), the Delhi High Court listed factors like the ages of the victim and accused, their age gap, relationship dynamics, coercion, and post-offence conduct—though not binding, they serve as a guide.
  • In Deshraj @ Musa vs State of Rajasthan (2024), the Supreme Court granted bail to an 18-year-old in a consensual relationship with a 16-year-old, given the minor age gap, time spent in custody, and slow trial progress.
• These cases underscore that bail in POCSO matters ultimately depends on judicial discretion balancing individual liberty with victim protection.

Consent and Legal Grey Zones Under POCSO

• The POCSO Act does not recognise consent from individuals below the age of 18, treating all sexual activity with minors as an offence, regardless of whether it was voluntary.
• This creates a legal grey area, particularly in cases involving consensual adolescent relationships that are later criminalised.
• While courts have started considering such nuances during bail hearings—especially when the alleged victim confirms the consensual nature of the relationship in a magistrate’s statement—bail remains difficult in the early investigation phase.
• Courts often wait for critical evidence and victim testimony before granting relief, leading to prolonged custody for the accused.
• Due to this, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising has urged the Supreme Court to lower the age of consent to 16, citing infringement of adolescent rights.
• However, the Centre opposed this, warning that reducing the age could weaken protections for minors and potentially increase vulnerability to abuse.

Why in News?

• U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of a 25% tariff on Indian imports, along with a potential 100% penalty for India’s continued purchase of Russian oil and defense equipment, comes just ahead of the August 1 deadline to finalize a bilateral trade deal.
• As a result, India-U.S. trade standoff escalates, putting ongoing trade negotiations at risk, and complicating India’s trade positioning vis-à-vis its global competitors, especially China.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Background - U.S.-India Trade Relations
• New Tariff Measures
• India’s Response
• Global Context - Trump's Retaliatory Trade Policy
• Key Concerns for India
• Conclusion

Background - U.S.-India Trade Relations:

• Ongoing negotiations: India and the U.S. have been in talks since February 2025 to finalize a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) aimed at establishing a mutually beneficial trade framework.
• Mini-deal attempts:
  • Alongside the broader BTA, efforts were underway to create a “mini-deal” to roll back retaliatory tariffs.
  • However, this deal has not materialized before the U.S.-imposed deadline of August 1.

New Tariff Measures:

• Announcement by U.S. President: Trump declared a 25% tariff and an unspecified “penalty” on Indian imports, effective August 1, 2025.
• Reasons cited:
  • High Indian tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
  • India’s continued defense and energy purchases from Russia (India is the second-largest buyer of Russian oil after China).
  • Geopolitical concerns over India’s ties with Russia during the Ukraine conflict.
  • Penalty tied to Trump’s pressure campaign to force countries to reduce dependence on sanctioned Russian oil and arms.
• Public statement: Trump criticized India’s trade practices on Truth Social, labeling them “strenuous and obnoxious.”

India’s Response:

• Commerce Ministry reaction: The Indian government is “studying the implications” and reiterated its commitment to a fair and balanced trade agreement.
• Protection of domestic interests: The ministry emphasized safeguarding the interests of farmers, MSMEs, and entrepreneurs, drawing parallels with its stance during the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations.

Global Context - Trump's Retaliatory Trade Policy:

• Liberation day tariffs: In April 2025, Trump imposed blanket tariffs on countries he accused of levying disproportionately high tariffs on U.S. goods.
• 90-day pause and bilateral deals: A pause was provided to negotiate individual deals. Agreements were reached with -
  • UK: Reduced car tariffs to 10% and removed aerospace tariffs
  • Indonesia & Philippines: 19% tariff
  • Japan & EU: 15% tariff
• India left out: India’s inability to secure a deal has now subjected it to higher tariffs and potential trade isolation.

Key Concerns for India:

• Strategic autonomy vs. trade realpolitik: The case underscores challenges India faces in balancing strategic autonomy (especially defense and energy ties with Russia) and economic pragmatism in dealing with major powers.
• China’s first-mover advantage:
  • China has already concluded advanced-stage negotiations and could secure better terms, including waivers on secondary tariffs.
  • China cut tariffs on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%; the U.S. reciprocated by cutting tariffs from 145% to 30%.
• Impact on MSMEs and agriculture: Heightened tariffs may affect exports from India's MSME sector and agricultural goods, which are highly price-sensitive.
• Growing trend of bilateralism: This episode highlights the growing trend of bilateralism in global trade and the declining relevance of multilateral platforms like the WTO.

Conclusion:

• India stands at a crossroads where principled trade diplomacy is tested against economic imperatives.
• While New Delhi’s refusal to accept a one-sided deal has protected key domestic sectors, the pressure to conclude a deal has intensified due to mounting external tariffs and strategic maneuvering by China.
• The final shape of the India-U.S. deal may now hinge on top-level intervention, especially a conversation between PM Modi and President Trump, with the goal of minimizing economic damage while preserving strategic interests.

Context

• Access to justice is a constitutional promise in India, yet the gap between principle and practice remains stark.
• The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, mandates free legal aid for approximately 80% of India's population.
• Despite this expansive objective, the actual outreach of legal aid services remains significantly limited.
• The analysis of recent trends, particularly between April 2023 and March 2024, exposes both structural strengths and glaring systemic weaknesses that continue to hinder equitable access to justice.

Concerns Surrounding Free Legal Aid

• Modest Reach Amidst Expansive Mandate
  • In 2023–24, only 15.5 lakh people availed legal aid services, an increase of 28% from the previous year’s 12.14 lakh.
  • Although this rise appears promising, it pales in comparison to the sheer scale of India's eligible population.
  • Legal aid services are typically offered through front offices in local courts, prisons, and juvenile justice boards, supported by empanelled lawyers.
  • In rural areas, legal aid clinics serve as important access points.
  • Yet, the India Justice Report 2025 highlights that there is merely one legal service clinic for every 163 villages, underscoring the skewed distribution and limited penetration of services, especially in remote regions.
  • The situation is aggravated by inconsistent financial and human resource support.
• Budgetary Constraints and Skewed Prioritisation
  • Legal aid services receive less than 1% of the total justice budget, which includes police, prisons, judiciary, and legal aid combined.
  • Funding is provided both by State governments and the Centre through the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
  • While the cumulative allocation rose from ₹601 crore in 2017–18 to ₹1,086 crore in 2022–23, primarily due to an increase in State contributions, NALSA’s share declined from ₹207 crore to ₹169 crore.
  • Even more concerning is the declining utilisation rate of NALSA funds, which dropped from 75% to 59% over the same period.
• Inadequate Per Capita Spending
  • Per capita expenditure on legal aid has increased from ₹3 to ₹7 since 2019, but remains far from adequate.
  • States like Haryana lead with ₹16 per capita spending, while populous and vulnerable states like Bihar (₹3), West Bengal (₹2), and Uttar Pradesh (₹4) fall below the national average of ₹6.
  • This unevenness not only highlights disparities in fiscal commitment but also signals an inequitable access to quality legal services across regions.
• Decline of the Frontline: Para-Legal Volunteers
  • One of the most alarming trends is the reduction in para-legal volunteers (PLVs), trained individuals who act as community-level intermediaries and educators.
  • Between 2019 and 2024, their numbers dropped by 38%, with deployment plummeting from 22,000 in 2019–20 to just 14,000 in 2023–24.
  • Despite their pivotal role, PLVs are poorly compensated; in most states, their daily honorarium remains below minimum wage levels.
  • Kerala is an exception, offering ₹750 per day, while states like Gujarat and Mizoram pay only ₹250—barely enough to cover daily sustenance.
  • This fiscal neglect severely undermines the sustainability and motivation of this critical workforce.

Innovations and Missed Opportunities: The LADC Scheme

• Since 2022, NALSA has attempted to address quality concerns in legal representation through the Legal Aid Defence Counsel (LADC) scheme, modelled after public defender systems.
• With ₹200 crore fully utilised in 2023–24 and the scheme operational in 610 out of 670 districts, early indications suggest promise.
• However, its budget has already been slashed to ₹147.9 crore for 2024–25.
• While still in its infancy, the LADC could alleviate the burden on empanelled lawyers and improve legal aid delivery, but only if sustained through robust policy and financial support.

Structural Deficiencies and the Way Forward

• Despite incremental financial improvements and administrative innovations, legal aid in India suffers from enduring deficiencies, uneven quality, low public trust, and insufficient accountability.
• These challenges are compounded by chronic underfunding and misallocation of existing resources.
• The over-regulation of fund utilisation hampers local initiative, while poor compensation and declining deployment of key personnel like PLVs compromise outreach and impact.
• If legal aid services are to fulfil their constitutional mandate, a radical recalibration is necessary which requires:
  • Increasing budgetary allocation and ensuring it is commensurate with the scale of need.
  • Flexible and needs-based fund utilisation, allowing local units to address contextual challenges.
  • Fair compensation and wider deployment of para-legal volunteers.
  • Sustained investment in promising schemes like the LADC with mechanisms for quality assurance and impact evaluation.
  • Greater integration with community justice mechanisms to develop trust and awareness.

Conclusion

• The legal aid framework in India stands at a crossroads and while legislative intent and institutional infrastructure exist, the system remains underpowered.
• Enhancing financial support, human resources, and decentralised governance can turn legal aid from a symbolic gesture into a tangible reality.
• Only then can India ensure that justice is not just a lofty ideal, but a lived experience for all its citizens, regardless of economic status or geographic location.

Context

• In the dim light of a crime scene, two archetypes of policing emerge, Sherlock Holmes and Dirty Harry and Holmes is the emblem of reason: calm, methodical, and devoted to logic.
• He sifts through chaos with precision, guided by evidence and a belief that truth must be discovered, not forced.
• Dirty Harry, on the other hand, represents the opposite: brash, violent, and dismissive of rules; Justice, for him, is delivered swiftly, regardless of procedure or accuracy.
• These fictional figures reflect two very real and divergent models of policing in India. In a nation governed by law, the pressing question is not just how we catch criminals, but what kind of justice we are willing to accept, one driven by truth or one fuelled by vengeance.

The Cost of Impunity: A National Crisis

• The death of 27-year-old Ajith Kumar in police custody in Tamil Nadu is not an aberration but a symptom of a deeper malaise.
• Despite previous reform recommendations, including those from the Tamil Nadu Police Commission, torture and custodial violence remain rampant.
• Between 2018 and 2023, 687 people died in police custody across Indian, average of two to three deaths per week. States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu top this grim list.
• These figures are likely understatements. Many deaths are cloaked under vague labels like suicide or natural causes.
• Torture often occurs away from formal detention spaces, in police vans, remote buildings, or even cow sheds, as in Ajith’s case.
• Most victims come from India's most marginalised communities: daily-wage labourers, Dalits, tribals, migrants, and slum dwellers.
• Thus, custodial torture is not merely an issue of poor policing, it is an expression of structural violence rooted in caste, class, and power disparities.

The Legal and Moral Vacuum

• Despite multiple legal safeguards, from the Supreme Court’s D.K. Basu (1996) guidelines to the reaffirmation of bodily autonomy in K.S. Puttaswamy (2017), custodial violence remains entrenched.
• The 273rd Report of the Law Commission (2017) strongly recommended a dedicated anti-torture law, but Parliament has failed to act.
• India still has not ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
• In 2025, the Global Torture Index ranked India as a high-risk country, an indictment that must not be ignored.

The Scientific and Strategic Case Against Torture

• The argument against custodial torture extends beyond ethics and legality, it is grounded in science.
• Torture, popularised in media as a tool for urgent truth extraction, is in fact counterproductive.
• In his book Why Torture Doesn’t Work, neuroscientist Shane O’Mara explains how torture disrupts brain regions essential for memory and reasoning.
• Victims, impaired and desperate, often provide false information just to stop the pain.
• Historical examples reinforce this. During the Algerian War, torture by French forces led to false intelligence.
• The CIA’s infamous enhanced interrogation techniques failed to produce actionable insights, as concluded by the U.S.
• Senate Intelligence Committee’s 2014 report. Worse still, these methods misdirected investigations and wasted precious time.
• The case of Ajith Kumar, where a coerced confession led to a cow shed instead of evidence, tragically echoes this pattern.

