Context:

• Reflections on over a decade of governance highlight India’s transformation through Vikasvaad (development-centric governance).
• This has been made possible through structural reforms, cultural renaissance, social welfare, digital empowerment, and decisive leadership in domestic and foreign policy.

Vision of Governance - “India First”:

• India First Policy: Central to internal security, diplomacy, and reforms.
• Operation Sindoor: Symbol of a sovereign, swift, and decisive Bharat.
• Purpose-driven leadership: Reform-oriented, people-centric, and strategically autonomous.

Economic Achievements:

• Growth trajectory:
  • India is projected to be the world’s fastest-growing major economy at 6.3 to 6.8% in 2025–26.
  • India has emerged as the 4th largest economy in the world, poised to become the 3rd largest sooner than predicted.
• GST: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) unified indirect taxes.
• Foreign direct investment (FDI): The country saw a remarkable spike in FDI inflows ($667.74 billion: FDI received in 2014-24, which equals 67% of total FDI since 2000).
• Startup ecosystem: StartUp India has turned the country into the third-largest startup and Unicorn (118) ecosystem in the world.
• Digital transactions: India is the world leader in digital transactions today, with UPI processing 172 billion transactions in 2024 alone.

Infrastructure and Connectivity:

• Highways and roads: Construction of 4 lakh km of rural roads and 40,000 km of highways.
• Northeast integration: A significant number of development projects were launched in the Northeast, integrating much-neglected parts of the country into the mainstream.
• Housing (a priority since 2014): Over 4 crore houses have been built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), including 92.72 lakh under PMAY-Urban (90 lakh owned by women) and 2.77 crore under PMAY-Grameen.

Social Welfare and Inclusion:

• JAM trinity: Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile has revolutionized welfare schemes like direct benefit transfer (DBT).
• Jan Dhan Yojana: 55.17 crore accounts (as of March 2025); ₹2.61 lakh crore deposits; 30.80 crore women account holders.
• PM Ujjwala Yojana: 10.33 crore LPG connections distributed with 32.94 crore active users as of March 2025.
• Jal Jeevan Mission: A staggering 15.59 crore rural households have tap water with 100% coverage in eight states and three UTs.
• Saubhagya Scheme: 2.86 crore households electrified.
• Food security: In what is known as the world’s largest food security scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana delivers free rations to 81 crore people.
• Swachh Bharat Mission: A sanitation revolution has transformed rural areas, with more than 12 crore toilets built across the country, with more than 6 lakh villages ODF.

Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment:

• Budgetary support: Agriculture budget increased nearly 5 times from ₹27,663 cr in 2013–14 to ₹1,37,664.35 cr in 2024–25.
• PM-KISAN: Rs 3.7 lakh crore were transferred to 11 crore farmers as direct financial assistance, as of May 2025.
• Kisan Credit Card (KCC): Rs 10 lakh crore credit was provided to 7.71 crore farmers, and the loan limit was increased to Rs 5 lakh for 2025-26.
• Foodgrain output: As a result, foodgrain production grew from 265.05 million tonnes (2014–15) to 347.44 million tonnes (2024–25).

Landmark Legislation and Social Justice:

• Abrogation of Article 370 (August 2019): Full integration of J&K.
• The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019: Banned instant triple talaq.

Science, Technology and Space:

• ISRO’s milestones: For instance, Chandrayaan-3 success in 2023.
• Digital India: Financial and digital inclusion at unprecedented scale.

Cultural Renaissance and National Pride:

• Redevelopment of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, Ram Lalla Mandir in Ayodhya, and other pilgrimage sites.
• Rise of civilizational consciousness and cultural pride.

Poverty Alleviation and Human Development:

• Poverty reduction: As per the revised International Poverty Line (IPL) from $2.15/day (2017 PPP) to $3.00/day (2021 PPP) by the World Bank, India’s extreme poverty rate declined sharply to 5.3% in 2022-23 from 27.1% in 2011-12.
• Empowerment metrics: Women-led PMAY houses, women-centric Jan Dhan accounts.

Conclusion:

• The governance model of Vikasvaad has combined welfare with reforms, culture with modernity, and sovereignty with global leadership.
• As India steps into Amrit Kaal (2022–2047), the foundations laid since 2014 offer a roadmap toward Viksit Bharat by 2047.
• The future focus must remain on inclusive growth, sustainability, innovation, and strategic autonomy while harnessing the energy of youth, women, farmers, and entrepreneurs to sustain momentum as a global power.

Why in the News?

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is revising the Sarnath plaque to credit the Benares ruler’s family, instead of the British, for preserving the heritage site ahead of a UNESCO team’s visit.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About Sarnath (Introduction, Historical Significance, Key Monuments & Structures)
• News Summary (Debate Over Historical Attribution, Summary of Recent Developments)

About Sarnath

• Located about 10 km from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, it is one of the most revered sites in the Buddhist world.
• It holds immense historical, cultural, and religious significance as the place where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.
• Known as the Dharmachakra Pravartana or Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, this event marked the formal beginning of the Buddhist Sangha (community).

Historical Significance

• Buddha’s First Sermon: Around 528 BCE, Buddha preached the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path here to his five ascetic disciples. This sermon became the foundational philosophy of Buddhism.
• Mauryan Patronage: Emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE), after embracing Buddhism, visited Sarnath and commissioned several stupas, monasteries, and pillars. The famous Ashokan Lion Capital, India’s national emblem, was erected here.
• Medieval Flourishing: Over centuries, Sarnath grew into a vibrant monastic and educational hub. Numerous monasteries, stupas, and sculptures were added, especially under the Gupta dynasty (4^th-6^th century CE), which produced exquisite Buddhist art.
• Decline: With the decline of Buddhism in India (around the 12^th century CE) and repeated invasions, Sarnath fell into ruin and was largely forgotten until rediscovery in the colonial era.

Key Monuments and Structures

• Dhamek Stupa:
  • Built initially by Ashoka and later enlarged, this massive cylindrical stupa (43.6 meters high, 28 meters in diameter) marks the exact spot of Buddha’s first sermon.
  • The lower portion is decorated with intricate floral and geometric patterns, characteristic of Gupta art.
• Chaukhandi Stupa:
  • An early stupa commemorating the meeting between Buddha and his first disciples.
  • Later, a Mughal-era pavilion was added to the top.
• Ashokan Pillar:
  • The pillar, erected by Ashoka, bore the famous Lion Capital of Ashoka, now preserved in the Sarnath Archaeological Museum.
  • The capital, with four lions back-to-back, is India’s National Emblem and also featured on Indian currency.
• Mulagandha Kuti Vihar:
  • A modern monastery built by the Mahabodhi Society in 1931, it contains impressive frescoes depicting scenes from Buddha’s life.
• Monastic Ruins:
  • The site contains remains of monasteries that once hosted thousands of monks, serving as a leading centre of Buddhist learning.

Debate Over Historical Attribution

• For decades, the mainstream narrative credited British officials such as Duncan and Mackenzie in 1798 and later archaeologists like Alexander Cunningham for discovering and preserving Sarnath.
• However, recent scholarship and archival records challenge this view, pointing to Jagat Singh’s excavation in 1787-88 as the actual turning point.
• His digging at the ancient mound unearthed Buddhist relics, shifting the perception of who deserves credit for uncovering Sarnath’s legacy.
• This change is not merely a matter of rewriting history; it reflects a broader attempt to decolonise India’s historical narratives and recognise indigenous agency in heritage preservation.

Background of the Case

• Jagat Singh, a descendant of Benares ruler Chait Singh, ordered excavation at Sarnath for construction purposes, which unexpectedly revealed Buddhist relics. Parts of these relics remain housed in the Asiatic Society in Kolkata.
• The existing plaque at Sarnath emphasises British-led excavations from 1798 onwards, overshadowing Singh’s contribution.
• Earlier this year, following a petition by Singh’s descendants, the ASI revised a separate plaque at the Dharmarajika Stupa, removing language that labelled him a “destroyer” of monuments.
• The new version acknowledged that the stupa came to light through his actions, highlighting the contested nature of colonial-era historical narratives.

Summary of Recent Developments

• The upcoming plaque revision at Sarnath comes as UNESCO evaluates India’s proposal to include the site in its World Heritage List.

• ASI’s New Decision: The corrected plaque will formally acknowledge Jagat Singh’s role in exposing Sarnath’s importance in 1787-88, predating British accounts by a decade.
• Research Support: Former National Museum Director B.R. Mani’s excavations have revealed evidence of Buddhist activity at Sarnath even before Emperor Ashoka, strengthening the case for recognising local contributions.
• Cultural Impact: Singh’s family has also requested the ASI to revise accompanying cultural notice boards to reflect the corrected history.
• Broader Context: India’s cultural diplomacy emphasises its Buddhist heritage globally. The revision of plaques aligns with this strategy, especially as South Asian tourists form a large segment of visitors to Sarnath.
• UNESCO Candidacy: Sarnath, long on UNESCO’s tentative list, is now a strong contender for inclusion, with the government keen to assert its cultural and historical primacy.

Context

• The Goods and Services Tax (GST), introduced with the objective of creating a destination-based tax system, sought to improve efficiency by ensuring that the incidence of taxation fell on final consumers while input taxes were rebated.
• Despite its transformative intent, the GST system initially suffered from multiple rates, inverted duty structures, and high compliance costs.
• The new rate structure, effective from September 22, 2025, represents a significant overhaul, with implications for consumption, production, government revenue, and macroeconomic stability.

Evolution of the New GST Structure and Its Revenue Implications

• Evolution of the New GST Structure
  • The 2025 reform eliminated the 12% and 28% slabs, consolidating most goods and services under 0%, 5%, and 18%, while introducing a 40% demerit rate for luxury and sin goods.
  • Special concessional rates below 5% were retained for certain essential commodities.
  • These changes particularly benefit employment-intensive sectors such as textiles, automobiles, consumer electronics, healthcare, and food products.
  • On the production side, agriculture-related industries, fertilisers, machinery, and renewable energy, stand to gain from lower input costs.
  • Out of 546 goods subjected to revision, 80% experienced rate reductions, reflecting a pro-consumer and pro-growth stance.
  • However, the economic consequences extend beyond lower prices and higher demand; they also challenge fiscal stability.
• Revenue Implications
  • GST revenue (R) is determined as the product of the tax rate (r) and the tax base (E), which itself depends on pre-tax prices and quantities consumed.
  • Rate reductions lower post-tax prices, encouraging higher demand, but the increase in quantity demanded is not proportionate to the fall in tax rates. As a result, overall revenue tends to decline.
  • Calibrations suggest that across realistic demand elasticities, revenues will fall. For zero-rated goods, revenues vanish altogether.
  • Even for goods shifted to the 40% bracket, the apparent increase largely reflects the integration of the compensation cess, rather than a genuine hike.
  • Estimates of revenue loss vary, with the Ministry of Finance projecting ₹48,000 crore annually, while other assessments suggest higher figures.

Shortcomings of GST Reform

• Income and Consumption Effects
  • A key implication of the reform is the redistribution of benefits to consumers.
  • Lower GST translates into higher disposable incomes, especially for those consuming necessities in the 5% bracket.
  • Since demand elasticity for such goods is low, households may divert additional income toward higher-rated categories (18% and 40%), such as comforts and luxuries.
  • Over time, this could augment revenues, but in the short run, the government faces a pronounced revenue shortfall.
• Efficiency and Cascading Effects
  • While GST was designed to eliminate cascading, the revised structure does not fully achieve this aim.
  • Exempt goods, by disallowing input tax credits (ITC), embed input taxes into final prices.
  • Even in the 5% category, inputs taxed at 18% create administrative bottlenecks in claiming ITC.
  • Such inefficiencies undermine the reform’s ability to fully rationalise resource allocation and improve competitiveness.

Macroeconomic and Fiscal Challenges

• The reforms also intersect with India’s broader fiscal position.
• Nominal GDP growth in the first quarter of 2025-26 stood at 8.8%, below the budgeted 10.1%. With inflation subdued, achieving revenue targets becomes harder.
• Direct taxes contracted by 4.3% in the early months of the year, contrasting sharply with robust growth in the previous period.
• The Union Budget had already anticipated a revenue forgone figure of ₹1 lakh crore, largely due to personal income tax reforms.
• Additional GST revenue losses could push gross tax receipts significantly below projections.
• While higher Reserve Bank of India dividends may provide partial relief, the government faces the difficult choice between curbing expenditure and widening the fiscal deficit.
• States, too, will encounter similar dilemmas, with potential recourse to borrowing or expenditure cuts, both of which could stifle growth.
• Monetary interventions, through repo rate cuts or liquidity injections, risk fuelling inflation and forcing monetisation of deficits, a path fraught with limitations.

Growth Prospects and Structural Limits

• Although tax rate reductions may temporarily stimulate demand, this strategy cannot sustainably drive long-term growth.
• India’s potential growth rate ultimately depends on investment and savings, alongside the efficiency of capital use (incremental capital-output ratio).
• Thus, while GST reforms may provide short-term relief to consumers and production sectors, enduring growth requires structural improvements in investment capacity and productivity.