What Actually Works: The Case for Reform

• The United Kingdom’s response to the wrongful conviction of six men in the Birmingham pub bombings was to move away from confession-based policing.
• It adopted the PEACE model, Preparation and Planning, Engage and Explain, Account, Closure, and Evaluation.
• This method prioritises rapport, open-ended questioning, and transparency, reducing false confessions and increasing both conviction accuracy and public trust.
• This model has been successfully adopted by other nations, including Norway, Canada, and New Zealand.
• The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture endorses it, and peer-reviewed studies by the U.S. High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group confirm its effectiveness over coercive methods.
• Real-world examples further affirm this. Norwegian police obtained a full confession from mass murderer Anders Breivik through calm, professional questioning.
• In the U.S., Najibullah Zazi, involved in a terror plot, cooperated fully with investigators who treated him respectfully, leading to the dismantling of a broader network.

Conclusion

• Every custodial death is not just a tragedy; it is a declaration of the state’s failure to protect its citizens.
• India must act decisively. Ratifying the UN Convention Against Torture, enacting a standalone anti-torture law, embedding the PEACE model into police training, and enforcing zero tolerance for custodial abuse are immediate, achievable reforms.
• When truth can be found without violence, when the facts can emerge through patience and intellect, as Sherlock Holmes shows us, why should we endorse Dirty Harry’s path of destruction?

Why in the News?

• India will release a new GDP series with 2022-23 as the base year in February 2026, followed by revised IIP and CPI series, to enhance the accuracy and relevance of key economic indicators.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• National Indicators (Introduction, New GDP, IIP & CPI Series, Measurement Accuracy, Implications, etc.)

Introduction

• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is set to overhaul India’s key macroeconomic indicators, beginning with the release of a new GDP series based on the 2022-23 base year on February 27, 2026.
• This will be followed by updated series for the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which currently use outdated base years from 2011-12 and 2012, respectively.
• This revision is part of a broader push by the government to ensure more real-time, granular, and representative measurement of India’s dynamic economy, using newer data sources and methodologies.

Updates to National Indicators

• New GDP Series (Base Year 2022-23)
  • The revised GDP series will offer a more accurate reflection of economic activity by updating the reference period from 2011-12 to 2022-23, incorporating the following improvements:

• Use of Goods and Services Tax (GST) data for indirect tax estimates
• Incorporation of UPI transaction data from NPCI
• Data from the E-Vahan portal for vehicle registrations
• Administrative records from MCA-21, RBI, and CGA
• This marks a significant advancement in capturing the informal and formal sectors more comprehensively.

• Revised IIP Series (Base Year 2022-23)
  • Scheduled for release from April 2026, the new IIP series will reflect current industrial structures and consumption patterns.
  • The existing 2011-12 base is now considered outdated due to rapid shifts in manufacturing priorities and technologies.
• Updated CPI Series (Base Year 2024)
  • Expected in early FY2026-27, the new CPI base year will be updated to 2024, capturing recent shifts in household consumption, especially post-pandemic behavioural changes.
  • The new series will also explore alternative data sources for better accuracy, including:

• Online airfare and rail fare data
• OTT subscription prices
• Fuel prices from administrative records
• Scanner data and web scraping for real-time e-commerce pricing

Enhancing Measurement Accuracy

• The upcoming revisions go beyond base year updates and reflect a shift in India’s statistical infrastructure.
• MoSPI is adopting technology-driven and data-diverse approaches to capture economic changes more accurately.
• Key initiatives include:

• Leveraging e-commerce and digital transactions for consumption tracking
• Web scraping and online price surveillance for real-time CPI inputs
• Collaborating with platforms like NPCI for digital payment trends
• Aligning survey frames with GSTN databases for improved service sector measurement

• These changes are part of MoSPI’s effort to adapt to a digitally driven, consumption-diverse economy.

Launch of New Statistical Surveys

• National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)
  • Launched in July 2025, the NHTS will assess travel patterns, choice of transport modes, and price elasticity of demand. The data will support transportation planning and be shared with ministries such as the Railways.
• Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey (DTES)
  • Also launched in July 2025, DTES will measure household expenditure on domestic tourism, purpose of travel, choice of transport, and use of tourism-specific services.
• Annual Survey of Service Sector Enterprises (ASSSE)
  • Beginning January 2026, the ASSSE will systematically track India’s formal services sector, akin to the Annual Survey of Industries for the manufacturing sector.
  • This is expected to bridge long-standing data gaps on:

• Incorporated service enterprises
• Revenue and employment metrics
• Sectoral composition and regional variations
• MoSPI has already completed a successful pilot study for ASSSE and will use the GSTN database to construct the survey frame.

Implications for Policymaking and Research

• These statistical upgrades are crucial for:

• Policy formulation based on real-time and reliable data
• Private sector and investor decision-making
• International comparability and credibility of Indian economic data
• Better understanding of informal and digital economy shifts

• By diversifying data sources and increasing survey frequency (e.g., Household Consumption Expenditure Survey every three years instead of five), MoSPI is aligning with global best practices in statistical governance.

Why in news?

Recently, PM Modi, in his Mann ki Baat address, spotlighted the first-ever grassland bird census conducted in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park.

This unique initiative aimed to assess the presence, diversity, and habitat preferences of grassland bird species—many of which are endangered or declining in number.

This article deals with the Kaziranga grassland bird census, its methodology, and the growing conservation concerns around grassland bird species in India.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Grassland Birds
• Kaziranga’s Grassland Bird Census: A Conservation Milestone
• Innovative Acoustic Monitoring in Kaziranga Bird Survey
• Grassland Birds as Ecosystem Health Indicators
• Multiple Threats to Grassland Bird Habitats

Grassland Birds

• Grassland birds in India are a unique group of avian species adapted to live in open, grassy habitats.
• These birds play a critical ecological role as indicators of healthy ecosystems, reflecting the overall status of grassland habitats.
• Notable examples include the Bengal Florican, Finn’s Weaver, Indian Courser, Great Indian Bustard, and Jerdon’s Babbler.
• Many grassland bird species are threatened due to rapid habitat loss. Climate change has further intensified these threats.
• Conservation of grassland birds requires sustained protection of their habitats, scientific monitoring (like acoustic surveys), and strong policy support.
• Special attention is needed for species endemic to India’s grasslands, as their extinction would be irreversible on a global scale.

Kaziranga’s Grassland Bird Census: A Conservation Milestone

• Recently, a collaborative survey was conducted in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park to record its grassland bird population.
• The initiative was led by forest officials, scientists, and conservationists, and was sparked by the research of Chiranjib Bora, a doctoral student studying the endangered Black-breasted Parrotbill.
  • Funded by the INSPIRE fellowship from the Department of Science & Technology, his project used acoustic monitoring tools to document bird species in Kaziranga, 70% of which is grassland.
• The survey aimed to monitor elusive and rapidly declining grassland bird species, many of which are hard to detect due to their small size and camouflaged appearance.
• It focused on 10 priority species that are either globally threatened or endemic to the Brahmaputra floodplains, such as the Bengal Florican, Swamp Francolin, and Finn’s Weaver.
• In total, 43 species were recorded, including 1 Critically Endangered, 2 Endangered, and 6 Vulnerable species, as per the IUCN Red List.

Innovative Acoustic Monitoring in Kaziranga Bird Survey

• The Kaziranga grassland bird survey stood out for its use of passive acoustic monitoring.
• Traditional visual counting was ineffective for these small and shy birds, so acoustic recorders were strategically placed on tall trees near grasslands during their breeding season (March to May), a time when birds are most vocal.
• These devices captured bird songs over three consecutive days at 29 locations using six recorders.
• The recorded audio was then analyzed using spectrograms—graphical representations of sound—and a machine learning tool called Birdnet to accurately identify bird species based on their calls.
• This method enabled researchers to detect species that might have gone unnoticed using conventional techniques.

Grassland Birds as Ecosystem Health Indicators

• The survey’s findings underscore the ecological significance of grassland birds, which serve as vital indicators of habitat health.
• Their presence confirms that the grasslands of Kaziranga are thriving.
• A key highlight was the discovery of a breeding colony of the endangered Finn’s Weaver, a species endemic to the Brahmaputra floodplain.
• For the first time, researchers located over 85 nests of this rare bird atop trees in Kaziranga, shedding light on its nesting behavior and strengthening conservation efforts in the region.

Multiple Threats to Grassland Bird Habitats

• Kaziranga’s grassland birds face serious threats due to both human activities and natural processes.
• Over the past 40 years, Assam has lost around 70% of its grasslands. Key drivers include overgrazing, conversion of grasslands into agricultural land, and ecological succession, where grasslands naturally transition into forests.
• This is particularly alarming for species endemic to the Northeast, as their extinction in this region would mean global extinction.
• Climate change adds another layer of threat, with some species like the Bengal Florican showing significant declines.
• Further research is needed to understand the full impact of these changes.

Why in news?

Flash floods have emerged as a deadly and recurring hazard across India, claiming thousands of lives and damaging infrastructure annually. Tragedies in Himachal Pradesh (July 2025), Kerala’s Wayanad (July 2024), Ladakh (June 2024), and Sikkim (October 2023) underline the severity of the crisis.

These sudden and intense floods, primarily triggered by extreme rainfall, have become more frequent with rising global temperatures — increasing from 132 events in 2020 to 184 in 2022, as per the Union Jal Shakti Ministry.

Despite the mounting threat, there remains a lack of detailed research to pinpoint the most vulnerable regions, hampering the effectiveness of mitigation strategies like early warning systems.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Study Related to Flash Floods in India
• Key Drivers Behind Flash Floods in India
• Climate Change Intensifies Flash Flood Risk in India
• Region-Specific Adaptation Key to Mitigating Flash Flood Risks

Study Related to Flash Floods in India

• A recent IIT Gandhinagar study, published in Nature Hazards, addresses the lack of granular data on flash flood vulnerability in India.
• The study, ‘Drivers of flash floods in the Indian sub-continental river basins’, identifies the Himalayas, western coast, and Central India as key hotspots, using hydrological and geomorphological data to map sub-basin susceptibility.
• In the Himalayas, steep terrain and elevation drive flood risk, while in the West Coast and Central India, rapid runoff—termed "flashiness"—plays a key role.
• The study finds that nearly 75% of flash floods result from a combination of extreme rainfall and already saturated soil, with only 25% due to precipitation alone.
• Alarmingly, even previously low-risk basins are witnessing rising extreme rainfall, suggesting that climate change may create new flash flood zones in the future.

Key Drivers Behind Flash Floods in India

• The study reveals that only 25% of flash floods in India are caused solely by extreme rainfall.
• Most incidents result from a combination of heavy precipitation and pre-existing soil saturation.
  • When the ground is already wet, it cannot absorb additional rainfall, leading to rapid runoff and increased flood risk.
• Notably, only 23% of extreme rainfall events trigger flash floods within six hours. Instead, prolonged periods of both low- and high-intensity rain are more likely to cause such disasters.
• The study also highlights regional variations.
  • In the western coast and Central India, sub-basins react quickly to rainfall due to their high "flashiness" — the tendency of water levels to rise rapidly.
  • In the Himalayan region, steep terrain and high relief further elevate the risk.
  • Within major river basins like the Ganga, flash flood susceptibility differs — sub-basins in the southern Himalayan stretch are more prone, while central areas show lower risk.
• This points to how terrain and local climatic conditions strongly influence flash flood vulnerability.

Climate Change Intensifies Flash Flood Risk in India

• Rising global temperatures are significantly contributing to the increase in frequency and severity of flash floods.
• As the atmosphere warms, it retains more moisture — about 7% more for every 1°C rise — leading to heavier rainfall events.
  • In India, from 1981 to 2020, the incidence of extreme rainfall during the pre-monsoon season doubled.
  • During the monsoon, post-monsoon, and winter seasons, extreme precipitation increased by 56%, 40%, and 12.5% respectively.
  • Notably, over 75% of flash floods between 1980 and 2018 occurred during the monsoon season.
• The study also shows that flash floods have risen sharply since 1995, especially in the Brahmaputra, Ganga, and Krishna river basins.
• Interestingly, many regions that were not previously flood-prone are now experiencing more "wet hours" and higher streamflow due to warming temperatures.
  • 51% of non-prone sub-basins showing increased rainfall and 66.5% showing higher streamflow.
• Conversely, some existing flood-prone areas are seeing a decline in wet hours, indicating shifting climate patterns and flood vulnerabilities.

Region-Specific Adaptation Key to Mitigating Flash Flood Risks

• The study highlights the need for region-specific adaptation strategies tailored to topography, soil conditions, and not just rainfall intensity.
• Such localized approaches can strengthen early warning systems, improve disaster preparedness, and support long-term resilience planning.
• Researchers emphasize the urgency of identifying emerging flash flood hotspots and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure to reduce the impact of extreme events.
• Additionally, with shifting rainfall patterns and rising temperatures, improved land-use planning and integrated flood management are essential for effective mitigation.