Conclusion

• The 2025 GST reforms represent a bold attempt to simplify the tax structure and stimulate economic activity.
• They promise lower prices, higher disposable incomes, and sectoral gains, particularly in employment-intensive industries, however, the fiscal cost is substantial, with immediate revenue shortfalls threatening both central and state budgets.
• Moreover, unresolved inefficiencies such as cascading and ITC bottlenecks continue to limit the system’s effectiveness.
• Ultimately, GST reforms can complement but not substitute for broader strategies centred on savings, investments, and productivity growth.

Why in news?

Central government employees have until September 30 to opt for the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) under NPS (National Pension System), introduced in April 2025. Despite 23.94 lakh employees being eligible, only around 40,000 have opted so far.

To regulate service matters for those choosing UPS, the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare notified the Central Civil Services (Implementation of the Unified Pension Scheme under the National Pension System) Rules, 2025, on September 2.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Govt Extends UPS Option to New Employees
• About Unified Pension Scheme (UPS)
• Key Differences Between UPS and NPS
• Why the Unified Pension Scheme Is Slow to Take Off

Govt Extends UPS Option to New Employees

• The government has allowed central employees who joined between April 1 and August 31, 2025, under NPS to migrate to the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS).
• This one-time option, available until September 30, 2025, aligns with the existing cut-off for other eligible categories.
• Employees opting for UPS will also retain the right to later switch back to NPS, ensuring flexibility in planning post-retirement financial security.
• Switch Option from UPS to NPS
  • UPS subscribers have a one-time option to switch to NPS, but cannot return to UPS.
  • The switch must be exercised at least one year before retirement or three months before VRS, and is barred in cases of dismissal, removal, compulsory retirement, or pending disciplinary proceedings.
  • Those not opting will remain under UPS.
  • Employees switching to NPS will receive its benefits along with the differential 4% contribution, giving greater flexibility and informed choice for retirement planning.

Unified Pension Scheme (UPS)

• Before UPS, central government employees hired before January 1, 2004, were covered under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), which guaranteed fixed pensions, while those joining after were under the market-linked National Pension System (NPS).
• Amid persistent demands to restore OPS, the Union Cabinet approved the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) in August 2024 as an optional scheme.
• About UPS
  • From April 1, 2025, the government introduced the UPS as an option under NPS for central government employees hired after January 1, 2004.
    • Around 23 lakh employees can choose between NPS and UPS.
  • Unlike NPS, UPS guarantees an assured pension: 50% of the average basic pay of the last 12 months before retirement, provided the employee has served a minimum of 25 years.
  • In case of the pensioner’s death, the spouse will receive up to 60% of the pension being drawn.
  • Unlike the Old Pension Scheme, which guaranteed 50% of last drawn basic pay without employee contribution, UPS combines assured benefits with mandatory contributions.

Key Differences Between UPS and NPS

• The NPS is mandatory, while the UPS is optional, with employees given a one-time chance to switch back to NPS before retirement or VRS.
• Under the NPS, through the Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN), employees contribute 10% and the employer 14% of basic pay plus dearness allowance (DA), with pension benefits entirely dependent on the accumulated corpus.
• In contrast, the UPS requires 10% contributions each from employee and employer, with an additional 8.5% contribution by the government to create a pool corpus.
• This pool funds an assured pension of 50% of the employee’s average basic pay over the last 12 months, provided a minimum of 25 years of service is completed.
• Unlike NPS, UPS guarantees a minimum monthly payout of ₹10,000 after 10 years of service, ensuring greater financial security.
• UPS also offers a lump sum equal to one-tenth of the last basic pay plus DA for every six months of service, whereas NPS has no such provision.
• Employees dismissed from service are ineligible for the assured UPS payout.

Why the Unified Pension Scheme Is Slow to Take Off?

• Although the government extended the deadline to September 30 for employees to opt into the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), uptake remains low.
• The Department of Pension is holding awareness drives, but many employees still prefer the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), which required no employee contribution and guaranteed 50% of the last drawn basic pay plus DA as pension.
• In contrast, UPS involves contributions and is seen as less beneficial.
• The Central Secretariat Service Forum has also criticised both NPS and UPS, reiterating its demand for a complete return to OPS.

Why in news?

Dehradun and several districts of Uttarakhand have seen very heavy rainfall in recent days, triggering landslides, swollen rivers, and at least 15 deaths. Over the past month, both Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have witnessed repeated incidents of cloudbursts, flash floods, mudslides, and damaged communication networks.

While such events are typical of the monsoon, their growing frequency and intensity in recent years have raised serious concerns about safety and resilience in the Himalayan region.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why Hilly Regions Receive More Rainfall
• Why Hilly Regions Face Greater Disaster Risks
• Climate Change and Himalayan Rainfall Extremes
• Why the Himalayas Are Prone to Cloudbursts
• Observational Tools and Their Limitations in Forecasting Cloudbursts

Why Hilly Regions Receive More Rainfall?

• This monsoon, the northwestern region has seen unusually high rainfall, with 34% surplus in August and over 67% above normal in early September.
• Consecutive low-pressure systems from the Bay of Bengal moved farther north, intensifying rains.
• In hilly areas like the western Himalayas, geography amplifies the impact: rising air forms massive, steep clouds that release heavy local precipitation.
• Such rainfall levels, manageable in coastal states like Goa or Kerala, trigger disasters in mountains.
• For example, Udhampur in J&K recorded 630 mm in 24 hours — equal to Rajkot’s annual rainfall — while Leh received 59 mm in two days, a record since 1973.

Why Hilly Regions Face Greater Disaster Risks?

• In plains, heavy rainfall usually drains into rivers or local water bodies, but in mountains it often triggers landslides, mudslides, and flash floods as water rushes downhill carrying mud, soil, and debris.
• This has recently occurred in Mandi, Kullu, Dharali, Tharali, and Jammu.
• When major rivers get choked, overflowing water and debris can inundate settlements, destroying roads and bridges.
• However, not every cloudburst results in disaster — the impact depends on local factors, such as slope stability and whether debris falls into river channels.

Climate Change and Himalayan Rainfall Extremes

• Recent years show a southward shift of western disturbances — wind systems from the Mediterranean that bring rain and snow to northern India.
• Their increasing interaction with southwest monsoon currents, driven by global warming, has complicated rainfall patterns over the Himalayas.
• This shift is linked to more frequent extreme rainfall events and longer dry spells.
• Additionally, Arctic Sea ice melting may further influence these changing monsoon dynamics, raising concerns about heightened climate risks in hilly regions.

Why the Himalayas Are Prone to Cloudbursts?

• The Himalayas, positioned where moist tropical monsoon winds meet mid-latitude westerlies, experience strong uplift and instability that often trigger cloudbursts.
• Warm, moisture-rich air forced up the slopes cools quickly, condenses, and produces intense, localised downpours.
• Climate change is worsening this vulnerability: rapid Arctic warming weakens the jet stream, causing westerly troughs to interact more with monsoon currents, while warmer air carries more moisture, intensifying rainfall.
• A slower, wavering jet stream makes storms linger, leading to prolonged heavy rain and devastating floods — trends already seen globally, including in Germany (2021), Pakistan (2010), and West Asia (2024).

Observational Tools and Their Limitations in Forecasting Cloudbursts

• Cloudburst forecasting relies on Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs), satellites, rain gauges, GPS-based moisture monitoring, and high-resolution numerical weather prediction (NWP) models.
• While DWRs provide detailed cloud and rainfall structures, their coverage is limited in Himalayan terrain.
• Rain gauges and automatic weather stations offer accurate point data but lack spatial density.
• Satellites like INSAT-3D/3DR, GPM, and Himawari capture convective growth and rainfall but struggle with coarse resolution and biases in rugged topography.
• NWP models simulate convection and storm dynamics but require very fine resolution (<1 km), precise initial conditions, and explicit process representation, making sudden bursts hard to predict.
• To improve accuracy, denser observation networks, advanced models with better cloudburst representation, and AI/ML integration for data assimilation are essential.

Context:

• In July 2025, in Shivangi Bansal vs Sahib Bansal, the Supreme Court upheld Allahabad High Court’s 2022 guidelines in Mukesh Bansal vs State of U.P. to curb misuse of Section 498A IPC (now Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita).
• The guidelines mandate a two-month ‘cooling period’ after an FIR or complaint, during which cases are referred to a Family Welfare Committee.
• However, critics argue this delays victims’ access to justice and undermines the autonomy of criminal justice agencies.
• This article highlights the Supreme Court’s 2025 ruling in Shivangi Bansal vs Sahib Bansal, its endorsement of a ‘cooling period’ for Section 498A cases, the statutory and judicial safeguards already in place, and why critics argue the ruling undermines victims’ timely access to justice.

The Basis of Safeguards under Section 498A

• Section 498A was enacted to punish cruelty against women in matrimonial settings, but courts have noted its misuse through frivolous FIRs and indiscriminate arrests.
• To address this, safeguards were introduced. In Lalita Kumari, the Supreme Court placed matrimonial disputes under ‘preliminary inquiry’ before FIR registration, a principle later reinforced in recent criminal law reforms.
• Further, to curb arbitrary arrests, two measures were established:
  • the 2008 CrPC amendment, which mandated the ‘principle of necessity’ in arrests; and
    • The principle of necessity in arrests dictates that an arrest should only be made when it is absolutely necessary to do so.
  • the Supreme Court’s ruling in Arnesh Kumar (2014), which required police to follow a checklist and issue a ‘notice for appearance’ instead of immediate arrests.
• Later, in Satender Kumar Antil (2022), the Court directed that arrests made in violation of these safeguards must lead to bail.
• Together, these measures aim to balance protection for women with safeguards against misuse.

Section 498A as an ‘Arrest Offence’

• The NCRB report Crimes in India shows Section 498A was among the top five “highest arrest” offences until 2016, later moving to the top 10.
• While cases rose from 1,13,403 in 2015 to 1,40,019 in 2022, arrests declined from 1,87,067 to 1,45,095.
• This reflected the effect of statutory and judicial safeguards, which balanced protecting the accused’s liberty without undermining victims’ access to justice.

Concerns Over the ‘Cooling Period’

• The recent introduction of a two-month “cooling period” with referral to a Family Welfare Committee (FWC) may appear ambitious but lacks statutory authority and jurisdictional clarity.
• It delays action even after FIRs are filed, worsening the victim’s plight and undermining prompt justice.
• This approach mirrors the Supreme Court’s Rajesh Sharma (2017) ruling, which mandated FWCs and delayed proceedings for a month.
• These directions were criticised as regressive and beyond judicial competence, leading to their reversal in Social Action Forum for Manav Adhikar (2018).
• That three-judge Bench restored victims’ immediate access to justice and reaffirmed the role of criminal justice agencies in handling matrimonial cruelty cases.

Need to Revisit the Ruling

• The Supreme Court must reconsider its ruling, as concerns over misuse of Section 498A and police excesses have already been addressed through statutory amendments and judicial safeguards.
• Forwarding complaints to Family Welfare Committees goes beyond legislative intent, undermines the autonomy of criminal justice agencies, and most importantly, delays and weakens the victim’s access to timely justice.

Why in news?

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticised India’s trade practices, singling out its refusal to import American corn. He argued that India maintains high tariffs while enjoying access to the US market, making the trade relationship “one way.”

Lutnick said India, despite its 1.4 billion population, does not buy even minimal US corn, calling it unfair and contrary to the US vision of “fair and reciprocal trade.”

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why India Limits US Corn Imports
• US Corn Export Push Amid China’s Retreat
• India’s Rising Corn Demand and US Trade Hurdles
• Current Outlook

Why India Limits US Corn Imports?

• In 2024–25, India imported 0.97 million tonnes of corn, mainly from Myanmar (0.53 mt) and Ukraine (0.39 mt), while imports from the US were negligible at just 1,100 tonnes.
• Two key factors explain this:
  • India caps duty at 15% for up to 0.5 mt of imports, but any quantity beyond that faces a steep 50% tariff; and
  • it bans genetically modified (GMO) corn, which dominates US production.
• Also, India is the fifth-largest corn producer and largely self-sufficient, with production dominated by small farmers needing protection from corporate imports.
• These restrictions frustrate the US, the world’s largest corn producer and exporter.
  • US produced 377.63 mt and exported 71.70 mt in 2024–25 for uses ranging from livestock feed to ethanol production.

US Corn Export Push Amid China’s Retreat

• For 2025–26, US corn production and exports are projected at record highs of 427.1 mt and 75 mt, with most output from Midwestern states like Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska.
• The urgency to find new markets is driven by collapsing Chinese demand.
• In 2022, China was the top buyer, purchasing $5.21 billion worth of US corn out of $18.57 billion in total exports.
• By 2024, exports dropped to $13.70 billion, with China slashing imports to $331 million, far behind Mexico ($5.51 billion), Japan ($2.73 billion), and Colombia ($1.52 billion).
• Between January–July 2025, amid escalating trade tensions, China imported only $2.4 million worth of US corn.
• This steep decline explains the Trump administration’s aggressive push, reflected in Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s criticism of India’s trade restrictions.