Why in the News?

India is reconsidering its restrictive stance on Chinese investments in electronics manufacturing to boost domestic production and strengthen global supply chain integration.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• China’s Blockade (Introduction, Background, Policy Recalibration, Dependency on China, Reasons Behind Rethinking, Challenges & Repercussions)

Introduction

• Nearly five years after adopting a restrictive stance toward Chinese investments in the wake of the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes, India is signalling a calibrated shift in its ‘China-out’ electronics strategy.
• In light of its ambitious goals to become a global electronics manufacturing hub, India is re-evaluating Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules and barriers previously imposed on China-based companies.
• The move comes amid changing global trade dynamics, evolving geopolitical realities, and India’s realisation that Chinese firms remain essential in upstream components critical for high-tech manufacturing.

Background of the Blockade

• In April 2020, India issued Press Note 3, mandating government approval for all FDI inflows from countries sharing a land border with India, effectively restricting Chinese investments.
• The policy was designed to prevent opportunistic takeovers of Indian firms during the COVID-19 pandemic and reflected a broader pushback following border tensions.
• This led to the exclusion of Chinese entities from key sectors such as telecommunications, electronic hardware, and infrastructure, even as India’s electronics assembly sector began expanding rapidly under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes.

Emerging Signs of Policy Recalibration

• Amid rising manufacturing needs and limited domestic capacity for advanced components, India has begun showing pragmatic openness to Chinese participation in select areas.
• Key Developments:

• Dixon Technologies, a major Indian contract manufacturer, received approval from the Ministry of Electronics and IT to form a joint venture with China-based Longcheer.
• The JV will produce smartphones, smartwatches, automotive electronics, and AI-powered PCs.
• NITI Aayog has recommended easing FDI norms for Chinese companies to attract investment and enhance exports.
• The Economic Survey 2023–24 also hinted at the need to revisit restrictions on Chinese firms, acknowledging their integral role in the electronics supply chain.

Structural Dependencies on Chinese Components

• Despite the policy blockade, India has continued to import large volumes of components from China:

• In FY2023-24, India imported over $12 billion worth of electronic parts from China and another $6 billion from Hong Kong.
• Together, these regions accounted for over 50% of all component imports, far exceeding inflows from South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, or ASEAN.

• This underscores a reality: while India has kept finished goods like smartphones from Chinese firms out of its domestic market, it remains reliant on upstream inputs from them to fuel its fast-growing assembly operations.

Policy Drivers Behind the Rethink

• India’s evolving stance is informed by multiple considerations:

• Manufacturing Ambitions:
• The government aims to make India a global electronics manufacturing hub.
• The Rs. 23,000 crore scheme for electronic components manufacturing envisages foreign collaboration, where Chinese expertise remains unparalleled.
• Global Supply Chain Realignment:
• The post-pandemic world, U.S.-China trade tensions, and “China+1” strategies have opened opportunities for India to step in as an alternative hub.
• The China+1 strategy is a business tactic where companies diversify their production and supply chains away from China.
• But that requires deeper integration into global supply chains, where Chinese firms are major stakeholders.
• Geopolitical Pragmatism:
• India has resumed issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals and facilitated diplomatic visits, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s trip to China, where he stressed that “competition should not become conflict.”

Challenges and Repercussions

• Even as India contemplates easing restrictions:

• China has retaliated by pulling back workers and making it harder for Indian firms to import capital goods.
• There have been blockades on rare earth metals and magnets, key to manufacturing electronics, which India has struggled to circumvent.
• Chinese companies themselves face compliance bottlenecks, procedural delays, and security-related distrust in India.

• The challenge lies in striking a balance between strategic autonomy and manufacturing dependency.

Context:

• Understanding the fiscal position of states is essential for gauging India’s overall macroeconomic health.
• Therefore, analysing provisional actuals (PA) for FY2025 of 17 major Indian states (covering approximately 90% of India’s GDP) and highlighting trends in fiscal deficit, revenue deficit, and capital expenditure, offers insights into the evolving fiscal dynamics and implications for FY2026 and beyond.

Fiscal Trends in FY2025 (Provisional Actuals):

• Widening fiscal deficit:
  • Fiscal deficit is the excess of total expenditure of the Government over its non- debt receipts (revenue receipts, miscellaneous capital receipts and recovery of loans and advances).
  • It normally represents the net incremental liabilities of the Government or its additional borrowings.
  • FY2025 fiscal deficit of 17 states rose to ₹9.5 trillion (3.2% of GSDP) from ₹7.8 trillion (2.9% of GSDP) in FY2024.
  • The deterioration was largely driven by an increase in revenue deficit, with a smaller contribution from capital spending.
• Surge in revenue deficit:
  • Revenue deficit is the excess of revenue expenditure of the Government over its revenue receipts. It leads to increase in borrowings without corresponding capital/asset formation.
  • Revenue deficit nearly doubled to ₹2.1 trillion (0.7% of GSDP) in FY2025 from ₹1.1 trillion (0.4% of GSDP) in FY2024.
  • This resulted from -
    • Slower growth in revenue receipts (6.3% in FY2025 vs 7.9% in FY2024).
    • Stable revenue expenditure growth at 9% year-on-year (YoY).
• Negative implications of rising revenue deficit:
  • In contrast to the Centre’s fiscal compression, states witnessed revenue pressure.
  • Higher share of revenue deficit in total fiscal deficit indicates less room for productive capital expenditure.
  • Capex share in fiscal deficit declined to 78% in FY2025, below the 80–90% trend in FY2022–24.

Capital Expenditure Dynamics:

• Overall capex performance:
  • Total capital spending - ₹7.4 trillion in FY2025 PA, ₹678 billion higher than the amount spent in FY2024.
  • However, the incremental capex of the states in FY2025 PA was sharply lower than the incremental spending of Rs 910-1,120 billion during FY2022-FY2024.
  • Capex fell short of Revised Estimates by ₹1.1 trillion.
• March 2025 capex surge:
  • In March 2025, the states’ capex surged by 42% YoY to Rs 2.2 trillion from Rs 1.5 trillion in March 2024, led by a pick-up in spending by UP, Andhra Pradesh, MP, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
  • 30% of annual capex was incurred in March alone—indicative of back-loaded spending and corresponding spike in state government securities borrowing.
• Role of Centre’s Capex Loan Scheme: Capex loan disbursement -
  • ₹1.5 trillion in FY2025 (up from ₹1.1 trillion in FY2024).
  • 17 states’ share - estimated at ₹1.13 trillion (up from ₹0.8 trillion).
  • Funded over 40% of FY2025's incremental capex for these states.

Budgeted Projections for FY2026 and Future Outlook:

• FY2026 capex targets:
  • For the budget estimates of FY2026, 17 states have indicated capital spending of Rs 9.5 trillion, 29.2% higher on a YoY basis or an incremental spending of Rs 2.1 trillion in FY2026, relative to the FY2025 PA.
  • This seems a little unrealistic given that it is double the average incremental capital expenditure of Rs 1 trillion during FY2022-FY2024.
• Long-term challenges and reforms:
  • Recommendations of Finance Commission, Pay Commission, and changes in GST compensation cess will significantly impact state finances.
  • Policies incentivising capex over revenue expenditure within the fiscal space are crucial.

Context

• In recent decades, India’s formal manufacturing sector has experienced a profound shift in its employment structure, marked by a significant rise in contract labour.
• Data from the Annual Surveys of Industries (ASI) shows that the share of contract labour in manufacturing employment doubled from 20% in 1999-2000 to 40.7% in 2022-23, cutting across various industries.
• This growing trend towards informalisation within the formal sector has raised considerable concerns regarding its implications for worker welfare and productivity growth.

Plight of Contract Workers

• Employment Outside Core Labour Protections
  • The rise of contract labour is often rationalised as a means to enhance operational flexibility by allowing firms to access specialised skills and adjust labour force size according to market needs.
  • However, evidence suggests that cost avoidance, rather than true labour flexibility or skill acquisition, is the predominant driver behind this trend.
  • Contract workers are usually hired through third-party contractors and remain outside core labour protections under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947.
  • Their exclusion from laws governing layoffs, retrenchments, and protection from arbitrary dismissals severely weakens their bargaining power, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.
• Wage Disparities
  • This exploitation is reflected in wage disparities: in 2018-19, contract workers earned 14.47% less than regular workers on average.
  • Large enterprises exhibited the greatest wage gaps at 31%, followed by medium (23%) and small enterprises (12%).
  • Employer cost savings are even more striking, the average daily labour cost for contract workers was 24% lower than for regular workers.
  • In certain industries, the labour cost for contract workers was less than 50% that of regular staff, with gaps as high as 78-85% indicating deep exploitation levels.

Impact of Contract Labour on Productivity

• Workforce Stability
  • Contract labour can contribute beneficially by bringing job-specific expertise and offering firms a buffer to rapidly respond to market fluctuations.
  • Nevertheless, when contractualization is mediated through third-party agencies on short-term contracts, it can create principal-agent problems.
  • Contracting firms may misalign incentives with subcontractors, increasing risks of shirking and reducing workforce stability.
• Overall Low Productivity
  • High labour turnover and insecurity discourage investment in on-the-job training and innovation, crucial factors for sustained productivity growth.
  • The study’s analysis reveals that contract labour-intensive (CLI) enterprises show 31% lower labour productivity compared to regular labour-intensive (RLI) enterprises on average.
  • This disparity is more pronounced in smaller firms with fewer than 100 workers (36%) and medium-sized firms (23%), and is the worst in labour-intensive industries (42%).
  • These gaps persist even after controlling for other firm and regional factors, underscoring the detrimental productivity effects of contractualization primarily driven by cost-cutting and regulation circumvention.
  • However, a small subset of enterprises, approximately 20% of formal manufacturing, demonstrate productivity gains from contractualization.
  • High-skill CLI enterprises enjoy a 5% productivity advantage over their low-skill counterparts, rising to 20% in large high-skill firms.
  • Similarly, large capital-intensive CLI firms show a 17% productivity gain.
  • Despite these exceptions, the overwhelming majority of firms experience adverse outcomes due to excessive reliance on contract labour.

Policy Recommendations

• Timely Implementation of Industrial Relations Code
  • In response to these challenges, the Indian government introduced the Industrial Relations Code in 2020.
  • The code aims to grant firms greater flexibility through direct fixed-term contracts with non-regular workers, eliminating third-party intermediaries, while ensuring baseline statutory benefits to reduce worker exploitation.
  • However, implementation delays and union apprehensions highlight risks that increased hiring flexibility might accelerate informalisation and degrade job quality further.
• Incentivise Firms for Long-Terms Contracts
  • To reconcile flexibility with security, policymakers should incentivise firms to adopt longer fixed-term contracts by offering social security contribution discounts or subsidised access to government skilling programmes.
  • This would improve workforce stability, skill formation, and allay labour union concerns about precarious employment proliferation.
• Resurrecting Initiatives Like the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY)
  • These initiatives encouraged formal job creation by subsidising employer contributions to pension and provident funds, could significantly curb contract labour misuse and promote formalisation.
  • Despite benefiting over one crore workers, the PMRPY was discontinued in March 2022.
  • Reviving it could be pivotal in strengthening secure employment in manufacturing.

Conclusion

• While contractualization may offer operational flexibility and skill-access advantages in some high-skill or capital-intensive enterprises, for most firms, especially small, medium, and labour-intensive ones, it results in exploitation and inefficiency.
• Addressing these issues demands a balanced regulatory approach that safeguards worker rights, incentivises formalisation, and fosters skill development, thereby ensuring the sector’s sustainable growth and equitable employment landscape.

Context

• The harrowing journey of a 14-year-old girl, trafficked from Chhattisgarh to Bihar under false promises of a better future, is not just a singular tragedy.
• It stands as a grim testament to a widespread and deeply rooted crisis.
• Her story, marked by unimaginable violence and loss of dignity, mirrors the experience of countless girls across India, particularly in Bihar, where human trafficking has evolved into a sophisticated and brutal industry.

The Stark Reality: Statistics and Suffering

• Until June this year alone, 271 girls were rescued from trafficking in Bihar, more than half having been forced into exploitative orchestra work, the rest into the flesh trade.
• Saran district, notorious for such operations, saw the rescue of 162 girls since January, while partner organisations like Just Rights for Children aided in saving 116 more between March and June.
• Behind these numbers lie horrors: girls as young as 12 sold for as little as ₹10,000, forced into sexual slavery, and subjected to violence in squalid, overcrowded quarters.