India’s Rising Corn Demand and US Trade Hurdles

• India’s growing population, higher per capita GDP, and rising consumption of milk, eggs, fish, and meat are expected to sharply increase corn demand.
• The US Department of Agriculture projects India’s corn consumption to rise from 34.7 mt in 2022–23 to 98 mt in 2040 and 200.2 mt in 2050 under rapid income growth, requiring imports of 46 mt and 134 mt, respectively.
  • Even with moderate growth, consumption could reach 93 mt by 2050, with 26 mt of imports.
• The US, the world’s cheapest corn producer, is keen to tap this market, but 94% of its corn area is under genetically modified (GM) varieties, which India neither imports nor allows farmers to plant.
• While a NITI Aayog proposal once suggested importing GM maize solely for ethanol production, it was withdrawn.

Current Outlook

• Despite US pressure, India remains firm on protecting its farmers and food policies by rejecting GM corn and maintaining tariffs.
• With assembly elections in Bihar, India’s third-largest maize producer (after Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh), the government is even less likely to relax tariffs or permit GM corn imports.
• Price differences add another layer: US corn costs under ₹15/kg versus India’s wholesale price of ₹22–23/kg and MSP of ₹24/kg for 2025–26.
• Hence, given domestic sensitivities, India is unlikely to concede, though the US continues to lobby aggressively.

Why in news?

The Supreme Court set aside a Bombay High Court order granting anticipatory bail in a caste crime case (Kiran vs Rajkumar Jivaraj Jain).

The Bench led by CJI B. R. Gavai ruled that Section 18 of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, bars anticipatory bail when a prima facie case exists. The case arose from caste-based assault, abuse, and intimidation connected to an electoral dispute.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989
• Background of the Case
• Why Anticipatory Bail is Barred under the SC/ST Act
• Key Observations of the Supreme Court
• The Way Forward

SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989

• The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 was enacted to protect members of SC and ST communities from caste-based discrimination, violence, and exploitation.
• It criminalises a wide range of atrocities such as caste-based abuse, social and economic boycotts, land grabbing, sexual violence, and denial of access to public spaces.
• The Act provides for special courts to ensure speedy trials, stringent punishments to deter offenders, and protective measures such as victim and witness protection, relief, and rehabilitation.
• A key feature is Section 18, which bars anticipatory bail for offences under the Act, recognising the risk of intimidation and retaliation against victims.
• Over time, amendments have further strengthened provisions by adding new offences, enhancing victim compensation, and placing greater accountability on public officials to prevent neglect of duties.

Background of the Case

• In November 2024, a Scheduled Caste member, filed an FIR alleging that few persons attacked him and his family, abused using caste slurs, for refusing to vote as directed during Assembly elections.
• While the Additional Sessions Judge at Paranda denied anticipatory bail citing casteist intent and corroboration.
• The Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench) overturned this, calling the case politically motivated and inconsistent, and granted bail — leading to an appeal before the Supreme Court.

Why Anticipatory Bail is Barred under the SC/ST Act?

• The Supreme Court reaffirmed that Section 18 of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, expressly bars anticipatory bail under Section 438 CrPC (now Section 482 BNSS).
• This safeguard was introduced by Parliament to protect victims from intimidation and ensure fair prosecution.
• Relying on precedents like Ram Krishna Balothia (1995), Vilas Pawar (2012), and Prathvi Raj Chauhan (2020), the Court held that atrocities under this Act form a separate class linked to systemic caste discrimination, and the bar is constitutionally valid under Articles 14 and 21.
• Courts, it clarified, must not conduct a “mini-trial” at the bail stage, but only assess if a prima facie case exists.
• In this case, caste slurs, public assault, and an electoral motive placed the offence firmly within the Act’s ambit, ruling out anticipatory bail.

Key Observations of the Supreme Court

• The Bench clarified that insults and assaults occurring outside a complainant’s home, visible to others, qualify as acts “within public view” under Section 3(1)(r) of the SC/ST Act.
• It further held that targeting the complainant for his voting choice attracted Section 3(1)(o), which penalises coercion or retaliation in electoral matters against SC/ST members.
• Independent witness statements, weapon recovery, and medical evidence reinforced the prosecution’s case, making the High Court’s dismissal of the FIR unsustainable.
• The Court also cautioned High Courts against evaluating evidence at the pre-arrest bail stage.
• Ultimately, it cancelled the anticipatory bail, terming the High Court’s order a “manifest error and jurisdictional illegality.”

The Way Forward

• The Supreme Court’s ruling affirms that the SC/ST Act is a substantive safeguard for the dignity and security of vulnerable communities, not a mere formality.
• The strict bar on anticipatory bail is constitutionally valid as it prevents intimidation and retaliation against Dalit and tribal complainants.
• Courts must uphold the legislative intent of Section 18 by applying the prima facie test strictly on FIRs, without engaging in evidence analysis or dismissing allegations as exaggerated.
• The judgment also highlights that electoral retaliation against SC/ST voters undermines both democratic participation and social justice. By reinforcing accountability, it ensures the rule of law protects the most marginalised.

Context:

• India’s economic future depends on women’s inclusion. Today, women contribute only 18% to GDP, and nearly 196 million employable women remain outside the workforce.
• Despite labour force participation rising to 41.7%, only 18% of women are in formal jobs.
• Without making women’s opportunities visible, measurable, and actionable in every governance department, India risks losing trillions and falling short of its $30 trillion goal by 2047.
• This article highlights how India’s $30 trillion economic ambition depends on women’s inclusion, the role of the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Index, and the urgent need for gender-disaggregated data and budgeting to drive systemic reforms and inclusive growth.

Women’s Economic Empowerment Index: A Gender Lens for Policy

• Uttar Pradesh has introduced India’s first Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Index.
  • It is a district-level tool that tracks women’s participation across five areas — jobs, education and skills, entrepreneurship, livelihood and mobility, and safety and infrastructure.
• Its real value lies in embedding a gender lens into governance, making gaps visible that usually remain hidden in broad health, economic, or infrastructure data.
• For example, insights from the transport sector revealed the low presence of women bus staff, prompting reforms in recruitment and infrastructure like women’s restrooms.
• The index also uncovers structural barriers — while women form over half of skilling programme enrolments, very few transition to entrepreneurship or secure credit.
• By highlighting these bottlenecks, the WEE Index moves the debate beyond participation numbers to systemic reforms, offering a model for inclusive policymaking.

Making Gender Data and Budgeting Universal

• To close India’s gender gap, gender-disaggregated data must be integrated into every department — from MSMEs to housing — and local governments must be trained to use it for action plans.
• Beyond basic counts, data should track women’s retention, leadership, re-entry, and job quality, especially after school and higher education where dropout rates are high.
• Equally vital is reimagining gender budgeting. Instead of limiting it to welfare schemes, every rupee spent across sectors like education, energy, and infrastructure should be viewed through a gender lens.
• Simply put, effective budgeting is impossible without measuring women’s inclusion.

Scaling the WEE Index for Inclusive Growth

• Uttar Pradesh’s WEE Index offers a replicable model for other States like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana, which aim for trillion-dollar economies.
• By turning gender data into district-level action plans, States can align budgets, infrastructure, and programmes to close gender gaps.
• India’s response must shift from intent to systemic change — embedding a gender lens in governance at every level.
• The WEE Index is only the beginning, making the invisible visible and charting a path to bring women from the margins to the centre of India’s growth story.

Conclusion

• Closing gender gaps through better data, gender budgeting, and scalable frameworks like the WEE Index is essential to unlock India’s true economic potential by 2047.

Why in the News?

• India has secured a first-of-its-kind International Seabed Authority licence to explore polymetallic sulphides in the Carlsberg Ridge of the Indian Ocean.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Exploration Rights (Introduction, New Rights, Previous Efforts, Strategic Significance, Legal & Environmental Dimensions, Future Outlook, etc.)

Introduction

• India has taken a major step in its pursuit of critical minerals by securing a first-of-its-kind exploration licence from the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
• The licence grants India rights to explore polymetallic sulphides in the Carlsberg Ridge, a geologically significant zone in the northwest Indian Ocean.
• With growing global competition for rare minerals needed for clean energy technologies, the development is a milestone in India’s deep-sea mining ambitions.

India’s New Exploration Rights

• The agreement, signed in September 2025 with the Jamaica-based ISA, permits India to explore polymetallic sulphur nodules spread across 3,00,000 sq. km in the Carlsberg Ridge.
• These nodules are rich in manganese, cobalt, nickel, and copper, minerals critical for batteries, renewable energy infrastructure, and high-tech manufacturing.
• This marks the first licence globally for such exploration in the Carlsberg Ridge, making India a pioneer in accessing this untapped mineral wealth.

Previous Exploration Efforts

• India’s engagement with seabed exploration is not new. It had earlier secured exploratory rights in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (2002) for polymetallic nodules and later in 2016 for polymetallic sulphides along the Indian Ocean Ridge.
• These contracts, valid until 2027 and 2031 respectively, laid the groundwork for India’s technological and institutional capabilities in deep-sea mining.
• Over the years, multiple surveys have been commissioned, but large-scale exploitation remains constrained due to environmental concerns and the high cost of deep-sea operations.

Strategic Importance

• The significance of these exploration rights extends beyond mineral acquisition.
• With the increasing demand for critical minerals to support electric mobility, renewable energy storage, and advanced electronics, having secured rights ensures India’s strategic leverage in global supply chains.
• Geopolitical competition adds urgency. Reports of Chinese vessels scouring the region partly prompted India’s 2024 application to the ISA.
• Exploration rights are often as much about preventing rival claims as they are about extraction. In this sense, India’s licence serves both economic and national security goals.

Legal and Environmental Dimensions

• According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), countries can claim continental shelf rights up to 350 nautical miles (and in some regions, like the Bay of Bengal, up to 500 nautical miles).
• Beyond this, resource-rich “high seas” territories come under the ISA’s jurisdiction.
• While India’s exploration rights open vast opportunities, deep-sea mining remains controversial.
• Scientists caution that disturbing seabed ecosystems could trigger irreversible biodiversity loss.
• Internationally, debates continue on creating robust safeguards before commercial exploitation begins. India, while pursuing its strategic interests, will have to balance exploration with its environmental commitments.

Global Context and Future Outlook

• Currently, 19 countries hold some form of seabed exploration rights under ISA agreements.
• However, India’s Carlsberg Ridge licence is unique due to its scale and strategic location, forming the boundary between the Indian and Arabian tectonic plates.
• Looking ahead, India is likely to invest in building indigenous capabilities in subsea technology, robotics, and environmental impact assessment.
• As the global clean energy transition accelerates, securing reliable supplies of cobalt, nickel, and copper will be vital for India’s manufacturing competitiveness and energy security.

Why in News?

• The Supreme Court of India passed an interim order staying select provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, while refusing to impose a blanket stay on the entire law.
• The Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 (passed in April 2025) had introduced sweeping changes in the management of Waqf properties, leading to widespread constitutional challenges.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Background - Challenge to the Act
• Supreme Court’s Interim Relief
• Provisions not Stayed
• Significance of the Interim Order
• Broader Concerns
• Conclusion

Background - Challenge to the Act:

• Petitioners: Political leaders and organisations (including AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, YSR Congress, and CPI). Around 65 petitions consolidated before the Supreme Court.
• Grounds of challenge: Violation of Article 26 (right to manage religious affairs) of the Constitution and alleged infringement of the autonomy of the Muslim community in managing Waqf properties.
• Test of constitutionality:
  • Generally, no law is stayed in its entirety because the Constitution’s Article 13(2) clearly says that only the provisions that contravene fundamental rights are void.
  • The bench did exactly this in the interim order and stayed a few provisions of the Act.

Supreme Court’s Interim Relief:

• Powers of District Collectors (Section 3C):
  • Provision stayed: District Collectors’ powers to declare a Waqf property as government property during inquiry.
  • Reason: Prima facie arbitrary and contrary to the principle of separation of powers.
  • Interim safeguard:
    • Property to retain Waqf status during inquiry.
    • Waqfs not to be dispossessed.
    • No third-party rights to be created until final decision by a Waqf Tribunal.
• Inclusion of non-muslims in Waqf Boards:
• The new law allowed for a non-Muslim majority in Waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council.
• Direction issued by SC to avoid ambiguity:
  • Central Waqf Council, which has 22 members, shall not consist of more than four non-Muslim members.
  • State Waqf Boards, with 11 members, shall not have more than three non-Muslim members.
• Rationale: To prevent violation of a community's right to religious self-management.
• Five-year rule for practising Islam:
  • Provision stayed: Requirement that only a Muslim practising Islam for at least 5 years could create a Waqf.
  • Condition: Stay will continue until the government frames rules specifying mechanisms to determine religious practice.