Why Bihar? The Roots of Vulnerability

• Pervasive Poverty: Years of deprivation drive families to take perilous risks.
• Geographical Factors: Porous borders with Nepal and railway links to trafficking-prone states (West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and others) ease the movement of traffickers and their victims.
• Cultural Manipulation: In arts-focused states, aspirations for a better life or artistic stardom are cynically manipulated by traffickers.

Systemic Failures: Where Protection Breaks Down

• Low Conviction Rates: Most cases are misfiled as kidnappings; prosecutions lag, and convictions remain rare.
• Under-Resourced Agencies: Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) lack manpower and expertise, and jurisdictional disputes thwart cross-state investigations.
• Inadequate Rehabilitation: Rescued girls often return to the same conditions, and families, that enabled their exploitation in the first place.

The Orchestra Belt: A Facade of Performance

• In Bihar’s orchestra belt, districts like Saran, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, Rohtas, and West Champaran, the supposed dance troupes and orchestras are often fronts for trafficking rings.
• Girls are forced into dehumanising performances before drunken crowds, punished or raped for resistance, and stripped of any possibility for escape.

The Way Forward

• Legal and Institutional Responses
  • Encouragingly, there are signs of institutional recognition and action.
  • Following advocacy by groups such as Just Rights for Children, the Patna High Court directed the state government to urgently address the trafficking and exploitation of girls in orchestras.
  • However, such acknowledgments require transformation into concrete actions:
    • Strict Enforcement: Immediate prohibition and mapping of minors in orchestras, prosecution of perpetrators, and the sealing of exploitative premises.
    • Comprehensive Oversight: Institutions, from law enforcement to local panchayats, must be involved in not just rescue but in monitoring, prosecution, and long-term rehabilitation.
• Prevention at the Core
  • School and Community Vigilance: Monitoring attendance and reporting prolonged absences must become routine. Migratory registers in villages should trigger action when children disappear.
  • Transport Surveillance: Authorities like the Railway Protection Force must extend vigilance to all transport networks and train staff to recognize trafficking signs.
  • Strengthening AHTUs: Specialized, full-time officers with clear mandates and cross-border authority are critical for tracking and prosecuting traffickers.
  • Victim-Centric Rehabilitation: State-supervised, long-term support and victim compensation must be non-negotiable.
• Prosecution as Prevention
  • A recent report by the Centre for Legal Action and Behaviour Change (C-Lab) reinforces the pivotal role of prosecution.
  • Data from 24 states demonstrate that when every case is pursued and legal action taken, justice is not only delivered, but child labour and trafficking are also effectively deterred.
• The PICKET Strategy: A Blueprint for Zero Tolerance
  • Policy: Clear, enforced policies prohibiting child labour and exploitation.
  • Institutions: Strong, accountable monitoring, prosecution, and rehabilitation systems.
  • Convergence: Collaboration among agencies, digital databases, and survivor-led intelligence.
  • Knowledge: Community awareness and the strategic use of survivor insights.
  • Economic Disincentives: Making trafficking financially riskier than any perceived benefit.
  • Technology: Databases, predictive analytics, and heat mapping to pre-empt trafficking routes.

Conclusion

• India possesses the laws, the institutions, and the knowledge to end child trafficking and exploitation.
• What is desperately needed now is the political will and public resolve to transform systemic acknowledgment into systemic action.
• Prevention, vigilance, and an uncompromising pursuit of justice hold the key to breaking the cycle of trafficking and ensuring that no girl’s dreams are shattered on the promise of a better tomorrow.

Why in news?

A new report by Quess Corp and the Udaiti Foundation reveals that over half of blue- and grey-collar women workers in India are dissatisfied with their low wages, with 80% saving less than ₹2,000 per month.

These inadequate earnings are a key reason why many women leave formal employment, especially when weighed against the high opportunity costs of working.

The report highlights a significant gap between the minimum wage and the actual “living wage” needed to cover essential expenses like health and education.

Recognising this, the Labour Ministry is now considering the inclusion of these costs in wage standards to make formal work more viable for women.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Living Wages
• Low Pay and High Costs Forcing Women Out of Workforce
• Government Explores Expanding Minimum Wage Definition to Support Women
• Beyond Wages: Structural Barriers Hindering Women’s Workforce Participation
• Manufacturing Hubs Boost Women’s Employment Opportunities

Living Wages

• A living wage is the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs such as food, housing, clothing, healthcare, education, and some level of financial security.
• Unlike minimum wages, which are set by law and often do not account for actual living costs, living wages are calculated based on the cost of living in a specific region.
• Living wages ensure that workers and their families can live with dignity without falling into poverty.

Low Pay and High Costs Forcing Women Out of Workforce

• A recent survey by Quess Corp reveals that blue- and grey-collar women workers earn only 70% of what their male counterparts make.
  • Blue- and grey-collar women workers are women employed in roles traditionally considered manual labor or technical/skilled trades, respectively. 
  • Blue-collar work often involves physical labor, while grey-collar jobs require specialized skills and may involve a combination of physical and intellectual tasks. 
• Coupled with high opportunity costs such as unpaid caregiving, long commutes, and migration expenses, many women struggle to remain in formal employment.
• The study highlights that women in peri-urban manufacturing zones often face lower minimum wages despite higher living costs.
• Notably, one in five women earn less than ₹20,000 per month, the typical minimum wage in Tier 1 cities.
• The data also shows that women earning above ₹20,000 are 21% less likely to exit the workforce soon, indicating that better pay significantly improves retention.

Government Explores Expanding Minimum Wage Definition to Support Women

• The government is considering broadening the definition of minimum wage to include expenses on health and education—currently excluded from wage calculations.
• Presently, the minimum wage is based only on nutrition, housing, and clothing.
• From a women’s perspective, including childcare and healthcare costs would help reduce the opportunity cost of working.
• Experts acknowledged the challenge of implementing this in a diverse country like India, where conditions vary by state, and stressed the importance of initiating a social dialogue with both employers and employees.
• While the move is still in early stages, she welcomed the fact that discussions have begun.

Beyond Wages: Structural Barriers Hindering Women’s Workforce Participation

• While implementing living wage standards would benefit all workers, the impact on women could be especially transformative due to their higher opportunity costs.
• India’s female labour force participation rate (LFPR) remains low at 32%, compared to 77.1% for men, as per the June PLFS data.
• Economists argue that raising women’s LFPR above 50% is essential for India to reach developed nation status.
• However, women face multiple challenges beyond wages, including unsafe or unaffordable housing, poor work culture, limited mobility, and regulatory restrictions.
• Experts noted that 54 existing laws restrict women's employment, such as those banning night shifts.
• While these are being gradually repealed, they highlighted that responsibility for women’s safety—especially during night shifts—then falls on employers, a burden more easily borne by large firms than small businesses.
• Addressing these layered barriers is critical to enabling more women to join and remain in the workforce.

Manufacturing Hubs Boost Women’s Employment Opportunities

• States with strong industrial and manufacturing bases, such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, are leading in female workforce participation.
• Modern electronics and auto manufacturing units in these states are increasingly employing women due to their skills in finger dexterity and hand-eye coordination—qualities that are tested and found more often in women.
• As a result, sectors like electronics and automotive manufacturing are actively seeking female workers.

Why in news?

Five years after its launch, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has led to notable changes in classrooms, especially in early schooling.

However, much of its ambitious vision for overhauling school and higher education remains unfulfilled. Delays caused by Centre-state disagreements and institutional bottlenecks have slowed implementation across the country.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Five Years of NEP 2020: Key Gains and Early Implementation
• NEP 2020: Key Reforms Still in Progress
• NEP 2020: Key Sticking Points and Roadblocks

Five Years of NEP 2020: Key Gains and Early Implementation

• The NEP 2020 aimed to transform India’s education system. While complete implementation is ongoing, key reforms have begun to take root.
• Shift in School Structure and Curriculum
  • The traditional 10+2 structure has been replaced by a 5+3+3+4 system: foundational (pre-primary to class 2); preparatory (classes 3–5); middle (6–8), and secondary (9–12).
  • The 2023 National Curriculum Framework laid out outcomes for each stage.
  • NCERT released new textbooks (classes 1–8), merging subjects like history and geography into single volumes. Books for classes 9–12 are awaited.
• Early Childhood Education Gets a Boost
  • NEP aims for universal pre-primary education by 2030. NCERT’s Jaadui Pitara kits and a national ECCE curriculum are now in use.
  • Delhi, Karnataka, and Kerala are enforcing a minimum age of six for class 1, improving readiness but reducing enrolments.
  • However, better Anganwadi training and infrastructure are still needed.
• Foundational Learning Under NIPUN Bharat
  • Launched in 2021, NIPUN Bharat targets literacy and numeracy by class 3.
  • A recent survey shows 64% average language proficiency and 60% in math—progress, but still below universal goals.
• Credit-Based Flexibility Introduced
  • To allow flexibility in higher education, the NEP introduced the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) and the National Credit Framework (NCrF).
  • Learners can exit after one, two, or four years with a certificate, diploma, or degree. CBSE is piloting this credit model in schools as well.
• CUET for Uniform College Admissions
  • The CUET, launched in 2022, standardizes college admissions nationwide, reducing the need for multiple entrance exams, in line with NEP's goals.
• Expanding Global Footprint of Indian Campuses
  • Institutes like IIT Madras (Zanzibar), IIT Delhi (Abu Dhabi), and IIM Ahmedabad (Dubai) have set up global campuses.
  • Meanwhile, international universities, including the University of Southampton, are entering India, with 12 more awaiting approval.

NEP 2020: Key Reforms Still in Progress

• While several aspects of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 have seen implementation, others are still evolving.
• These reforms aim to reduce academic pressure, promote flexibility, and encourage inclusive, student-centric learning environments.
• Reimagining Board Exams
  • To lower the pressure of high-stakes assessments, the NEP proposes flexible board exams.
  • Starting 2026, CBSE will allow class 10 students to appear for board exams twice a year.
  • Karnataka has already piloted this idea. Other education boards are cautiously observing these changes before implementing them.
  • Additionally, the NEP encourages offering all subjects at two levels (standard and higher), but this has only been implemented for mathematics in class 10 by CBSE since 2019-20.
• Progress Cards with a Holistic Approach
  • NCERT’s PARAKH unit developed new-style report cards including peer and self-assessments. However, most boards have not adopted this approach yet.
• Slow Rollout of Four-Year Undergraduate Degrees
  • The NEP promotes four-year undergraduate programs with flexible exit options after each year.
  • While central universities and the state of Kerala have begun implementation, progress is slow in other regions due to faculty shortages and inadequate infrastructure in many colleges.
• Emphasis on Mother Tongue as Medium of Instruction
  • NEP recommends teaching students in their mother tongue at least until class 5 to enhance comprehension and cognitive growth.
  • CBSE has directed affiliated schools to implement this from pre-primary to class 2, with flexibility for classes 3–5.
  • Meanwhile, NCERT is developing textbooks in more Indian languages to support this multilingual shift.

NEP 2020: Key Sticking Points and Roadblocks

• Despite several successes, critical components of the NEP 2020 remain stalled due to political resistance, institutional inertia, and lack of consensus.
• These bottlenecks reflect deep structural and federal challenges in India’s education landscape.
• Resistance to the Three-Language Formula
  • NEP's proposal for students to learn three languages, at least two of which must be Indian, has been met with strong opposition.
  • Tamil Nadu, which follows a Tamil-English model, views the move as a covert attempt to impose Hindi and has rejected the proposal outright.
• Delays in Teacher Education Reforms
  • The overhaul of teacher training is yet to materialize. The National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education, expected in 2021, has not been released.
  • Although a four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) has been proposed, existing teacher education colleges offering B.El.Ed. (Bachelor of Elementary Education) have resisted the changes, stalling reform.
• Delay in Higher Education Regulatory Reform
  • The NEP envisages replacing the University Grants Commission (UGC) with the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI), a single regulator for funding, accreditation, standards, and regulation.
  • Despite being formalized in the policy, the Education Ministry is still working on drafting the HECI bill, leaving the proposed transformation in limbo.
• No Breakfast Scheme in Schools
  • NEP recommends providing breakfast in addition to midday meals for students in pre-primary and elementary classes.
  • However, the Finance Ministry rejected this proposal in 2021, citing budgetary constraints, stalling its rollout despite the potential nutritional benefits.
• Centre–State Frictions Over NEP Implementation
  • States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal have declined to adopt NEP-linked PM-SHRI schools.
  • The Centre withheld Samagra Shiksha funds in response. Tamil Nadu challenged the move in the Supreme Court.
• Karnataka's Changing Position
  • Karnataka initially adopted the four-year undergraduate degree model proposed under NEP but later scrapped it.
  • The current government is working on a state-specific education policy as per its 2023 election promise.

Why in the News?

• The Environment Ministry has notified the Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules, 2025.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Contaminated Sites (Introduction, Types, etc.)
• Environment Protection Rules (Key Features, Scope & Exemptions, Significance, Challenges, etc.)

Introduction

• India has taken a major step toward formalising its response to chemically contaminated sites.
• Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules, 2025 under the Environment Protection Act.
• For the first time, India has codified the procedures to identify, assess, and remediate sites where historical dumping of hazardous chemicals has polluted soil, groundwater, or surface water, posing long-term risks to public health and ecosystems.

Understanding Contaminated Sites

• According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), contaminated sites are locations where hazardous and other wastes have been historically dumped, often prior to the enforcement of proper regulatory mechanisms.
• Such sites typically include:

• Defunct industrial landfills
• Waste storage and chemical spill sites
• Abandoned chemical handling facilities

• India has identified 103 such sites, but remedial operations have been initiated in only seven.
• Many polluters have ceased operations or lack the resources for clean-up, leaving local communities and environments exposed to toxic hazards.

Key Features of the Environment Protection Rules

• The Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules, 2025 provide a legally binding, time-bound framework for the entire remediation process:
• Step 1: Identification and Reporting

• District administrations must prepare half-yearly reports listing “suspected contaminated sites.”
• These reports are sent to the State Pollution Control Board or a designated reference organisation.

• Step 2: Preliminary Assessment

• The Board or organisation must carry out a preliminary assessment within 90 days to ascertain the likelihood of contamination.

• Step 3: Detailed Site Survey

• If contamination is likely, a detailed survey must be completed within the next 90 days, checking for any of the 189 hazardous chemicals listed under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016.
• Sites found to be contaminated will be publicly notified and access restricted.

• Step 4: Remediation Planning

• A reference organisation comprising scientific experts will propose a remediation plan.
• The State Board must also identify the person(s) responsible for the contamination within 90 days.

• Step 5: Cost Recovery and Liability

• Those responsible must bear the cost of remediation.
• If the polluter is unavailable or unable to pay, the Centre and State will split the cost under a prescribed arrangement.
• Criminal liability, if proven to involve loss of life or severe damage, will be addressed under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (2023).

Scope and Exemptions

• While comprehensive, the rules exclude certain categories already covered by other legislation:

• Radioactive waste (under the Atomic Energy Act)
• Mining-related contamination (governed separately)
• Marine oil pollution
• Municipal solid waste dump sites

• This ensures that regulatory overlap is avoided, and specialised agencies continue to govern complex waste streams.

Significance of the Rules

• The notification marks a paradigm shift from fragmented enforcement to structured environmental remediation.
• Previously, there was no legally codified framework for addressing contaminated sites, leading to regulatory inaction and long delays in clean-up. By defining:

• Responsibilities of district officials and pollution boards
• Timelines for assessment and response
• Polluter-pays mechanism for cost recovery

Challenges in Implementation

• While the rules provide a legal foundation, successful implementation will hinge on:

• Scientific capacity for hazardous chemical assessment
• Institutional coordination between the State Boards, CPCB, and district administrations
• Funding support, especially where no liable party is available
• Public awareness and community participation in reporting pollution

• Capacity-building at the district and state levels will be critical to make the framework actionable.

Context:

• Recently, Chinese Premier Li Qiang launched construction of a massive hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, close to the Indian border.
• The Yarlung Tsangpo project's scale, lack of transparency, ecological threats, and strategic ramifications have raised serious concerns for India, especially as no prior consultation was conducted with lower riparian states like India and Bangladesh.

Project Overview and Strategic Location:

• Project cost and scale:
  • Estimated at 1.2 trillion yuan (US$167.8 billion), it involves five cascade hydropower plants in Medog County, approximately 30 km from India's Arunachal Pradesh border.
  • Expected annual generation will be 300 billion kWh, more than thrice the designed capacity (88.2 billion kWh) of the Three Gorges Dam in China, currently the largest in the world.
• Engineering features:
  • It would involve drilling 4-6 tunnels of 20 km each, diverting up to 50% of the river’s flow.
  • It is located in a high seismic zone (Zone V) – Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis.

Environmental and Hydrological Concerns:

• Disruption of Brahmaputra flow:
  • The project would alter natural hydrology and seasonal flow, especially in the lean season.
  • It will impact aquatic biodiversity, fisheries, sediment load, and ecosystem services.
  • The construction of five massive hydropower plants in cascade is likely to involve reservoir-like structures, even though it is claimed to be a run-of-the-river project.
• Flood risk: Sudden or unannounced water release during heavy rainfall or earthquakes could lead to catastrophic downstream flooding.
• Seismic vulnerability:
  • Project area prone to earthquakes due to Himalayan Frontal Thrust and Medog Fault.
  • Past Chinese engineering failures (e.g., Neelum-Jhelum in PoK) raise safety concerns.

Diplomatic and Legal Dimensions:

• Lack of riparian cooperation:
  • China has consistently withheld data and transparency.
  • Past behavior on the Mekong River affected Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, setting a worrying precedent.
  • No operationalization of three MoUs signed with India in 2013.
• International water laws:
  • Neither India nor China are signatories to the UN Convention (1997) on international watercourses.
  • However, principles like “equitable utilization” and “no significant harm” are part of customary international law.
• Geopolitical double standards:
  • China likely would not tolerate similar behavior from upstream states.
  • India’s quiet diplomacy is seen as ineffective; stronger public and diplomatic messaging is needed.

Strategic and Policy Recommendations for India:

• Diplomatic pushback:
  • Demand full project disclosure, seismic safety reports, and environmental impact assessments.
  • Seek project suspension until legitimate Indian concerns are addressed.
• Domestic response:
  • Build flood moderation infrastructure in Arunachal and Assam.
  • Use remote sensing and geospatial tools for independent hydrological assessments.
  • Reduce dependence on China for hydrological data.
• Internationalizing the issue:
  • Promote NGO engagement and international discourse.
  • Elevate the issue in bilateral talks and in multilateral platforms to signal assertiveness.

Conclusion:

• The Yarlung Tsangpo project is not just an ecological and hydrological threat but a strategic challenge.
• India must shift from passive diplomacy to proactive engagement, emphasizing transboundary water governance, sovereign rights, and ecological security.
• The time has come for India to build pressure through diplomatic, technical, and international legal instruments while enhancing domestic preparedness.

Context

• In 1890, Senator John Sherman famously declared, ‘If we will not endure a king as a political power, we should not endure a king over the production, transportation, and sale of any of the necessaries of life.’
• With these words, the Sherman Antitrust Act was born, laying the foundation for modern competition law in the United States and inspiring similar legislative frameworks across the globe, including in India.
• Although the nature of what constitutes a necessity of life has evolved, Sherman's warning against monopolistic dominance remains chillingly relevant in the 21st-century digital economy.
• India, with its booming tech landscape and ambitious economic goals, now finds itself grappling with monopolistic practices by global digital giants, especially in how they shape access, discovery, and monetization for domestic start-ups.

The Digital Economy and India’s Ambitions

• India's digital economy contributed 11.74% to the nation's GDP in 2022–23, marking it as a central pillar of national development.
• The explosion of start-ups, from 2,000 in 2014 to over 31,000 in 2023, signals a thriving entrepreneurial spirit.
• The government envisions these start-ups as engines of growth for its ambitious $35 trillion ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision by 2047.
• However, while technological infrastructure enables innovation, the pathways of digital commerce and discovery are often dominated by foreign tech giants, resulting in distorted market dynamics that can stifle homegrown potential.

Gatekeeping and Market Power in the Digital Age

• One of the most glaring manifestations of this gatekeeping is Google’s overwhelming dominance in the digital distribution ecosystem.
• With Android capturing around 95% of India’s mobile OS market, Google essentially controls how Indian consumers discover and interact with digital products.
• Indian start-ups are therefore compelled to operate within Google’s ecosystem, paying high commissions on in-app transactions and competing under discriminatory terms that tilt the market in favour of select players.
• A recent complaint to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) by a major Indian gaming start-up underscores this imbalance.
• The complaint centres on Google's Real Money Gaming (RMG) Pilot Program, which selectively allowed only two gaming formats, Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) and rummy, on its Play Store, effectively excluding other legitimate gaming formats.
• This discriminatory policy granted unfair advantages to a handful of operators, with one DFS company reportedly acquiring 55 million users in just one year through the program.
• Meanwhile, advertising policy changes cut off vital promotional avenues for other gaming businesses, despite their prior reliance on Google’s ad network for over two-thirds of app downloads.

Antitrust and the Broader Economic Impact

• Such market distortions have far-reaching economic implications.
• When dominant players favour select partners, it reduces competition, which in turn limits innovation, consumer choice, and product quality.
• Over-reliance on a few digital gatekeepers weakens the resilience of the digital ecosystem and jeopardizes long-term economic goals.
• This is particularly dangerous for a developing economy like India, which depends heavily on inclusive growth driven by new ideas and start-ups.
• The United States offers a cautionary tale: the unchecked rise of monopolies has led to a significant decline in Initial Public Offerings and increased entry barriers for new businesses.
• If similar monopolistic trends continue unchecked in India, the cost will be borne not just by start-ups, but also by consumers and the economy at large.

The Way Forward: Towards a Fairer Digital Market

• It is clear that global tech giants like Google play a foundational role in the digital ecosystem.
• However, their responsibilities must match their power.
• The Indian government and institutions like the CCI must work to ensure that the digital economy is a level playing field, where innovation is not stifled by exclusionary practices or market manipulation.
• The case filed by the Indian gaming company is more than a corporate dispute, it is emblematic of a broader push for fair competition and market access.
• It echoes Sherman’s call to resist economic kingship and promotes a digital future where distribution and monetization are democratized, not monopolised.

Conclusion

• Senator Sherman’s 19th-century concerns find startling resonance in 21st-century India.
• As the country charges ahead in its digital revolution, it must remain vigilant against monopolistic forces that can derail its aspirations.
• With the right regulatory interventions, India can ensure that its start-up ecosystem remains dynamic, competitive, and fair, delivering on the promise of Viksit Bharat and carrying forward Sherman’s legacy into the digital age.

Context

• There has been a recent online debate between a hepatologist and an Indian chess Grand Master regarding whether practitioners of traditional medicine can call themselves doctors.
• It has reignited a longstanding and multifaceted discourse on the status, legal boundaries, and societal role of practitioners of India’s traditional medical systems, particularly Ayurveda and Unani.
• The controversy goes well beyond titles, touching the very core of public health, legislative policy, and cultural identity in modern India.

Historical Framing: Committees and Government Policy

• The genesis of this debate can be traced back nearly 80 years.
• The Bhore Committee in 1946 advocated firmly for modern, evidence-based medicine, citing global trends where countries were moving away from traditional medical practices in favour of scientific medicine.
• Nevertheless, this stance met significant resistance among traditional medicine practitioners, who framed the issue in terms of cultural identity, arguing for the preservation of systems such as Ayurveda on the grounds of their ancient Indian roots.
• In response to public outcry, the government established the Committee on Indigenous Systems of Medicine, whose 1948 report wrapped the legitimacy of traditional medicine in a narrative of Hindu nationalism.
• While India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru refrained from granting official recognition to these systems, the political tide shifted under Indira Gandhi in 1970.
• The creation of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, formally recognised and regulated practitioners of Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani.
• This legislative framework was updated in 2020 by the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act.

Divergent Philosophies and the Challenge of Integrative Medicine

• A crucial point of contention is the fundamental incompatibility between the underlying philosophies of traditional and modern medicine.
• The curriculum for Ayurvedic practitioners merges ancient concepts like doshas, prakriti, and metaphysical ideas about the soul with select subjects from modern biomedicine, such as anatomy and cell physiology.
• These frameworks are inherently irreconcilable: Ayurveda attributes illness to imbalances of doshas, while modern medicine explains diseases such as infections through germ theory and pathophysiology.
• This makes the concept of integrative medicine, a blending of the two approaches, highly problematic at a conceptual and scientific level.