Provisions not Stayed:

• Abolition of “Waqf by Use”:
  • Background: This long-standing principle meant that land used for Muslim religious or charitable purposes for a long time could be deemed to be a Waqf even if it was not formally registered as such.
  • Petitioners’ argument: They had strongly opposed the omission of the concept of “Waqf by use”.
  • Government stance: The government had argued that this concept was being misused to encroach upon government lands.
  • Court’s view: The court did not find a prima facie case to stay the prospective abolition of this concept.
• Applicability of the Limitation Act:
  • Earlier law (1995 Act): It had specifically excluded the application of the Limitation Act, which allowed Waqfs to act against encroachments on their properties without any time limit.
  • Amendment (2025 Act): The 2025 law removed this exemption, meaning legal claims against encroachment must be made within a specific period.
  • Court’s observation: This corrects earlier discrimination; provision not stayed.

Significance of the Interim Order:

• Balances community rights with government’s regulatory powers.
• Prevents arbitrary dispossession of Waqf properties while ensuring disputes are adjudicated by Waqf Tribunals.
• Provides clarity on non-Muslim participation limits in Waqf bodies.

Broader Concerns:

• Property rights vs. religious law:
  • The court upheld the exclusion of non-Muslims from creating Waqf, despite historical precedents.
  • For example, in Motishah v. Abdul Gaffar (1956), the Nagpur HC upheld the right of non-Muslims to create a waqf.
  • Critics argue it infringes property rights and limits philanthropy for secular causes (schools, hospitals, roads).
• Secular state dilemma: Allowing officials to judge “good Muslims” vs “bad Muslims” challenges India’s secular and liberal democratic framework.
• Comparative lens: Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain endowment laws have their own limitations, raising parity questions.
• Missed opportunity: The Act could have been a step toward Uniform Civil Code (UCC) covering all religious endowments.

Conclusion:

• The matter remains sub judice, with the stay operative until final adjudication of constitutional validity.
• The case will test the balance between religious freedoms under Article 26, secular state oversight, and property rights.
• A final ruling will have significant implications for the governance of Waqf properties, minority rights, and the principle of separation of powers in India’s constitutional framework.

Context

• Procurement is often seen as a dry administrative function, designed primarily to enforce transparency and contain costs.
• Yet, for research and development (R&D), procurement is far more than a compliance mechanism; it is a decisive factor in determining whether scientific ideas can be translated into breakthroughs.
• Policies that prioritise rigid control over flexibility frequently stifle innovation, while those that balance accountability with creativity can act as powerful accelerators of technological progress.
• India’s recent reforms to its General Financial Rules (GFR), which ease restrictions on R&D procurement, offer an opportunity to reposition procurement as a driver of scientific ambition rather than an obstacle to it.

The Dual Nature of Procurement

• The tension between cost efficiency and innovation in procurement is not new.
• While anti-fraud frameworks safeguard public funds, they can unintentionally suffocate research by valuing procedural compliance over scientific need.
• This was evident in India’s pre-reform system, where researchers were compelled to purchase equipment through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), even when the platform lacked the specialised instruments necessary for cutting-edge work.
• Scientists often had to endure long exemption processes, and the portal frequently delivered substandard materials that compromised research outcomes.
• Yet procurement, if reimagined, can serve as an innovation catalyst.
• Studies show that public procurement, when targeted, stimulates private R&D investment and drives patent activity, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of technological advancement.
• Brazil’s experience, however, illustrates the danger of generic procurement rules: unless explicitly designed with innovation in mind, such frameworks rarely yield transformative results.

India’s Reforms: Incremental but Significant

• In June 2025, the Government of India introduced reforms that directly addressed many of these bottlenecks.
• By allowing institutional heads to bypass GeM for specialised equipment and raising direct purchase thresholds from ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh, the changes acknowledge that one-size-fits-all procurement is incompatible with the bespoke needs of research.
• Delegating authority for global tenders up to ₹200 crore to vice-chancellors and directors further reduces bureaucratic delays, a chronic grievance flagged by policymakers and scientists alike.
• These reforms embody the principles of catalytic procurement, where flexibility enables public institutions to act as early adopters of advanced technologies.

Global Lessons in Market-Shaping Procurement

• India’s reforms can be better understood in the context of global procurement evolution.
• Germany’s High-Tech Strategy, for example, institutionalises innovation-oriented procurement through KOINNO, a dedicated agency that curates supplier databases and fosters cross-sector collaboration.
• The United States’ Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program similarly leverages procurement contracts to derisk early-stage technologies while sustaining competition among vendors.
• South Korea’s pre-commercial procurement model even pays premium prices for prototypes that meet ambitious technological goals.
• These approaches demonstrate what economist Mariana Mazzucato terms mission-oriented procurement: the deliberate use of state purchasing power to shape technological markets.

The Debate on Privatisation and the Way Forward

• The Debate on Privatisation
  • The discussion around procurement often leads to calls for privatising national laboratories, arguing that corporate-style agility could bypass bureaucratic hurdles.
  • However, this debate risks becoming a false binary.
  • The U.S. experience with Sandia National Laboratories demonstrates that hybrid models are possible: while management shifted to a private company, government oversight remained intact, resulting in a surge of patents and industry partnerships.
  • India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) could benefit from such a hybrid approach, particularly in high-cost and strategic domains like quantum computing.
  • But this requires robust accountability frameworks and a clear alignment with national innovation roadmaps.
  • Privatisation alone, without performance-linked funding or competitive incentives, risks creating inefficiencies rather than solving them.
• The Way Forward: Toward a New Procurement Paradigm
  • India’s current reforms are necessary but insufficient. Four systemic interventions could drive deeper change.
  • First, tenders must be outcome-weighted, evaluating bids not just on cost but also on innovation potential and scalability, as seen in Finland.
  • Second, elite institutions should be granted sandbox exemptions, freeing them from rigid procurement rules if they meet externally audited innovation targets.
  • Third, India should harness AI-augmented sourcing, using tools from the INDIAai ecosystem to predict delays and scan global markets in real time.
  • Finally, co-procurement alliances, similar to the European Union’s Joint Procurement Agreement, could pool demand across Indian laboratories for expensive equipment, achieving economies of scale.

Conclusion

• Procurement is not a peripheral bureaucratic function; it is a central research variable.
• India’s GeM reforms mark an important shift toward recognising this reality, but they remain a cautious first step rather than a paradigm shift.
• By adopting global best practices in mission-oriented procurement, leveraging AI-driven tools, and experimenting with hybrid governance models, India can transform procurement into a catalyst for discovery.

Why in news?

In Kattavellai @ Devakar v. State of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court mandated strict protocols for DNA evidence in criminal cases.

It directed all State DGPs to prepare Chain of Custody Register forms and related documentation, and circulate them to all districts with clear instructions to ensure the integrity and reliability of DNA samples.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Need for Uniform DNA Handling Guidelines
• Supreme Court’s Guidelines on Handling DNA Evidence
• Supreme Court’s Rulings on DNA Evidence
• Importance of DNA Evidence in Criminal Cases
• Conclusion

Need for Uniform DNA Handling Guidelines

• In the Kattavellai @ Devakar case, involving rape, murder, and robbery, the Supreme Court found serious lapses, including unexplained delays in sending vaginal swab samples to the Forensic Science Laboratory and failure to establish a clear chain of custody.
• These gaps raised the possibility of contamination. The Court noted that while some bodies had issued guidelines, there was neither uniformity nor a common procedure across states.
• Given that ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ fall under the State List, the Court still found it essential to issue uniform directions to ensure consistency and reliability in DNA evidence handling nationwide.

Supreme Court’s Guidelines on Handling DNA Evidence

• The Supreme Court laid down four key guidelines to ensure the integrity of DNA evidence in criminal cases.
• First, DNA samples must be collected with due care, properly packaged with FIR details, case particulars, and duly documented with signatures of the medical professional, investigating officer, and independent witnesses.
• Second, the investigating officer must transport the samples to the concerned police station or hospital and ensure they reach the Forensic Science Laboratory within 48 hours; any delay must be explained with preservation measures taken.
• Third, once stored, samples cannot be opened, altered, or resealed without trial court authorisation.
• Finally, a Chain of Custody Register must be maintained from collection until conviction or acquittal, appended to the trial record, with the investigating officer accountable for any lapses.

Supreme Court’s Rulings on DNA Evidence

• The Supreme Court has consistently stressed that DNA evidence, though powerful, must meet strict standards of collection and handling.
• In Anil v. State of Maharashtra (2014), it upheld DNA profiling as valid and reliable, provided laboratory procedures maintain quality control.
• In Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2022), a DNA report was rejected due to contamination risk from recovery in an open area and insufficient, degraded blood samples.
• Similarly, in Rahul v. State of Delhi (2022), DNA evidence was discarded because it remained in police custody for two months, raising suspicion of tampering.
• In the Devakar case, the Court emphasised that quality control outside laboratories — in collection, sealing, and timely dispatch — is as critical as lab procedure.
• Thus, both investigating agencies and forensic experts must ensure rigorous safeguards to maintain credibility of DNA evidence.

Importance of DNA Evidence in Criminal Cases

• DNA, derived from biological materials like blood, bone, semen, saliva, hair, or skin, helps establish whether a crime scene sample matches a suspect.
• While such matches can strongly indicate common biological origin, the Supreme Court in the Devakar case clarified that DNA is only opinion evidence under Section 45 of the Evidence Act (now Section 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023).
• Its probative value depends on the circumstances of each case. Thus, DNA evidence is significant but not conclusive, and must be scientifically validated and legally established to hold weight in criminal proceedings.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court’s guidelines on DNA evidence aim to ensure reliability, prevent contamination, and strengthen criminal justice. Their success depends on consistent enforcement by police and forensic agencies.

Why in news?

Recently, adivasis of the Ho tribe in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum protested against the Deputy Commissioner, alleging interference in their traditional Manki-Munda self-governance system after the removal of village heads (Mundas).

While the district administration clarified that Mankis and Mundas remain integral to the revenue framework and blamed rumors on social media for the unrest, tribal concerns over losing autonomy persist.

The episode threatens the century-old equilibrium between indigenous governance structures and the state administration in Jharkhand’s Kolhan region.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Traditional Manki-Munda Governance
• British Intervention and Co-option of the Manki-Munda System
• Wilkinson’s Rules and Their Lasting Impact
• Continuation of Wilkinson’s Rules
• The Current Conflict in Kolhan
• Larger Issues with the Manki-Munda System

Traditional Manki-Munda Governance

• For centuries, the Ho tribe of Jharkhand’s Kolhan region followed a decentralised governance system rooted in social and political responsibilities.
• Each village was led by a Munda, the hereditary village head who resolved local disputes.
• Groups of 8–15 villages, known as a pidh, were overseen by a Manki, who handled cases unresolved at the village level.
• Importantly, the Manki-Munda system dealt only with internal governance, having no role in revenue or land matters, nor any concept of taxes or external sovereign authority.
• This changed with the arrival of the East India Company, which introduced taxation.

British Intervention and Co-option of the Manki-Munda System

• Following victories at Plassey (1757) and Buxar (1764), the East India Company gained diwani rights in 1765, enabling tax collection across Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand.
• The Permanent Settlement Act of 1793 empowered zamindars with land deeds and fixed revenue demands, often beyond their capacity.
• To meet targets, zamindars seized Ho lands in Kolhan, sparking adivasi uprisings like the Ho revolt (1821–22) and the Kol revolt (1831).
• After repeated military failures, the British adopted a strategic compromise — formally recognising and co-opting the Manki-Munda system into their administration.

Wilkinson’s Rules and Their Lasting Impact

• In 1837, the British appointed Captain Thomas Wilkinson as Political Agent in the Kolhan Government Estate (KGE) to manage the Ho-dominated region.
• Recognising the strength of local governance, Wilkinson drafted 31 “Wilkinson’s Rules” in 1833, formally codifying the Manki-Munda system for the first time.
• While appearing to preserve tribal autonomy and restrict outsiders (dikkus), the rules effectively co-opted community leaders as agents of British authority, integrating Kolhan into colonial administration.
• This shift triggered major changes: the influx of outsiders surged from 1,579 in 1867 to 15,755 by 1897, aided by the railways, creating demographic shifts.
• Equally transformative was the introduction of private property — Mundas and Mankis became raiyats (tenants), receiving land deeds (pattas).
• This altered collective traditions of landholding, fostering individual ownership and reshaping Ho society.

Continuation of Wilkinson’s Rules

• Although the Kolhan Government Estate was dissolved after Independence in 1947, Wilkinson’s Rules remain in force, with Kolhan exempted from India’s general civil procedure laws.
• Courts upheld their validity for decades, until the Patna High Court in Mora Ho vs State of Bihar (2000) ruled they were old customs, not formal law — yet allowed them to continue in the absence of alternatives.
• Despite calls to update the system, neither Bihar nor Jharkhand took action.
• A 2021 Jharkhand initiative, Nyay Manch, was proposed but never enacted, leaving Wilkinson’s Rules still operational today.

The Current Conflict in Kolhan

• The recent unrest in West Singhbhum stems from complaints by Scheduled Castes and OBCs in Ho-dominated villages.
• Issues included Mundas restricting the Gope community from pursuing non-traditional livelihoods and prolonged absences of village heads, which hindered access to official documents.
• In response, the district administration issued a nine-point directive reminding Mundas of their duties under Wilkinson’s 1837 Hukuknama, aimed at ensuring transparency in the Manki-Munda system.
• However, villagers misinterpreted this as interference, sparking rumours of action against Mankis and Mundas.
• The administration has clarified that it does not intend to override customary laws.

Larger Issues with the Manki-Munda System

• In West Singhbhum, 1,850 Manki-Munda posts exist, with 200 vacant, of which 50 were recently filled via Gram Sabhas.
• However, concerns remain. Some roles have reportedly been given to non-tribal raiyats, bypassing the village system, sparking discontent.
• Within the Ho community, especially among youth, there are growing demands for reforms — including ending the hereditary nature of Munda roles and allowing non-tribal raiyats participation.
• Hereditary succession often leaves leadership in the hands of individuals lacking formal education, creating challenges in managing today’s document-driven administration.
• As a result, villagers frequently escalate unresolved issues to the district administration.
• Many leaders note that while the Deputy Commissioner’s role is limited, it is crucial in clarifying provisions of Wilkinson’s Hukuknama and intervening in disputes or succession issues.
• Many argue the system should be preserved but modernised to align with democratic needs.

Context:

• In a sudden move, the Government of India passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 at the end of the monsoon session, without debate or consultation with States or industry stakeholders.
• The Bill bans online real money games while promoting e-sports and social gaming.
• This abrupt ban has raised concerns about foreign investment, as online gaming was a fast-growing sector with significant global funding.
• Critics argue that such unpredictable policy shifts could damage investor confidence and undermine India’s potential to lead in digital industries.
• This article highlights the sudden passage of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which bans online real money games, sparking concerns over jobs, revenues, investment, constitutional rights, and regulatory alternatives.

Fallout of the Online Gaming Ban

• The ban on online real money gaming strikes directly at India’s digital economy, affecting technology, payments, and digital content — sectors central to Digital India.
• The industry, projected to employ 1.5 lakh people by 2025 in areas like design, programming, customer support, and analytics, now faces massive job losses, stifled innovation, and weakened entrepreneurship.
• Additionally, online real money games were expected to contribute about ₹17,000 crore in GST revenue, benefiting both the Centre and States.
• By cutting this revenue source, the government has imposed a significant financial cost.
• The Centre justifies the ban by citing financial ruin and addictive behaviour among players, equating gaming with a societal harm akin to drug abuse.
• However, critics question whether prohibition is the right solution, suggesting that careful regulation — as attempted in States like Tamil Nadu — might address negative impacts without destroying jobs, revenue, and industry growth.

Ignoring Responsible Gaming and Legal Safeguards

• Online gaming companies had introduced proven tools to promote responsible play, such as age-gating, self-exclusion, deposit and time limits, bot detection, KYC/AML checks, and ethical advertising standards.
• Instead of strengthening these safeguards, the government imposed a blanket ban, dismantling accountability and pushing players toward illegal offshore platforms that operate outside Indian jurisdiction, evade taxes, and expose users to fraud.
• The ban also undermines constitutional rights and federal principles. Article 19(1)(g) guarantees the right to practise any profession or business, which this law curtails.
• Moreover, betting and gambling are State subjects, yet the Union government acted unilaterally, raising constitutional concerns now challenged in court.
• At the heart of the debate is whether online games are “games of skill” or “games of chance.”
• Courts have consistently upheld skill-based games as legitimate, while States regulate or ban chance-based gambling.
• Instead of clarifying this distinction with robust regulation, the government chose prohibition — a blunt approach that risks worsening the very problems it sought to solve.

Finding a Middle Ground in Online Gaming Regulation

• The solution to online real money gaming lies not in prohibition or unchecked freedom but in balanced legislation.
• A clear licensing system, strict compliance standards, and a predictable taxation regime could safeguard players, prevent addiction, and respect States’ roles while ensuring industry growth.
• Instead, the blanket ban drives revenues and opportunities into the underground economy, strips players of protection, and risks fueling unregulated networks.
• Whether this move truly safeguards citizens or leaves them more vulnerable remains an open question.

Conclusion

• The abrupt ban on online real money gaming risks job losses, revenue decline, and regulatory gaps, raising doubts about whether it protects citizens or worsens vulnerabilities.

Why in the News?

• India inaugurated its first bamboo-based ethanol plant in Assam’s Golaghat, marking a major step in green energy and rural development.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Bamboo-Based Ethanol Plants (Introduction, Working, Co-Products, Advantages, etc.)
• News Summary (Key Features of Assam Plant, Significance, etc.)

Introduction

• India has been steadily advancing toward renewable energy as part of its clean energy transition.
• Ethanol blending, a central component of this strategy, has gained momentum with sugarcane and maize-based ethanol.
• Now, India has achieved a milestone by inaugurating the world’s first green bamboo-based ethanol plant in Golaghat, Assam.
• This facility represents both a technological innovation and an economic opportunity for the Northeast, linking biofuel production with rural livelihoods.

Working of Bamboo-Based Ethanol Plants

• Feedstock and Processing
  • Bamboo, a lignocellulosic biomass, serves as the primary raw material.
  • It contains cellulose and hemicellulose, which can be broken down into fermentable sugars through biochemical processes.

• Pre-treatment - Bamboo undergoes mechanical and chemical pre-treatment to separate cellulose and hemicellulose from lignin.
• Hydrolysis - Enzymes break down cellulose into glucose and hemicellulose into xylose and other sugars.
• Fermentation - Specialised microorganisms convert these sugars into ethanol.
• Distillation - Ethanol is purified to achieve fuel-grade quality suitable for blending with petrol.

• Co-Products and Zero-Waste Approach
  • Besides ethanol, the Golaghat facility will also produce acetic acid, furfural, and food-grade liquid CO₂, creating multiple revenue streams.
  • Lignin-rich residues can be used for power generation, making the plant energy self-sufficient.
• Advantages Over Traditional Ethanol

• Non-food biomass - Unlike sugarcane, bamboo does not compete with food crops.
• Sustainability - Bamboo regenerates quickly, making it an abundant renewable resource.
• Localised benefits - Northeast India, with vast bamboo reserves, can integrate farmers and tribal communities into the bio-economy.

News Summary

• Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the bamboo-based ethanol plant.

• The plant will use five lakh tonnes of bamboo annually from Assam and nearby states to produce:
• 48,900 MT ethanol
• 11,000 MT acetic acid
• 19,000 MT furfural
• 31,000 MT liquid CO₂
• It is expected to boost Assam’s rural economy by Rs. 200 crore annually.
• Foundation laid for a Rs. 7,230 crore polypropylene plant at Numaligarh Refinery to strengthen industrial growth.
• PM Modi emphasised that this project reflects India’s broader goal of energy self-sufficiency and the Viksit Bharat vision.

Significance of the Project

• Energy Security: Reduces dependence on imported crude oil, saving foreign exchange.
• Rural Development: Enhances farmer income and supports tribal livelihoods.
• Green Economy: Reinforces India’s climate commitments by cutting emissions through biofuel adoption.
• Regional Growth: Strengthens Assam’s role in India’s industrial map through Make in Assam and Make in India initiatives.

Why in News?

• The Supreme Court has reserved its opinion on the Presidential reference under Article 143(1) of the Constitution concerning the powers of the President and Governors in granting assent to Bills.
• The reference comes after the SC’s ruling (April 2025) that held Tamil Nadu Governor R. N. Ravi’s delay in assenting to 10 Bills unconstitutional, invoking Article 142 to enforce assent and prescribing timelines.
• This development raises fundamental issues of federalism, separation of powers, and judicial review in India’s constitutional framework.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Nature of the Reference
• Governor’s Powers - Aid and Advice vs. Discretion
• Governor’s Veto and “Pocket Veto”
• Judicial Enforcement of Timelines
• Fundamental Rights and Writ Jurisdiction
• Larger Constitutional and Political Implications
• Way Forward
• Conclusion

Nature of the Reference:

• Presidential reference under Article 143(1): It enables the President to seek SC’s opinion on questions of law/fact of public importance.
• States’ argument: The reference is an indirect appeal against the SC’s ruling, violating stare decisis - review lies only before the same Bench.
• Centre’s argument: The court’s advisory jurisdiction under Article 143 is distinct, and could be used to clarify constitutional doubts, even if past rulings existed.
• Past practice: SC has earlier refused to answer Presidential references.

Governor’s Powers - Aid and Advice vs. Discretion:

• States’ stance:
  • The governor is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers (Article 163).
  • Governance must reflect popular mandate, not the Governor’s discretion.
  • Historical rulings of SC have restricted the Governor's role to avoid overreach.
• Centre’s stance:
  • The governor is not a “postman” or “showpiece.”
  • Discretionary powers exist in exceptional circumstances
  • Example: A 2004 Punjab law unilaterally terminated a tripartite river-water sharing treaty, highlighting the importance of a Governor’s discretionary powers. The SC in 2016 declared the law unconstitutional.
  • Data (from 1970 to the present): Only 20 out of 17,000 bills were withheld by Governors, with 90% granted assent within the first month.

Governor’s Veto and “Pocket Veto”:

• SC’s ruling (State of TN vs Governor of TN case): Governor cannot indefinitely withhold assent, concluding that a Governor cannot exercise a “pocket veto” over the elected government.
• Centre’s argument: Withholding assent means the Bill lapses, citing the Government of India Act 1935 as precedent, where the Governor’s “initial withholding was an absolute veto.”
• States’ rebuttal: Governors are not colonial-era Viceroys - such discretions were consciously omitted in the Constitution.

Judicial Enforcement of Timelines:

• SC ruling: Introduced timelines for assent to prevent delays.
• Centre’s objection:
  • Timelines amount to judicial amendment of the Constitution.
  • The Constituent Assembly rejected fixed timelines, replacing a six-week limit with the phrase “as soon as possible” in Article 200.
  • Impasses should be resolved politically through dialogue between the state and the Governor, rather than the court acting as a “judicial headmaster”.
• States’ argument:
  • “As soon as possible” implies urgency.
  • The timelines in the April 2025 ruling did not specify when automatic assent would take place; rather, they specified when judicial review would be available.

Fundamental Rights and Writ Jurisdiction:

• Centre’s position: States cannot invoke Article 32, meant for fundamental rights of individuals.
• States’ counter:
  • Governors act as links between Union and States.
  • Denying writ remedy to states weakens federal balance.
  • Even Andhra Pradesh (where the ruling party is a coalition partner in the Centre) defended states’ right to move SC.

Larger Constitutional and Political Implications:

• Executive vs. judiciary: The reference has become a flashpoint testing limits of judicial review over executive action.
• Polyvocal court challenge: Whether a 5-judge Bench will reaffirm or differ from the 2-judge ruling of April 2025.
• Federalism at stake: Opposition-ruled states back judicial intervention; Centre resists it.
• Impact on democratic governance: Issue of whether Governors’ discretionary power can override popular will of elected legislatures.

Way Forward:

• Clarity on Governor’s role: A constitutional definition of timelines and scope of discretion is necessary to prevent misuse.
• Strengthening federalism: Balance must be maintained between Union authority and state autonomy.
• Judicial prudence: SC must respect separation of powers but ensure constitutional morality is upheld.
• Political dialogue: State–Centre–Governor coordination mechanisms need strengthening to avoid judicialisation of governance.
• Long-term reform: Consideration of a constitutional amendment or codification of Governor’s functions to prevent recurring disputes.

Conclusion: In essence, the Presidential reference will determine how India negotiates the delicate balance between federalism, constitutional conventions, and judicial oversight.

Context

• In recent years, India has witnessed a significant transformation in its higher education landscape, marked by the entry of world-class foreign universities establishing physical campuses within its borders.
• Based on the recommendations of the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Ministry of Education has issued twelve letters of intent to leading global institutions, with one U.K. university already commencing operations in Gurugram for the 2025–26 academic session.
• This shift signals not only a conscious policy realignment but also a strategic vision to expand educational opportunities for Indian students and reshape the nation’s place in global academia.

Policy Foundation and Vision

• The cornerstone of this development lies in the UGC regulations introduced in 2023, which enabled foreign universities to set up campuses in India with operational autonomy and regulatory clarity.
• This initiative aligns directly with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasizes reimagining higher education to be both globally competitive and locally grounded.
• The policy reflects India’s growing ambition to host world-class institutions, thereby integrating global best practices with indigenous educational traditions.

The Reason Behind India’s Timing in Opening Its Doors to Foreign Universities

• The country is experiencing a unique convergence of factors: a large and aspirational youth population, a rapidly expanding economy, and an innovation-driven startup ecosystem.
• The demand for high-quality education in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, sustainability, and data science is rising sharply.
• At the same time, India’s domestic reforms, such as hybrid learning models, streamlined research funding via the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, and outcome-oriented accreditation reforms, create fertile ground for global institutions to thrive.
• Foreign universities, many of which face operational challenges and demographic shifts in the West, find in India a promising environment.
• With its vast youth population and expanding intellectual capital, India offers both opportunity and stability, making it an attractive destination for international expansion.