Legal Scope and the Right to Prescribe

• Rule 2(ee) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945
  • It allows State governments to declare certain practitioners eligible to prescribe modern medicine, even if they are not MBBS graduates.
  • Many states have used this provision to empower traditional medicine practitioners, resulting in friction with the allopathic community and periodic judicial challenge.
• Mukhtiar Chand vs The State of Punjab
  • The Supreme Court, in the case of  Mukhtiar Chand vs The State of Punjab & Ors(1998), clarified that the right to prescribe a system’s drugs is inseparable from the claim to practice that system, effectively barring Ayurvedic practitioners from dispensing allopathic medicines.
  • Despite this, state governments have continued issuing orders under Rule 2(ee), occasionally in defiance of judicial rulings, leading to repeated litigation, spearheaded by bodies like the Indian Medical Association.
  • At the same time, patients themselves often sue for being misled about the practitioners’ qualifications, especially where the prescription or treatment involved modern medications.

Procedural Boundaries and Recent Developments

• The boundaries extend beyond writing prescriptions to procedural rights.
• Notably, a 2020 government notification permitted post-graduate Ayurvedic doctors to perform 58 types of surgeries, including operations like gallbladder or appendix removal.
• This policy is currently under judicial scrutiny. If upheld, it opens unresolved questions, can Ayurvedic practitioners then also use modern anaesthesia and antibiotics for such surgeries?
• The tension is heightened by the fact that, to cut costs, many hospitals reportedly staff Ayurvedic graduates in positions traditionally held by MBBS doctors.

Conclusion

• At its core, this controversy is not simply about professional titles, but about the standard of care delivered to the public and the integrity of India’s health system.
• The blurred boundaries, inconsistent legal interpretations, and political appropriations risk undermining evidence-based medicine and patient trust, diverting taxpayer resources into avenues with questionable benefits for public health.
• As debates ranging from social media to the Supreme Court play out, the most important consideration remains the safety, well-being, and informed consent of Indian citizens, issues that transcend the headlines and demand ongoing scrutiny.

Why in the News?

• India has launched a national programme to monitor and mitigate Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) risks, prioritising 195 high-risk lakes in the Himalayan region amid rising climate-induced disasters.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• GLOF (Introduction, Risk in Himalayas, Catastrophic Events, Growing Vulnerability, National Strategy, Innovations, Preparedness, Future Outlook)

Introduction

• Recently, in July 2025, a severe Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) struck Nepal, sweeping away a China-built friendship bridge and rendering multiple hydropower plants inoperative.
• This catastrophe underscored the growing threat posed by glacial melt in the Himalayas, a region already vulnerable due to global warming and seismic activity.
• For India, which houses over 7,500 glacial lakes across 11 river basins, GLOF events pose a serious risk to infrastructure, livelihoods, and ecosystems.
• The Indian government, through the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), has initiated a multi-pronged strategy focused on early warning, risk mitigation, and community engagement to tackle this emerging challenge.

Rising GLOF Risk in the Himalayas

• GLOFs occur when unstable glacial lakes, formed due to melting glaciers, suddenly burst, releasing massive volumes of water downstream. In the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), two major types of glacial lakes are found:

• Supraglacial Lakes: Formed on the glacier surface, vulnerable to summer melting.
• Moraine-Dammed Lakes: Formed at the glacier toe and dammed by loose debris, highly prone to collapse due to avalanches or ice-core instability.

• According to the National Remote Sensing Centre, India is home to around 28,000 glacial lakes, with most situated above 4,500 metres, making ground access difficult and monitoring sparse.

Catastrophic Events and Growing Vulnerability

• India has already experienced several GLOF disasters, such as:

• Chorabari GLOF (2013): Triggered the Kedarnath tragedy with cascading floods and landslides, killing hundreds.
• South Lhonak GLOF (2023, Sikkim): Destroyed the 1,250 MW Chungthang dam, raising the Teesta riverbed and decreasing its water-carrying capacity.

• The risk is compounded by rising temperatures. 2023 and 2024 were the hottest years globally, leading to increased glacier melt and destabilisation of lake structures.
• Additionally, the lack of weather and water monitoring stations in high-altitude areas has left most glacial lakes unmapped and unguarded.

National Strategy for GLOF Mitigation

• Recognising the scale of the threat, the NDMA launched a $20 million national programme, identifying 195 high-risk lakes, classified into four levels of vulnerability.
• The initiative, under the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction (CoDRR), focuses on five core objectives:

• Hazard Assessment of each lake
• Installation of Automated Weather and Water Stations (AWWS)
• Deployment of Early Warning Systems (EWS)
• Water drawdown or retention structures at critical lakes
• Community engagement and education to improve response readiness

• States housing glacial lakes were encouraged to lead the effort by sending scientific expeditions to 40 of the most vulnerable lakes during the summer of 2024.

Scientific Techniques and Innovations

• To bridge India's existing data and monitoring gaps, several advanced tools and technologies have been deployed:

• Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Interferometry: Used for micro-level monitoring of slope stability and lake expansion, accurate up to a centimetre.
• Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT): Helps detect subsurface ice cores that could lead to dam failure.
• Bathymetry and UAV Surveys: Assess lake volume and surrounding terrain.

• Notably, two lakes in Sikkim are now equipped with AWWS units, transmitting water level and weather data every 10 minutes along with daily images of lake perimeters, establishing India’s first operational monitoring stations in the cryosphere.

Institutional and Community Preparedness

• Apart from technical tools, India has turned to ground-level institutions like the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for manual early warnings.
• Given their high-altitude deployments, ITBP personnel are now being trained to detect visible signs of GLOF risk.
• Community engagement has also emerged as a critical element. Several scientific teams were welcomed or rejected based on their rapport with local residents.
• The importance of culturally sensitive engagement became apparent when an expedition team had to leave behind a member to honour the sanctity of a lake considered sacred by locals.

Future Outlook and Scaling Efforts

• The government intends to scale the national programme under the upcoming 16^th Finance Commission (FY2027–31).
• The plan includes expanding risk surveillance across thousands of lakes, scaling up scientific monitoring, and building institutional capacities for coordinated response.
• However, critical gaps remain:

• The lack of Indian startups or foundations working in Himalayan risk mitigation
• Limited use of remote sensing technologies despite their availability
• Absence of a pan-Himalayan early warning network in partnership with neighbouring countries like Nepal and China

• Bridging these gaps will be essential for India to protect its mountain communities and key river systems downstream.

Why in News?

• Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Tamil Nadu during the valedictory ceremony of the Aadi Thiruvathirai festival to commemorate the birth anniversary of Emperor Rajendra Chola I.
• He highlighted the historical achievements of the Chola dynasty and linked their legacy to India’s vision of becoming a developed and united nation.
• He also highlighted the democratic traditions of the Chola Empire, particularly the Kudavolai system, comparing it with Western ideals like the Magna Carta (1215 CE) and Enlightenment-era political thought.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• The Chola Dynasty
• PM’s Tribute to Chola Emperors
• Chola Achievements as a Model for Modern India
• The Kudavolai System
• Rediscovering Ancient Indian Democracy
• Cultural Unity and Preservation
• Conclusion

The Chola Dynasty:

• It was a Tamil empire that dominated South India and rose in prominence from the 9th (founder - Vijayalaya) to the 13th centuries CE (decline after the reign of Kulothunga I).
• They were renowned for their military prowess, maritime dominance, and significant contributions to art (advancements in bronze sculpture), architecture (eg., exemplifying the Dravidian style of temple architecture), and literature.
• At its peak (and spearheaded by Rajaraja I and his son Rajendra I), the Chola empire stretched from the islands of the Maldives to the banks of the Ganges River in Bangladesh, with colonies in Southeast Asia.

PM’s Tribute to Chola Emperors:

• Historical inspiration: PM Modi paid homage to Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra Chola I for their military might, naval expansion, administrative innovations, and cultural contributions.
• Commemorative coin: A coin was released to honour Rajendra Chola I, commemorating his contributions including the building of Gangaikonda Cholapuram, the Brihadisvara Temple, and Cholagangam lake.
• Statues announcement: The Centre will install statues of both emperors in Tamil Nadu to reinforce national historical consciousness.

Chola Achievements as a Model for Modern India:

• Economic and strategic vision: Chola-era advancements in trade, defence, water management, and local governance were showcased as templates for India's future development.
• Strengthening defence: Echoing Rajaraja and Rajendra’s naval legacy, PM Modi emphasized modern India's commitment to national security, citing Operation Sindoor as an example of India’s decisive strategic posture.
• Democratic foundations: The Kudavolai system introduced by the Cholas was hailed as an early form of grassroots democracy.

The Kudavolai System:

• Electoral innovation:
  • Ballot-pot mechanism: The Kudavolai or “ballot pot” involved placing names on palm leaves in a pot and drawing lots publicly by a neutral child, ensuring transparency and fairness.
  • Institutional integrity: The process symbolised a combination of divine will and civic integrity, aimed at preventing dynastic capture of power.
• Stringent eligibility and disqualification norms:
  • Eligibility criteria: Candidates had to be tax-paying landowners; 35–70 years old; literate in Vedic texts or administrative principles; free from criminal records, debt defaults, alcoholism, or nepotism
  • Disqualification measures: Individuals with financial misdemeanours or ethical lapses were disqualified, even fined or removed as per epigraphic records (e.g., Inscription No. 24 from Epigraphia Indica).

Rediscovering Ancient Indian Democracy:

• Chola contribution to democratic thought:
  • PM Modi emphasized that the Chola Empire practiced structured electoral governance long before Western democracies emerged.
  • The Uttaramerur inscriptions in Tamil Nadu serve as one of the earliest evidence of local self-governance and electoral processes.
• Administrative decentralisation and local governance:
  • Village councils: Two bodies (Sabha – for Brahmin villages; and Ur – for non-Brahmin settlements) had real power over revenue, water management, temples, and justice.
  • Merchant guilds as partners: Guilds like Manigramam and Ayyavole were key in decentralised governance and trade expansion.
• Symbolic statecraft: Rajendra Chola’s act of bringing Ganga water to his capital symbolised a liquid pillar of victory, merging military conquest with ritual legitimacy.
• Limitations of the democratic system:
  • Exclusionary nature: Despite being advanced for its time, the Chola model excluded women, landless labourers, and lower castes, highlighting inequality in participatory governance.
  • Modern interpretations: Historians assert that while imperfect, the Chola model was an early blueprint of strategic, decentralised rule and civic integrity.

Cultural Unity and Preservation:

• Pan-Indian cultural bonds: Initiatives like Kashi Tamil Sangamam and Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam were referenced to reflect the government's efforts in cultural integration.
• Return of heritage artefacts: Since 2014, India has repatriated over 600 ancient artefacts, including 36 from Tamil Nadu, reflecting cultural revivalism.
• Shaivite influence: The Shaivite tradition and Tirumular’s message, Anbe Shivam (Love is God), were highlighted as eternal solutions to global crises.

Conclusion:

• By invoking the achievements of the Chola emperors, PM Modi's speech reaffirmed the importance of drawing upon historical strength to build a self-confident, united, and culturally rooted developed India.
• The Chola Dynasty’s sophisticated systems of local self-government, democratic accountability, and ritual statecraft provide a powerful counter-narrative to Western-centric ideas of political evolution.

Context

• The question of who is eligible to vote in India is not merely an administrative concern but a foundational issue that touches the very core of Indian democracy.
• At the heart of this issue lies the principle that only Indian citizens are entitled to participate in the electoral process.
• Yet, controversy has emerged over the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) move to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
• Critics of the move argue against the verification of citizenship, betraying either a lack of understanding of the Constitution or a willingness to ignore its mandates for political expediency.

Citizenship as a Prerequisite for Electoral Participation

• According to Article 326 of the Indian Constitution, elections to both the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of states must be based on adult suffrage.
• However, this right is explicitly limited to individuals who are citizens of India and are not less than eighteen years of age.
• Further, they must not be disqualified by any law made by the appropriate legislature.
• Therefore, the right to vote is inextricably linked with Indian citizenship.
• This constitutional principle is reiterated in The Representation of the People Act, 1950, which provides a detailed legal framework for the preparation and maintenance of electoral rolls.