Local Advantage, Global Gains of the Arrival of Foreign Campuses

• Transformative Benefits
  • For Indian students and their families, the benefits are transformative. Access to world-class education at home eliminates the financial and logistical burdens of studying abroad.
  • Students can now experience global curricula, diverse peer networks, and international research opportunities without leaving their own cultural and familial environment.
  • This accessibility democratises global education, making it attainable for students who might otherwise have been excluded due to economic or social constraints.
  • Parents, too, find reassurance in this development. They can provide their children with global opportunities while maintaining the security of proximity.
  • The result is a new equilibrium where aspiration and assurance co-exist, thereby reshaping the very notion of international education.
• Raising the Bar for Indian Institutions
  • The arrival of foreign campuses inevitably raises the bar for domestic universities.
  • Competition compels innovation, urging Indian institutions to upgrade curricula, foster research, and strengthen global linkages.
  • Already, collaborations between IITs, IISERs, AIIMS, and international universities are driving advancements in renewable energy, public health, and engineering.
  • The new campuses will only accelerate such exchanges, enriching both research output and academic culture.
  • Moreover, this influx of foreign players contributes to India’s broader knowledge economy.
  • By facilitating cross-border partnerships, India not only enhances its own academic ecosystem but also strengthens its global educational ties, particularly with partners in Australia, Europe, the UK, and the United States.
• India as an Education Powerhouse
  • Despite India’s established reputation in technology, diplomacy, and manufacturing, its potential in education remains underemphasised.
  • Yet, the country’s rich intellectual heritage, from ancient centres like Nalanda to modern experiments like Shantiniketan, provides a foundation for positioning India as a distinctive force in international education.
  • The goal is not to mimic Western models but to create an educational environment that blends global excellence with local wisdom.
  • Welcoming international institutions and students is not a diversion from addressing domestic challenges; rather, it amplifies resources, quality, and ambition within the Indian system.
  • By shaping the narrative of what world-class education means, India can move from being a consumer to a co-creator of global educational standards.

Conclusion

• What began as an idea within NEP 2020 is now evolving into a bold reconfiguration of India’s higher education landscape.
• By hosting global university campuses, India provides its students with unprecedented choices while strengthening its own academic infrastructure.
• The dilemma of choosing between studying in India and going abroad is being replaced by a more empowering possibility: accessing global opportunities at one’s doorstep.
• This transformation represents not just a policy initiative but the unfolding of a new chapter in India’s knowledge economy.

Why in news?

The Union Home Ministry has notified Rules, Order, and Exemption Order under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.

This law regulates all matters on foreigners and immigration, replacing older legislations including the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Rationale Behind the New Immigration and Foreigners Act
• Key Provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Rules
• Provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Order, 2025
• Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025

Rationale Behind the New Immigration and Foreigners Act

• The government introduced the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 to prevent overlap among multiple pre-Independence laws on passports, travel documents, visas, registration, and immigration.
• While most provisions existed in earlier notifications, new clauses and conditions have been added to address significant changes in travel, security, and immigration that have emerged since the old Acts were enacted.

Key Provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Rules

• The new Rules formally empower the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) to investigate immigration fraud, coordinate with states on identifying and deporting foreigners, and maintain an immigration database.
• They also mandate biometric recording of all foreigners, previously limited to select visa categories.
• Educational institutions must now report details of all foreign students, including semester-wise attendance and conduct, to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
• Additionally, premises such as resorts or clubs can be shut down if frequented by illegal migrants, alongside earlier categories of undesirable foreigners or those linked to crime.
• The Rules also define “immigration officers” as Intelligence Bureau personnel.

Provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Order, 2025

• The Immigration and Foreigners Order, 2025 grants Foreigners Tribunals (FTs), earlier unique to Assam, the powers of a first-class judicial magistrate, enabling them to send individuals without proof of citizenship to detention or holding centres.
• FTs can now issue arrest warrants if contested individuals fail to appear, with membership capped at three, and ex-parte orders open for review within 30 days.
• Though applicable nationwide, FTs currently operate only in Assam, where 100 are functional after the NRC process excluded 19 lakh applicants.
• The Order also legalises the role of border forces like BSF and Assam Rifles in preventing illegal entry by recording biometric and demographic data before sending migrants back.
• Entry refusal now includes broader grounds such as anti-national activities, terrorism, espionage, human trafficking, cybercrime, narcotics trade, financial crimes like hawala, and crimes against humanity.

Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025

• The Exemption Order spares Nepalese, Bhutanese, and Tibetans from the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, while adding two new groups.
• Registered Sri Lankan Tamil nationals who sought shelter in India before January 9, 2015, are exempted from the passport/visa requirements under Section 3.
• Additionally, undocumented minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan — including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians — who entered India without valid documents or whose documents expired before December 31, 2024, are exempted from penal provisions and deportation.
• However, only these minorities can apply for long-term visas (LTVs) leading to citizenship, while the exemption for Sri Lankan Tamils does not extend to LTVs.

Why in news?

In recent years, youth-led uprisings have erupted across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal, where economic growth has failed to translate into better opportunities for the young. Instead, corruption and elite prosperity dominate.

Nepal’s protests have spotlighted “nepo kids” flaunting luxury lifestyles, fuelling Gen Z anger over inequality. Transparency International’s 2024 corruption rankings placed Nepal at 107, Bangladesh 151, Sri Lanka 121, and Indonesia 99, underscoring widespread governance challenges.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Youth Uprisings and the Missed Demographic Dividend in Asia
• The Vanishing Demographic Dividend in Asia
• High Youth Unemployment in South Asia
• Understanding India’s Demographic Transition

Youth Uprisings and the Missed Demographic Dividend in Asia

• In recent years, youth-led uprisings have shaken Sri Lanka (2022), Bangladesh (2024), Indonesia (2025), and Nepal, driven by frustration over economic growth that has failed to create better opportunities for young people.
• Despite headline growth, the benefits have largely bypassed the labour force entrants, while ruling elites and business classes prospered.
• Corruption and Optics of Power
  • Nepal’s Gen Z protests spotlighted the luxurious lifestyles of political elites’ children, with “nepo kids” trending on social media.
  • Transparency International’s 2024 rankings reflect deep-rooted corruption: Nepal (107), Bangladesh (151), Sri Lanka (121), and Indonesia (99).
  • Leaders’ actions worsened optics — for instance, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto dismissed respected finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati amid backlash over lawmakers’ extravagant $3,000 housing allowance, nearly 10 times Jakarta’s minimum wage.
• Economic Growth Without Inclusion
  • Although these nations witnessed economic expansion, high corruption and weak political continuity prevented inclusive growth.
  • The youth remain the worst affected, struggling with unemployment and limited opportunities.
• A Young Demographic at Risk
  • With median ages of Nepal (25), Bangladesh (25.7), Indonesia (30.1), and Sri Lanka (33.1), these countries are among the youngest globally.
  • Yet, instead of reaping a demographic dividend, they face unrest as disillusioned youth demand accountability and equitable growth.

The Vanishing Demographic Dividend in Asia

• The demographic dividend arises when a country’s working-age population grows faster than dependents, boosting economic potential.
• However, many Asian economies have failed to harness this advantage. Despite strong growth, millions of new jobs have not materialised, leaving young people underemployed.
• Automation has sharply reduced opportunities in traditional sectors such as textiles and auto manufacturing, once the backbone of youth employment.
  • The Asian Development Bank notes that today’s car factories employ only 15% of the workforce needed 25 years ago.
• The World Bank warned in 2023 that South Asia may waste its demographic dividend, as it created only 10 million jobs a year from 2000 to 2023 — just half of what was needed.
• This shortfall underscores the urgent need for inclusive job creation to ensure the region’s youth can drive growth rather than unrest.

High Youth Unemployment in South Asia

• Indonesia’s Youth Struggles - In 2024, Indonesia’s unemployment rate was 4.91%, but for ages 20–24 it spiked to 15.34%, showing youth face joblessness at over three times the national average.
• Bangladesh’s Jobless Youth - Bangladesh recorded 3.35% overall unemployment in 2023. However, youth aged 15–24 had the highest rate at 8.24%, underscoring the lack of opportunities for the young workforce.
• Nepal’s Employment Crisis - Nepal’s unemployment rose from 11.4% in 2017–18 to 12.6% in 2022–23, with underemployment widespread among youth. Limited industrial growth and reliance on remittances highlight weak domestic job creation.
  • Young Nepalis seek jobs abroad, making remittances nearly a quarter of GDP. Without urgent investment in emerging sectors, Nepal risks losing its demographic dividend.

India’s Demographic Dividend in the Making

• India has shifted from a high fertility-high mortality society to a low fertility-low mortality one, reshaping its age profile and creating the potential for a demographic dividend.
• Changing Age Profile
  • According to the 2011 Census, 48% of Indians were in the working-age group (15–59 years), 31% were children under 14, and 9% were elderly above 60.
  • The dependency ratio fell from 64% in 2001 to 55% in 2011, indicating fewer dependents per worker.
  • India’s median age is just 28, making it one of the youngest nations globally.
• Peak Demographic Dividend
  • The Economic Survey 2018–19 estimates that India’s demographic dividend will peak around 2041, when the working-age population (20–59 years) is expected to reach nearly 59%.
  • The UN Population Fund notes India’s demographic window spans five decades (2005–2055), longer than any other country.
  • Unlike China, which saw its demographic dividend peak around 2010, India’s more gradual transition ensures opportunities until 2055, giving it an unparalleled advantage globally.

Why in News?

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over ₹1,200 crore in Imphal, Manipur.
• These initiatives focus on infrastructure, digital connectivity, women empowerment, sports, governance, and disaster resilience, highlighting the government’s commitment to inclusive growth in the North-East.
• His visit to Manipur’s capital Imphal, is the first since the onset of ethnic violence in the state (in May 2023).
• He urged both the Meitei-dominated valley and the Kuki-dominated hill districts to “build a strong bridge of harmony” and move forward on the path of peace and development.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Development Push in the North-East
• Key Announcements and Projects
• Significance for Manipur and the North-East
• Way Forward

Development Push in the North-East:

• Mizoram connected to railways:
  • Before Manipur, PM visited Mizoram and inaugurated the 51.38-km Bairabi–Sairang railway line, connecting Aizawl (Mizoram’s capital) to the Indian Railways network for the first time.
  • With this, Aizawl becomes the fourth Northeastern capital (after Guwahati, Agartala, and Itanagar) linked to the railway grid.
  • Alongside, he laid the foundation stone and inaugurated development projects worth over ₹9,000 crore in Aizawl.
• Significance:
  • Act East Policy: Mizoram, sharing borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh, is crucial for India’s Act East Policy. Railway connectivity strengthens trade, transit, and people-to-people ties with Southeast Asia.
  • Economic integration: Boosts movement of goods and people, reducing transport costs. Facilitates export of local products (agriculture, bamboo, horticulture, handicrafts). Enhances tourism potential of Mizoram.
  • National integration: Makes Mizoram less isolated by physically linking it with the Indian heartland. Aizawl joins other connected state capitals in the Northeast, strengthening inclusivity in development.

Key Announcements and Projects for the Manipur:

• Infrastructure development:
  • Launch of Manipur Urban Roads Project (₹3,600 crore) to boost connectivity in Imphal.
  • Enhanced pace of National Highway and rural road construction, connecting villages.
  • Civil Secretariat and Police Headquarters inaugurated at Mantripukhri.
• Digital and IT growth:
  • Manipur Infotech Development Project (₹500 crore).
  • IT Special Economic Zone to encourage startups and tech industries.
• Smart city and urban development:
  • He informed that under this vision, several projects have been completed in Imphal, and many other projects are progressing rapidly.
  • Manipur Bhawans at Delhi and Kolkata for affordable accommodation, especially for women.
• Women empowerment:
  • Inauguration of 4 new Ima Markets (women-only markets).
  • Emphasis on Ima Keithel tradition as a symbol of women-led economy.
  • Women empowerment linked to Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.
• Disaster management: Recognition of flood-related challenges; new projects underway for mitigation.
• Cultural and historical identity:
  • Manipur is described as the “crown jewel of India.”
  • Tribute to Indian National Army (INA) flag hoisting in Manipur and renaming of Mount Harriet as Mount Manipur.
  • Stress on peace, dialogue, and harmony between hills and valleys.
• Sports as a growth driver:
  • Establishment of National Sports University in Manipur.
  • Khelo India and Olympic Podium schemes supporting Manipuri athletes.
  • To promote polo, the Marjing Polo Complex has been established, featuring the world’s tallest polo statue.
• Socio-economic relief:
  • Highlighting that their government has significantly reduced GST, the PM stated that this will bring double benefits to the people of Manipur.
  • 7,000 new houses have been approved for displaced families. The central government has recently declared a special package of approximately ₹3,000 crore for Manipur.
  • He added that over ₹500 crore has been allocated specifically to assist displaced individuals.
• National security and defence contribution:
  • Tribute to Shaheed Deepak Chingkham (Operation Sindoor).
  • Recognition of Manipuri youth in armed forces and sports.