The Role of the Election Commission of India

• The Election Commission, under Article 324, is constitutionally mandated to supervise and manage the conduct of elections and the preparation of electoral rolls.
• This includes revising electoral rolls irrespective of whether elections are impending.
• The Supreme Court’s ruling in Lakshmi Charan Sen v. A.K.M. Hassan Uzzaman (1985) reaffirms that such revision is a continuous process under the Commission’s purview.
• Under this framework, the ECI has both the authority and the duty to ensure that only eligible citizens are enrolled as voters.
• This includes verifying the authenticity of voter claims and deleting names found to be ineligible.
• Sections 15 to 24 of the 1950 Act codify these processes, with Section 16 specifically disqualifying non-citizens from voter registration.
• Section 16(2) empowers the deletion of names wrongly included in the electoral rolls, thereby reinforcing the necessity of verifying citizenship.

Legal and Constitutional Disqualifications

• The connection between citizenship and legislative eligibility is not limited to voting alone. One must be a voter to become a legislator.
• Consequently, non-citizens cannot contest elections for Parliament or State Assemblies.
• Articles 102 and 191 of the Constitution make this abundantly clear by disqualifying any individual who is not an Indian citizen, or who voluntarily acquires foreign citizenship or allegiance to another country, from legislative membership.
• To suggest that a non-citizen can vote or hold legislative office would thus directly contradict constitutional provisions and undermine the very fabric of Indian democracy.

Criteria for Inclusion in Electoral Roll

• Overseas Citizens
  • Further clarity is offered by The Citizenship Act, 1955, particularly through Sections 7A and 7B.
  • While the Act allows for the registration of Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), Section 7B(2) clearly denies OCIs the right to vote, thus reinforcing the constitutional restriction that only full citizens may be included in electoral rolls.
• Residency, Lawful Presence, and Electoral Rolls
  • A key criterion for inclusion in the electoral roll is that the person must be ordinarily resident in a constituency.
  • However, as held in Dr. Yogesh Bhardwaj v. State of U.P. (1990), unlawful residence cannot be equated with ordinary residence.
  • Staying in India in violation of immigration laws does not make one eligible to vote or to claim any residency-based entitlement.

Aadhaar and Citizenship: No Equivalence

• Another area of confusion arises from the possession of an Aadhaar card, for, some have mistakenly assumed that Aadhaar serves as proof of citizenship.
• However, The Aadhaar Act, 2016, explicitly clarifies in Section 9 that neither an Aadhaar number nor its authentication confers citizenship or domicile status.
• Section 3 further states that the card is only for residents, not necessarily citizens, making it legally insufficient for voter registration purposes.

Conclusion

• The electoral system’s legitimacy depends on the integrity of its voter base, which, by constitutional and statutory mandate, must be comprised solely of Indian citizens.
• The ECI, as the custodian of India’s electoral machinery, is duty-bound to ensure this through verification mechanisms and roll revisions.
• Any lapse in doing so would constitute a serious breach of constitutional responsibility and could potentially allow the dilution of Indian democracy by non-citizen participation.
• The objections raised against the ECI’s revision initiative in Bihar are therefore not only misplaced but fundamentally contrary to the constitutional ethos.

Why in news?

Indian Railways has successfully tested its first hydrogen-powered coach at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, marking a major step towards launching India’s first hydrogen-powered train.

This eco-friendly initiative supports India’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and boosting renewable energy use.

The project, now in its final stage, is undergoing equipment testing before commercial rollout. Using hydrogen—a clean fuel—will help reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Only a few countries have attempted such projects, most of which remain in the trial phase.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Indian Railways’ Hydrogen Train Project: Key Details
• How India’s First Hydrogen Train Will Operate Safely
• Hydrogen Fuelling Facility at Jind: Backbone of India’s Hydrogen Train Project
• Hydrogen for Heritage: A Green Transport Vision

Indian Railways’ Hydrogen Train Project: Key Details

• Launched by Northern Railway in 2020-21, the hydrogen train project involves converting two 1600 HorsePower (HP) diesel power cars into hydrogen fuel cell-powered units.
• The project also includes setting up a hydrogen storage and fuelling facility at Jind, Haryana, with a storage capacity of 3,000 kg of hydrogen.
• The Research Design & Standards Organisation (RDSO) is leading the design, testing, and validation.
• The converted train, comprising 10 coaches and capable of carrying over 2,600 passengers, will operate between Jind and Sonepat in Haryana, covering two daily round trips of 356 km.

How India’s First Hydrogen Train Will Operate Safely

• Indian Railways’ hydrogen train project involves retrofitting two diesel power cars with hydrogen fuel cell systems, each storing 220 kg of hydrogen in specially designed cylinders at 350 bar pressure.
• Given hydrogen's highly flammable nature, multiple safety measures have been built in, including pressure relief valves, leak and flame detection sensors, temperature monitors, and optimized ventilation systems.
• Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies have been conducted to simulate worst-case leak scenarios.
• Extensive testing of key components—like the traction and auxiliary converters—has been completed.
• To ensure global safety standards, German firm TUV-SUD has been brought in as an independent safety auditor, while the engineering is led by Medha Servo Drives at ICF Chennai.

Hydrogen Fuelling Facility at Jind: Backbone of India’s Hydrogen Train Project

• A dedicated 3,000-kg hydrogen fuelling facility is being established at Jind in Haryana to support the operation of India’s first hydrogen-powered train.
• The storage is split into two parts — 2,320 kg at low pressure and 680 kg at high pressure.
• The facility will function under the safety norms and specifications of the Petroleum Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), ensuring strict adherence to national standards.
• Northern Railway is also developing supporting infrastructure, including power supply lines, access roads, and a firefighting tank, to make the facility fully operational.

Hydrogen for Heritage: A Green Transport Vision

• The tested coach is part of the “Hydrogen for Heritage” initiative, under which Indian Railways plans to deploy 35 hydrogen-powered trains on heritage and hill routes.
• Each train will cost around ₹80 crore, with an additional ₹70 crore earmarked for ground infrastructure per route.
• While the running costs of hydrogen-powered trains are currently high, they are expected to fall as scale and efficiency improve.
  • The main appeal of hydrogen lies in its zero carbon emissions, aligning with India’s green energy goals.
• India’s hydrogen ambitions are not limited to the rail sector.
• In 2024, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri presented a hydrogen-fueled bus, developed by Indian Oil, to Bhutan’s Prime Minister during his visit — underscoring India’s broader commitment to clean mobility.

Why in news?

China has officially started building a massive $167.8 billion hydropower dam on the Brahmaputra River, near the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Premier Li Qiang. Once completed, this will be the world’s largest dam.

The project has raised concerns in India and Bangladesh over its potential impact on the river’s natural flow and downstream water availability.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Arunachal Raises Alarm Over China’s Brahmaputra Dam Project
• China’s Brahmaputra Dam: The View From Assam
• India’s Cautious Response to China’s Brahmaputra Dam Project
• India’s Mitigation Strategy Amid China’s Brahmaputra Dam Concerns

Arunachal Raises Alarm Over China’s Brahmaputra Dam Project

• China’s construction of a massive 60,000 MW hydropower dam on the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra) near the “Great Bend” in Tibet, just before the river enters Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang, has sparked serious concerns in India.
• 
• Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister has called it an “existential threat” and likened the project to a potential “water bomb” that could devastate tribal communities and local livelihoods.
• He warned that sudden water release could flood the entire Siang region and drastically reduce river flow in the long term.
• Experts echo these fears, citing risks of flooding from dam operations, as well as the danger posed by the seismically active and ecologically fragile zone where the dam is being built.
• The project raises broader environmental and geopolitical anxieties for downstream countries like India and Bangladesh.

China’s Brahmaputra Dam: The View From Assam

• Assam Chief Minister has downplayed immediate concerns about China's dam on the Brahmaputra, highlighting that the river becomes a major waterway only after entering Assam, where it is nourished by tributaries from Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, and heavy monsoon rains.
• He noted that China's contribution to the Brahmaputra’s flow is limited—about 30–35%—mostly from glacial melt and Tibetan rainfall.
• He suggested that even if China were to reduce water flow, it might help manage Assam’s annual floods.
• Still, he acknowledged the existence of multiple theories about the dam’s impact and expressed confidence that the central government is either already engaged in talks with China or will initiate discussions soon.

India’s Cautious Response to China’s Brahmaputra Dam Project

• India has not issued an official response to the recent groundbreaking ceremony of China’s massive dam on the Brahmaputra River, but continues to closely monitor the developments.
• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has reiterated India’s concerns as a lower riparian state with established rights, emphasizing the need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries like India and Bangladesh.
• MEA had underscored India’s position in January, urging China to avoid actions that could harm downstream interests.
• In contrast, China has maintained that the project falls within its sovereign rights and assured ongoing cooperation with downstream nations on hydrological data and disaster management.
• Diplomatic Efforts on Multiple Fronts
  • Diplomatic efforts between India and China have continued on multiple fronts.
  • In October 2024, both nations had agreed on patrolling arrangements along the LAC to resolve past tensions.
  • Additionally, talks in March 2025 included discussions on cross-border cooperation, including river management.
  • India also resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals recently and restarted the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, signaling a cautious yet active engagement despite the concerns surrounding the dam project.

India’s Mitigation Strategy Amid China’s Brahmaputra Dam Concerns

• Experts recommend scientific assessment and capacity-building to anticipate any deliberate Chinese actions.
• They have proposed constructing storage infrastructure on Brahmaputra tributaries to manage erratic flows.
• The Upper Siang project in Arunachal Pradesh, with a 300-metre-high dam, is considered crucial both for hydropower and as a buffer against sudden water releases, although local opposition over environmental concerns has delayed progress.
• Additional strategies include developing inland channels for excess water diversion and pursuing long-term interlinking projects between the Brahmaputra and Ganga basins, as proposed by the National Water Development Authority.
• On the diplomatic front, experts advocate for continuous access to hydrological and project data from China, while also urging coordination with downstream neighbours like Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Myanmar to establish protocols for early warning and disaster preparedness.

Why in news?

Recently, India and the U.K. formally signed a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), concluding negotiations that began in January 2022.

The pact, finalized after more than three years of intense discussions, aims to significantly boost bilateral trade and deepen economic ties between the two countries.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Key Takeaways from the India-U.K. Trade Deal
• India-U.K. Trade Deal Goes Beyond Goods — Services and Workers Benefit Too
• India-U.K. FTA Features Unusual Provisions on Cars and Government Procurement
• Conclusion

Key Takeaways from the India-U.K. Trade Deal

• The India-U.K. trade agreement offers substantial tariff reductions on both sides.
• The U.K. has agreed to remove tariffs on 99% of its product lines, benefiting around 45% of India’s current exports such as textiles, footwear, automobiles, seafood, and fresh fruits like mangoes and grapes — all of which will now enter the U.K. duty-free.
• Meanwhile, India will cut or reduce duties on 90% of its tariff lines, covering 92% of U.K. exports to India.
• This means British whisky, cars, and engineering goods will become more affordable for Indian consumers.
• Notably, India’s high-value exports like petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, and diamonds already enjoy duty-free access in the U.K.
• Although the U.K. is not among India’s top trading partners — accounting for just 3.3% of exports and 1.2% of imports in 2024–25 — the deal marks a significant step in enhancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

India-U.K. Trade Deal Goes Beyond Goods — Services and Workers Benefit Too

• The India-U.K. Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is not limited to trade in goods; it also includes a strong focus on services — a key area for India’s economy.
• Under the agreement, India will open sectors like accounting, auditing, financial services, telecom, and environmental services to U.K. companies, allowing them to offer services in India without setting up a local office, while enjoying the same treatment as Indian firms.
• India has also agreed to recognise U.K. professional qualifications in fields such as law and accounting (excluding legal practice).
• On the flip side, Indian companies will now be allowed to establish offices in the U.K. in sectors like IT, consulting, and environmental services.
• A major win for Indian workers comes through the Double Contribution Convention (DCC), a separate agreement signed alongside CETA.
• It ensures that 75,000 Indian workers on short-term assignments in the U.K. can continue contributing only to India’s social security system, avoiding double payments in both countries.
  • This is a significant relief for those who typically don’t stay long enough in the U.K. to benefit from its system.

India-U.K. FTA Features Unusual Provisions on Cars and Government Procurement

• While most aspects of the India-U.K. trade deal follow a typical pattern of tariff and service liberalisation, it includes a few notable exceptions.
• For the first time, India has agreed to reduce import duties on cars through a trade pact.
• Import duties on large-engine luxury petrol cars from the U.K. will drop from 110% to 10% over 15 years, though within a quota system starting at 10,000 cars and rising to 19,000 in year five.
• Mid-sized and small cars will also see gradual tariff cuts to 10% by the fifth year, again within quotas. These phased cuts are designed to give Indian carmakers time to adjust.
• However, electric, hybrid, and hydrogen vehicles are excluded from duty cuts for the first five years to protect India’s emerging green vehicle sector.
• Another unusual feature is that the U.K. will now be allowed access to Indian government procurement.
  • India will open up around 40,000 high-value central government contracts in areas like transport, renewable energy, and infrastructure, allowing U.K. companies to bid for them.

Conclusion

The India-U.K. trade deal is not yet in force. It must first be ratified by the Cabinets of both countries, a process expected to take six months to a year.

For India, the agreement is not just significant in its own right — it could also act as a template for future trade negotiations with major economies like the U.S. and the European Union.

Why in news?

A student in Balasore, Odisha, died by self-immolation after her sexual harassment complaints against the head of her department were dismissed by the college’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).

Her family alleges that the ICC lacked proper training and operated in a biased environment that favoured the accused, raising serious concerns about the effectiveness and neutrality of institutional grievance redressal systems.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Legal Framework Behind ICCs: From Vishaka Guidelines to the POSH Act
• Powers and Responsibilities of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC)
• Poor Implementation of the POSH Act

Legal Framework Behind ICCs: From Vishaka Guidelines to the POSH Act

• The foundation for Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) was laid by the Supreme Court in 1997 through the Vishaka Guidelines, following the gang-rape of Bhanwari Devi, a social worker in Rajasthan.
• These guidelines defined sexual harassment at the workplace and mandated the creation of complaint committees to address such cases.
• Each committee was to be headed by a woman, include at least 50% women members, and involve an external third party to ensure fairness.
• However, these guidelines remained advisory until the 2012 Nirbhaya case prompted legislative action.
• This led to the enactment of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, commonly known as the POSH Act.
• The Act made it mandatory for all workplaces with more than 10 employees to establish ICCs.
• It also ensured that women in smaller or informal workplaces could seek redress through Local Committees formed by district authorities.

Powers and Responsibilities of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC)

• The ICC, mandated under the POSH Act, is empowered to address complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace.
• It must be headed by a senior woman employee as the Presiding Officer, and should include at least two internal members with experience in social work, legal knowledge, or commitment to women's causes.
• Additionally, one member must be an external expert, typically from an NGO or with knowledge of sexual harassment issues. Half of the ICC members must be women.
• Process of Filing Complaints
  • Any aggrieved woman can submit a written complaint within three months of the incident.
  • Upon receiving the complaint, the ICC can either initiate an inquiry or help settle the matter, if the complainant requests.
  • The committee enjoys civil court powers under the Code of Civil Procedure, allowing it to summon witnesses, examine evidence, and conduct proceedings accordingly.
  • It must complete the inquiry within 90 days and recommend appropriate action if the complaint is upheld.
  • The employer is also obligated to assist the complainant in filing a criminal case if she chooses to do so.
  • Strict confidentiality is mandated by law—covering the identity of the complainant, accused, witnesses, and details of the proceedings or recommendations—to protect the privacy of all parties involved.

Poor Implementation of the POSH Act

• Even after ten years since the enactment of the POSH Act, the implementation of Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) remains patchy and inadequate across institutions.
• In December 2024, the Supreme Court expressed concern over the "serious lapses" in enforcement, calling the state of affairs “disquieting” and ordering immediate compliance across both public and private sectors.
• Activists pointed out that although ICCs exist in some places, they often lack training, maintain no confidentiality, and fail to address workplace power imbalances—rendering them ineffective.
• They criticised the lack of coordination between ministries—where the Women and Child Development Ministry oversees the Act, but actual employers fall under the Labour and Industries Ministries.
• This disconnect has resulted in little to no monitoring or analysis of the law's functioning, leaving a “black hole” in accountability and data.
• The recent Balasore case underscores how ICCs, without proper structure and enforcement, are reduced to being symbolic rather than functional bodies.

Why in the News?

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch the NISAR satellite from Sriharikota onboard a GSLV Mk-II rocket.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• NISAR (Introduction, Features & Capabilities, Applications, India-specific enhancements, Individual Contributions, etc.)

Introduction

• India and the United States are set to launch their most ambitious joint space mission to date, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)
• Scheduled for lift-off on July 30 from Sriharikota onboard a GSLV Mk-II, the Rs. 12,000-crore mission has been over a decade in the making and is being considered as one of the world’s most advanced Earth observation missions.
• NISAR will provide real-time, high-resolution radar data on land deformation, biomass, disaster impact, crop patterns, and climate-related changes, not just for India but globally.
• It combines NASA’s strength in long-range radar systems with ISRO’s spaceflight engineering and S-band radar technology.

Unique Features and Capabilities of NISAR

• First Dual-Band Radar Satellite for Earth Observation
  • NISAR is the world’s first Earth-observing satellite with dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

• L-band radar (1.257 GHz) from NASA can penetrate dense forests and soil layers to detect ground deformation and subsurface movement.
• S-band radar (3.2 GHz) from ISRO is optimised for surface-level changes like crop growth, biomass estimates, and water levels.
• This dual-frequency advantage allows for all-weather, day-and-night imaging, even through clouds, smoke, or vegetation cover.

• Wide Swath and High Resolution

• NISAR’s radar swath width is 240 km, allowing it to scan large areas in one go.
• It offers a spatial resolution of 3-10 metres and vertical displacement mapping accuracy down to centimetres, enabling early detection of phenomena like land subsidence in cities.
• Every spot on Earth will be revisited once every 12 days, providing consistent monitoring.

Scientific and Societal Applications

• NISAR is designed to support research and operations across six broad themes:

• Solid Earth Processes - Tracking earthquakes, landslides, and land deformation.
• Ecosystems - Monitoring forests, woody biomass, and biodiversity.
• Ice and Snow Dynamics - Measuring glacial movements and polar ice thickness.
• Coastal and Ocean Monitoring - Tracking shoreline erosion, oil spills, and storm surges.
• Disaster Response - Providing near-real-time damage maps after floods, quakes, or cyclones.
• Agriculture and Infrastructure - Supporting food security and monitoring subsidence near dams, roads, and reservoirs.

• During natural disasters, NISAR can provide damage proxy maps within five hours, crucial for emergency relief planning and response.

India-Specific Enhancements

• While NISAR will operate globally at the L-band, ISRO will routinely operate the S-band radar over Indian territory, enabling:

• Enhanced biomass and soil moisture mapping
• Improved agricultural forecasting
• Ionospheric noise correction for high-precision imagery

• All of this aligns with India’s national needs in agriculture, disaster management, forestry, and rural development.

Technical Design and Deployment

• Once launched, NISAR will be placed in a sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of 747 km.
• It features a massive 12-metre mesh radar antenna and a 9-metre boom to support deployment and scanning.
• To overcome size constraints in space, the SAR system mimics a large antenna by collecting radar pulses over time and combining them through complex processing, hence the term “synthetic aperture.”
• Its advanced SweepSAR mode allows electronic steering of radar beams, providing consistent swath coverage without compromising resolution.

Data Access and Ground Infrastructure

• NISAR’s open-data policy ensures that data is freely available to all users, typically within a few hours of acquisition.

• NASA’s Near Earth Network (in Alaska, Norway, and Chile) will handle most global data downlinks (up to 3 TB/day).
• ISRO’s Ground Stations in Shadnagar and Antarctica will manage India’s data needs.
• India’s National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) will process and distribute NISAR products for domestic use.

India-U.S. Contributions

• The mission exemplifies balanced international collaboration:

• ISRO contributed the spacecraft bus, the entire S-band radar system, Ka-band telemetry systems, and launch support via GSLV Mk-II.
• NASA provided the L-band radar, radar structure, antenna, onboard avionics, and high-capacity data systems.

• The satellite was integrated and tested in Bengaluru, symbolising “Made-in-India” ownership of a global science instrument.

Why in News?

• India’s insurance industry is poised for substantial expansion, with Gross Written Premiums (GWP) expected to grow by 123% by 2030.
• This development reflects changing consumer behavior, increasing insurance awareness, and structural transformations in both retail and institutional segments.
• The insights are based on a joint report by the Insurance Brokers Association of India (IBAI) and McKinsey & Company, supported by the IBAI Insurance Insights Survey of 2,500 retail customers.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Growth Trajectory of India’s Insurance Sector
• Retail Segment - Divergent Needs and Behaviors
• Institutional Segment - Emerging Growth Frontiers
• Policy and Regulatory Implications
• India’s Insurance Sector

Growth Trajectory of India’s Insurance Sector:

• Rapid increase in GWP:
  • GWP refers to the total amount of premium revenue an insurer collects from policies issued during a specific period, before any deductions for reinsurance or other adjustments.
  • GWP to grow from ₹11.2 lakh crore in 2024 to ₹25 lakh crore by 2030.
  • This reflects a 123% increase in total insurance premium volume.
• Rising insurance penetration: Insurance penetration (ratio of total insurance premiums collected by insurance companies to a country's GDP) to improve from 3.7% (2024) to 5% by 2030, closing the gap with the global average of 6.8% (2023).
• Past performance: Between FY 2020 and FY 2024, total premiums rose from ₹7.8 lakh crore to ₹11.2 lakh crore, showing strong double-digit growth.

Retail Segment - Divergent Needs and Behaviors:

• Dominance of life insurance: Retail GWP is expected to reach ₹21 lakh crore by 2030, with over 90% from life insurance.
• Customer pyramid insights: 65% of opportunity lies at the two ends -
  • UHNI and HNI (Ultra/High Net-Worth Individuals) with assets over ₹8.5 crore.
  • Mass-market customers (individuals or businesses with relatively similar needs and purchasing power) with basic or first-time insurance needs.
• Insurance awareness vs. actual coverage:
  • 60% of HNI/UHNI customers believe ideal cover is 10 times of their salary, but only 30% actually hold such coverage.
  • Intent-coverage gap (a period during which an individual lacks insurance coverage) is a major structural issue.
• Influence on purchase decisions:
  • 70% HNI/UHNI: Rely on trusted advisors.
  • 45% mass-market: Influenced by family and friends.
• Claims experience:
  • 50% of HNI+ customers considered switching insurers due to poor claims service.
  • 55% SMEs faced claim rejections.
  • 75% need help with claims paperwork.

Institutional Segment - Emerging Growth Frontiers:

• Non-life insurance dominance: Institutional GWP to grow 3 times to ₹2.8 lakh crore by 2030.
• SME segment potential:
  • Currently contributes approximately 10%, but expected to grow fastest.
  • Half of SME opportunities concentrated in 17 cities and 10 capital-intensive industries: textiles, automotives, pharmaceuticals, industrial goods, etc.
• Structural barriers: Low intent to purchase due to -
  • Perceived non-necessity.
  • Lack of risk-management knowledge.
  • Margin pressures.
• Role of regulatory push:
  • 70% SMEs purchase insurance due to compliance, not voluntary need.
  • Seek advisory support, sector-specific products, and handholding in claims.

Policy and Regulatory Implications:

• Bridging the insurance gap can support financial resilience and economic stability.
• The sector offers scope for regulatory reforms, digital outreach, and inclusive insurance models.
• Focus needed on -
  • Customer-centric innovations.
  • Simplified claims management.
  • Insurance literacy, especially among SMEs and low-income segments.

India’s Insurance Sector:

• Insurance in India (covers both public and private sector organisations) is listed in the Seventh Schedule of India's Constitution as a Union List subject, meaning it can only be legislated by the Central government.
• The primary regulator for insurance in India is the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) which is a statutory body established in 1999.
• India is the fifth largest life insurance market in the world's emerging insurance markets, growing at a rate of 32-34% each year.
• Over the past nine years, the insurance sector has attracted substantial foreign direct investment amounting to nearly Rs. 54,000 crore (US$ 6.5 billion), driven by the government's progressive relaxation of overseas capital flow regulations.
  • FDI sectoral cap in the insurance sector has been revised from 49% to 74% under the automatic route.
  • The Union Budget 2025 also announced the further increase of FDI sectoral cap for the insurance sector from 74% to 100%.
  • This enhanced limit will be available for those companies, which invest the entire premium in India.
• The insurance industry of India has 57 insurance companies - 24 are in the life insurance business, while 34 are non-life insurers.
• Among the life insurers, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is the sole public sector company. There are six public sector insurers in the non-life insurance segment.
• In addition to these, there is a sole national re-insurer, namely General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re).