Significance for Manipur and the North-East:

• Shift from marginalisation to mainstream development.
• Manipur is positioned as a hub for connectivity, culture, sports, and IT.
• Promotes peace, stability, and women empowerment as foundations for inclusive growth.

Way Forward:

• Peace and stability: Violence undermines Manipur’s historical legacy and development potential. Therefore, peace-building and dialogue are crucial.
• Balanced growth: Bridging divides between hills and valley is essential for long-term harmony.
• Women-centric economy: Strengthening Ima Markets and women-led initiatives will boost local entrepreneurship.
• Sports diplomacy and soft power: Leveraging Manipuri athletes’ contributions enhances India’s global sporting image.
• Integration with national growth: Projects reflect Act East Policy and aim to make Manipur a growth engine for the 21st-century North-East.

Why in the News?

• Nearly 60% of India’s outward FDI is now routed through tax havens like Singapore, Mauritius, and the UAE, reflecting both tax advantages and strategic global expansion needs.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Outward Investments (Introduction, Trend, etc.)
• News Summary (Recent Data Analysis, Experts’ Opinion, etc.)

Introduction

• India’s outward foreign direct investment (FDI) has grown significantly over the past two decades, reflecting the ambition of Indian companies to expand their global presence.
• While domestic reforms have supported inbound investment, outward investment trends reveal a distinct preference for low-tax jurisdictions.
• According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, nearly 60% of India’s outward FDI in 2023-24 was routed through tax havens such as Singapore, Mauritius, and the UAE.
• This pattern highlights not only tax efficiencies but also strategic advantages for Indian companies seeking global expansion.

India’s Outward Investment Trends

• India’s outward FDI has witnessed structural changes in both volume and destination preferences.
• From traditional investments in manufacturing and energy, Indian firms have diversified into IT services, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, and infrastructure globally. The main objectives driving this trend include:

• Access to new markets: Indian companies are establishing subsidiaries abroad to tap into consumer demand in Europe, the U.S., and Africa.
• Technology acquisition: Outward investments enable Indian firms to access advanced technologies, particularly in healthcare, automotive, and clean energy.
• Strategic partnerships: Cross-border mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures strengthen Indian firms’ positioning in global supply chains.
• Risk diversification: By expanding abroad, companies hedge against domestic regulatory and market volatility.

• The government has supported outward FDI by easing regulatory approvals, enhancing bilateral investment treaties, and facilitating credit support through institutions like EXIM Bank.
• However, the heavy reliance on tax havens underscores a complex mix of regulatory arbitrage, strategic structuring, and global investor preferences.

News Summary

• Recent data shows that 56% of India’s outward FDI in 2023–24, amounting to about Rs. 1,946 crore out of a total of Rs. 3,488 crore, flowed into low-tax jurisdictions such as Singapore (22.6%), Mauritius (10.9%), and the UAE (9.1%).

Image Caption: Outward Investment Trends

• In the first quarter of 2024-25, this figure rose further, with 63% of outward FDI routed through these jurisdictions. Experts clarify that this is not solely for tax avoidance but also for strategic reasons:

• Global investor comfort: International partners prefer investing in entities located in jurisdictions with stable tax laws and flexible fund transfer regimes.
• Strategic structuring: Using special-purpose vehicles in hubs like Singapore helps Indian companies attract investors and manage stake dilutions effectively.
• Joint ventures: Almost 60% of outward FDI in these low-tax hubs in July 2025 was in joint ventures, showing their role as neutral platforms for partnerships.

• Experts also note that rising U.S. tariffs on Indian exports could push more firms to establish subsidiaries abroad to mitigate trade risks.
• Thus, while India continues efforts to curb profit shifting to tax havens, the outward FDI trend reflects a blend of tax advantages and global business strategy.

Conclusion

• India’s outward FDI trajectory highlights a dual narrative: on one hand, concerns about tax revenue leakage and regulatory arbitrage; on the other, the strategic necessity for Indian firms to leverage tax-efficient jurisdictions to expand globally.
• With nearly 60% of investments flowing through tax havens, it is evident that these destinations serve as both gateways for third-country expansion and buffers against global trade risks.
• Going forward, India’s challenge will be to balance regulatory oversight with the need to support its companies’ global ambitions.

Why in news?

Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old American conservative leader who once defended gun rights despite yearly deaths, was killed by a sniper in Utah. His death underscores the irony and tragedy of America’s entrenched gun obsession, reigniting the divisive debate that many believe is tearing U.S. society apart.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• America’s Gun Crisis in Global Perspective
• Guns and the Myth of Freedom in America
• The Making of America’s Gun Culture
• America’s Romantic Obsession with Guns
• The Deadly Link Between Guns and Everyday Violence

America’s Gun Crisis in Global Perspective

• The United States has more guns than people, with 1.2 guns per person—far higher than any other nation.
• Though home to less than 5% of the world’s population, Americans own 45% of civilian firearms globally.
• This widespread access fuels staggering violence: in 2023, the U.S. recorded 46,728 gun deaths—128 daily, with over half suicides.
• The gun homicide rate stands at 4.38 per 100,000, 26 times higher than other wealthy nations, compared to under 0.05 in the UK and virtually zero in Japan.

Guns and the Myth of Freedom in America

• America’s deep-rooted gun culture is tied to historical myths of firearms as protectors of liberty, from the Revolution to the Wild West.
• The Second Amendment (1791) enshrined this belief, framing arms as safeguards against tyranny.
• Founding Father James Madison even argued that armed citizens could topple oppressive governments, unlike Europe’s monarchies.
• Historian Richard Hofstader observed in 1970 that many Americans stubbornly saw guns as essential to democracy, a notion echoed by Charlie Kirk in 2023, who defended the Second Amendment as protection against government overreach.

The Making of America’s Gun Culture

• A 1969 U.S. Justice Department report highlighted the explosive rise of guns — doubling from 45 million in 1945 to nearly 90 million by 1969, even as population grew by less than 50%.
• By 2018, gun numbers were ten times higher than 1945, while the population grew only 2.5 times.
• Historians trace this culture to racism: firearms enabled White slave owners to control Black slaves, and post-Civil War fears of retribution spurred groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
• In the 20th century, crime, immigration, and Cold War anxieties intensified gun demand.
• Abundant post-WWII weapon supplies, with Europe’s surplus arms flooding the U.S. market, created a mass gun economy, embedding firearms deeply into American society.

America’s Romantic Obsession with Guns

• In the U.S., gun culture has been shaped by powerful advocacy groups like the NRA and gun capitalism, which transformed firearms into symbols of identity and freedom.
• Historian Andrew McKevitt notes that 19th-century gunmakers sold not just weapons but stories, imbuing guns with cultural meaning — a case of “commodity fetishism.”
  • Commodity fetishism means giving an object (like a gun, phone, or brand item) a kind of “magical” value, while forgetting how and why it was actually made.
  • For example, instead of seeing a gun as just metal and parts made in a factory, people treat it as a symbol of freedom, power, or identity.
• This fetishization distorts America’s gun debate, unlike other countries that embraced strict gun control.
• For example, Australia reduced gun deaths from 2.9 per 100,000 in 1996 to 0.88 in 2018 after reforms.
• The U.S., however, loosened laws, with the 2008 Supreme Court ruling in Columbia v. Heller affirming individual gun ownership rights, fueling further resistance to restrictions.

The Deadly Link Between Guns and Everyday Violence

• NRA advocates claim “a good guy with a gun” stops violence, but historian Dominic Erdozain notes even “good people” can act aggressively, creating risks.
• Data disproves the simple good-versus-bad binary. Research revealed most U.S. gun homicides stemmed from arguments with friends or spouses, often under alcohol’s influence.
• It showed that keeping a gun at home significantly raised homicide risk.
• As experts warned in 2008, the real danger is not strangers but those with “a key to the house.”

Why in news?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Manipur on September 13, his first trip since ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo erupted in May 2023.

Over 27 months, the state has endured violence, mass displacement, weakened law and order, the rise of armed groups, President’s Rule, and national elections.

While tensions have eased somewhat, five key issues — displacement, security, governance, inter-community trust, and political resolution — remain central to Manipur’s fragile recovery.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Rehabilitation of Manipur’s Displaced Population
• Restricted Movement and Buffer Zones in Manipur
• Lack of Dialogue and Ethnic Tensions in Manipur
• Political Transition and President’s Rule in Manipur
• Border Tensions and Fencing with Myanmar

Rehabilitation of Manipur’s Displaced Population

• Over 57,000 people remain in 280 relief camps across Manipur, displaced for over two years due to ethnic clashes.
• Displacement occurred mainly in two ways:
  • Kuki-Zo people forced out of Imphal and valley towns, and Meiteis from border and hill towns like Moreh, Kangpokpi, and Churachandpur; and
  • those from “fringe areas” at the valley-hill frontiers fleeing attacks or threats.
• In July, Manipur govt announced a three-phase resettlement plan to close all relief camps by year-end, beginning with phased return of fringe-area residents, followed by prefabricated housing for others once normalcy is restored.
• While around 5,000 people had returned before the plan, progress has since been slow.

Restricted Movement and Buffer Zones in Manipur

• During the conflict, sharp boundaries between the valley and hill districts have turned into “buffer zones” manned by security forces, blocking safe passage between Meitei and Kuki-Zo areas.
• Meiteis remain confined to the valley without highway access, while Kuki-Zos cannot reach Imphal or use key facilities like the airport.
• After President’s Rule in February, the Centre attempted to enforce “free movement” on highways, but violence erupted, leaving one dead and many injured.
• Currently, Kuki-Zo groups permit only essential goods to reach the valley but refuse Meitei movement across buffer zones.
• Meanwhile, no reciprocal arrangement exists for Kuki-Zo passage in Meitei-dominated areas.

Lack of Dialogue and Ethnic Tensions in Manipur

• Over 250 people have died in Manipur’s ethnic violence, the last major outbreak in November 2024.
• While large-scale clashes have ebbed, officials warn the state remains fragile, as both Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities are heavily armed and lack inter-community dialogue.
• The Centre continues separate talks with both sides, recently renewing a Suspension of Operations pact with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups.
• These groups agreed to uphold Manipur’s “territorial integrity,” but still demand a Union Territory with legislature, contradicting the pact’s spirit.
• Meitei groups see the agreement as legitimising insurgents, while Kuki-Zos allege past bias by ex-Chief Minister Biren Singh’s government favouring Meitei militias, fuelling mistrust.

Political Transition and President’s Rule in Manipur

• Former Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned in February after opposition from both Kuki-Zo and many Meitei BJP MLAs.
• Soon after, President’s Rule was imposed, fulfilling a key Kuki-Zo demand and initially welcomed across communities.
• However, nearly two months later, valley-based and Naga MLAs began pressing for restoration of an elected government, citing public pressure.
• Despite this, the Centre has shown no urgency to lift President’s Rule, preferring stability over political transition in the conflict-hit state.

Border Tensions and Fencing with Myanmar

• Manipur’s porous border with Myanmar remains a flashpoint, with Meiteis blaming illegal Chin immigration for fueling unrest.
• In response, the Centre scrapped the Free Movement Regime — which allowed cross-border tribal travel up to 16 km — and announced fencing.
• This decision has angered both Kuki-Zo and Naga communities, who share deep ethnic, social, and economic ties across the border.
• Ahead of PM Modi’s visit, the United Naga Council protested by imposing a “trade embargo” on major supply routes but has since suspended it temporarily.

Context:

• Over a month after the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (August 9), the issue of indigenous rights remains pressing—especially following the Supreme Court’s July 17, 2025 ruling in Ram Charan & Ors. vs Sukhram & Ors.
• This judgement held that excluding daughters from ancestral property violates the fundamental right to equality.
• Viewed through a gender-equality lens, this underscores deep injustice: most tribal women lack statutory inheritance rights (except some matrilineal communities in the Northeast).
• The moment calls for legal reform to secure tribal women’s equal property rights.
• In this context, this article highlights the urgent need to address gender inequality in tribal property rights, examining recent court rulings, customary laws, and the call for a dedicated Tribal Succession Act.

Plea for Equal Share in Tribal Property Rights

• In Ram Charan & Ors. vs Sukhram & Ors., the appellant-plaintiffs, legal heirs of Dhaiya, a Scheduled Tribe woman from Sarguja, Chhattisgarh, sought partition of property belonging to their maternal grandfather, Bhajju Gond.
• Dhaiya, one of six children (five sons and a daughter), was denied her share, as tribal custom excluded women from ancestral property.
• The Trial Court and First Appellate Court dismissed the plea, also rejecting arguments that Hindu traditions and the Hindu Succession Act should apply, citing lack of evidence.
• However, the Chhattisgarh High Court granted Dhaiya’s heirs an equal share, ruling that customs denying women property rights perpetuate gender discrimination.
• The Court emphasized that such discrimination must be weeded out by law.
• This marked a departure from the 1996 Madhu Kishwar vs State of Bihar case, where the Supreme Court, while recognising gender disparity in tribal inheritance customs, declined to strike them down, fearing legal chaos.

Customary Laws and Tribal Women’s Land Rights

• In Scheduled Five Area States like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha, tribal communities follow customary laws in matters of marriage, succession, and adoption.
• Despite women contributing more to farm work, these customs deny them inheritance rights in ancestral property.
• Data from the Agriculture Census 2015-16 shows only 16.7% of Scheduled Tribe women own land, compared to 83.3% of men.
• Arguments against granting women rights often cite land as communitarian property or fears of alienation if women marry non-tribal men.
• However, money from land sales rarely benefits the gram sabha, undermining this reasoning.
• Courts stress that customs must meet tests of antiquity, certainty, continuity, reasonableness, and alignment with public policy to be valid.
• In 2022, the Jharkhand High Court upheld inheritance rights for Oraon women in Prabha Minz vs Martha Ekka, ruling that the community failed to prove a continuous custom of excluding daughters from property rights.

Need for a Separate Tribal Succession Act

• The Supreme Court, in Kamala Neti (Dead) Thr. Lrs. vs Special Land Acquisition Officer (December 2022), took a progressive step toward gender parity in tribal women’s property rights.
• Since Section 2(2) of the Hindu Succession Act, 2005 excludes tribal communities, a dedicated Tribal Succession Act could address this gap.
• Codifying tribal succession laws, similar to those for Hindus and Christians, would ensure clarity, reduce gender discrimination, and provide statutory inheritance rights for tribal women, strengthening equality and justice.

Conclusion

• Ensuring equal property rights for tribal women requires codifying succession laws, reforming discriminatory customs, and embracing legal measures that uphold justice, equality, and inclusive development.

Why in the News?

• SEBI has announced major market reforms, including the SWAGAT-FI framework for foreign investors, relaxed IPO dilution norms, and stronger governance measures for exchanges.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Market Reforms (Introduction, SWAGAT-FI, Relaxed IPO Norms, Mutual Funds Reforms, Significance, etc.)

Introduction

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced sweeping reforms aimed at enhancing foreign investment inflows, easing IPO norms for large companies, and strengthening governance within market infrastructure institutions.
• These measures come at a time of heightened global economic uncertainty, with foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulling out significant capital due to U.S. tariffs, rich valuations, and weak corporate earnings.
• The reforms are expected to reinforce India’s reputation as a competitive and investor-friendly market while balancing investor protection and regulatory compliance.

Foreign Investor Access through SWAGAT-FI

• One of the most significant announcements is the introduction of the Single Window Automatic & Generalised Access for Trusted Foreign Investors (SWAGAT-FI)

• Scope: It covers FPIs and Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCIs) from categories such as sovereign wealth funds, central banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and regulated retail funds.
• Features:
• A unified 10-year registration and KYC cycle (up from 3 years).
• Exemption from the 50% cap on aggregate contributions by NRIs, OCIs, and resident Indians.
• Simplified compliance and reduced paperwork through the India Market Access portal, launched alongside SWAGAT-FI.
• Impact: The move aims to restore investor confidence amid record foreign outflows of nearly Rs. 63,500 crore since July 2025.

Relaxed IPO Norms for Large Companies

• SEBI has also eased the minimum public offer (MPO) and public shareholding requirements for large issuers:

• Companies with Rs. 1-5 lakh crore market cap must now offer 2.75-2.8% of their post-issue market cap, compared with 5% earlier.
• MPO size threshold raised to Rs. 6,250 crore for very large issuers.
• Public float timeline: Firms with less than 15% public shareholding at listing now get 10 years (up from 3–5 years) to meet the 25% minimum requirement.
• Anchor Investor rules:
• Anchor quota raised to 40% from one-third, including allocations for mutual funds, life insurers, and pension funds.
• Minimum allotment size set at Rs. 5 crore.
• Broader anchor investor participation permitted.

• These reforms are particularly beneficial for mega-IPOs, where immediate high dilution often deters promoters.

Strengthened Governance in Market Infrastructure Institutions

• SEBI has introduced structural changes to improve the governance of stock exchanges and clearing corporations:

• Two executive directors will head separate verticals - critical operations (trading, clearing, settlement) and regulatory compliance (risk management, investor grievances).
• Defined roles for managing directors and key managerial personnel, enhancing accountability and succession planning.

• This comes in the wake of past governance concerns in major exchanges, where lapses undermined market trust.

Mutual Fund and Retail Investor-Centric Reforms

• To deepen financial inclusion, SEBI has announced measures to improve retail participation, especially from smaller towns and underrepresented groups:

• Exit load in mutual funds has been reduced to 3% from 5%.
• Distributor incentives revised to promote investments from beyond top-30 cities (B-30) and to encourage participation by women investors.
• Enhanced disclosure and compliance norms for related-party transactions (RPTs), with thresholds linked to company turnover.

Significance of the Reforms

• For India’s markets: They provide flexibility for large companies tapping equity markets and simplify investment processes for trusted foreign players.
• For global competitiveness: SWAGAT-FI positions India as a stable long-term investment hub amid global capital volatility.
• For retail investors: The focus on smaller cities and women investors aligns with India’s push for inclusive financial growth.

Context:

• Critical technologies are increasingly shaping global power hierarchies.
• While India has made significant strides in science and technology, its research ecosystem reveals imbalances in talent attraction, institutional mechanisms, and quality of breakthroughs.
• The challenge is not numbers, but the capacity to attract and embed top-tier researchers in mission-driven domains that ensure strategic autonomy.

India’s Current Research Profile:

• India accounts for only 2.5% of highly cited papers and 2% of global top-cited scientists (Stanford–Elsevier report).
• India ranks in the top five in 29 technologies, but lacks consistent global breakthroughs due to a fragmented ecosystem.
• Restrictions on high-tech transfers from the US and China exacerbate the gap.

Global Dynamics and Emerging Window of Opportunity:

• China:
  • It not only dominates 37 of 44 critical technologies (ASPI) but also converts this into sovereign strength through aggressive talent recruitment.
  • Through the Young Thousand Talents Program, China recruited 3,500 scientists, resulting in exponential growth in research output and institutional rankings.
• US:
  • Decline in research funding: The Trump administration has announced budget cuts of over 50% for federal science grant-making bodies such as the National Science Foundation and NASA.
  • Limited tenure opportunities: Only 15% of STEM PhDs secure tenure track jobs within five years, down from 25% two decades ago.
  • Visa restrictions: Tightened visa regimes have left many Indian-origin PhDs and postdoctoral fellows stranded.
• Europe’s strategy: France announced a €100 million fund to attract global researchers.

India’s Policy Landscape:

• Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF):
  • Through the Rs 1 lakh crore Research and Development Innovation Fund, the government has (for the first time in decades) committed large-scale, mission-oriented investments in science.
  • This has been coupled with rapid Ease of Doing Science
• Weaknesses:
  • Despite multiple fellowship schemes, India has not been very successful in attracting and retaining global academic talent.
  • Compensation remains uncompetitive compared to global benchmarks, world-class laboratories and sustained research grants are often absent.
  • Also, there are no clear pathways for long-term absorption or career progression.
  • Recruitment has not been tied to mission-oriented research streams in areas where India must develop sovereign capability.

The Focused Research Organisations (FRO) Model:

• Key features:
  • Establishing a limited number of FROs embedded in Institutes of National Importance with proven expertise (e.g., IIT Delhi for quantum communication).
  • Structured as Section 8 companies with 51% industry participation, creating a public–private–academy partnership.
  • Attract 500 top-class researchers in 5 years, prioritising early-career talent.
  • Ensure integration of existing Indian academics via joint appointments, rotational leadership, and project-based entry.
• Strategic domains of focus:
  • Focus areas: Domains that will define strategic autonomy in the decades ahead are semiconductors, propulsion and hypersonics, synthetic biology, quantum communication, etc.
  • IIT Delhi milestone:
    • In collaboration with DRDO, it has recently achieved a milestone in quantum entanglement-based free-space quantum secure communication over distances exceeding 1 km.
    • This stands out as a natural anchor for a national FRO on quantum communication. This model has four distinct design principles.
• Four design principles:
  • Globally competitive compensation through pooled resources.
  • Strategic focus on sovereign capability in select domains.
  • Hybrid ecosystem combining global expertise, indigenous knowledge, and industry resources.
  • Institutional permanence with predictable funding and talent pathways.

Conclusion:

• India stands at a crossroads in its technological sovereignty journey.
• External shifts in the global research landscape offer a rare window to attract and embed top-tier researchers.
• Establishing FROs is vital to ensure long-term capability-building, sovereign autonomy, and economic competitiveness.
• Delay in action risks losing a generation of scientific talent and deepening dependence on foreign powers.
• The choice is clear: invest now in talent-driven critical technologies, or embracing long-term technological dependence.

Context

• The Right to Information (RTI) Act in India has long been celebrated as a landmark legislation that deepened democracy by empowering citizens with access to government-held information.
• By establishing transparency as the default mode of governance, the RTI transformed the relationship between citizens and the state, enabling ordinary people to scrutinize decisions, demand accountability, and expose corruption.
• Yet, the recent amendments to Section 8(1)(j) through the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act mark a significant departure from this vision.
• What was once a nuanced balance between privacy and transparency now risks becoming a legal framework for denying access to vital public information.

The Original Balance of Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act

• When first enacted, Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act sought to carefully reconcile the citizen’s right to information with the individual’s right to privacy.
• It allowed public authorities to withhold personal information only if it had no connection to public activity or if disclosure would amount to an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
• Even then, disclosure was permitted when a larger public interest justified it.
• A crucial safeguard in this provision was its proviso: information that could not be denied to Parliament or a State Legislature could not be denied to an ordinary citizen either.
• This acid test ensured that privacy could not be used as a blanket excuse to restrict transparency, while also acknowledging that privacy is an evolving concept, to be assessed case by case.

The Ambiguity of Personal Information

• The DPDP Act’s intervention has radically altered this equilibrium. By reducing Section 8(1)(j) to a mere six words, it introduces ambiguity and expands the scope of “personal information” to the point of absurdity.
• Two interpretations of person now compete: one confined to natural persons, the other, derived from the DPDP Bill, encompassing entities as diverse as companies, associations, and even the state itself.
• If the latter definition prevails, nearly every document or decision could be shielded as personal information.
• In effect, the RTI risks being transformed into a Right to Deny Information (RDI).
• This expansive interpretation is compounded by the DPDP Act’s overriding effect on other laws and its severe penalties for disclosure violations, which may reach as high as ₹250 crore.
• Faced with such risks, Public Information Officers (PIOs) are incentivised to adopt a defensive posture, erring on the side of denial rather than disclosure.
• This chilling effect undermines the very spirit of the RTI, replacing openness with opacity.

Implications for Corruption and Accountability

• Corruption thrives in secrecy, and transparency has long been one of the few effective tools available to citizens in combating it.
• With broadened definitions of personal information, even routine and seemingly harmless documents, such as a corrected marksheet, a signed official order, or lists of pension beneficiaries, can now be withheld.
• Examples like Rajasthan’s public disclosure of pension details, which once exposed ghost employees and ghost cards, may no longer be permissible.
• This legal transformation effectively institutionalises opacity. Information that directly exposes corruption or malpractice could be dismissed as personal.
• Even the clause allowing disclosure in cases of larger public interest provides little relief, as it is rarely invoked in practice and demands an onerous justification from citizens.
• Thus, the DPDP amendments not only weaken the RTI but also embolden corruption by making concealment the default.

Apathy and the Need for Collective Action

• Unlike previous RTI amendments, such as those altering the salaries and tenures of commissioners, these changes have not sparked widespread outrage.
• Part of the reason lies in their presentation: couched in the language of data protection, they appear benign or even necessary.
• Moreover, many citizens mistakenly believe that their own data, however collected or used by the government, should remain private at all costs, overlooking the broader implications for collective accountability.
• Addressing this requires urgent and coordinated action.
• First, media and citizen engagement must intensify, creating awareness and debate across the country.
• Second, political accountability should be demanded, with parties required to commit to reversing these amendments in their manifestos.
• Third, strong public opinion must be cultivated, treating this issue with the same gravity as other national crises.

Conclusion

• The RTI Act was never merely a piece of legislation; it was a democratic promise that citizens would have the means to hold their government accountable.
• By hollowing out Section 8(1)(j) and prioritising privacy in an indiscriminate manner, the DPDP Act risks converting this promise into an illusion.
• Transparency and accountability, the lifeblood of democracy, are imperilled by legal ambiguities that empower denial rather than disclosure.
• The future of transparency in India now depends on whether its people can reclaim the RTI before it is too late.