Why in news?

Rajasthan is preparing to introduce a Bill to declare certain localities as “disturbed areas” to address what it describes as demographic imbalance and improper clustering. Though the draft is not public yet, it closely mirrors Gujarat’s 1991 Disturbed Areas Act.

While the state government presents the move as necessary to preserve communal harmony, the Gujarat law it draws from has faced sustained criticism over constitutional concerns and repeated judicial curbs on executive overreach in private property transactions.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act: An Overview
• Legal Scrutiny of the Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act
• Free Consent and Fair Market Value: Limits on State Power

Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act: An Overview

• Enacted in 1991 after repeated communal riots, the Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act was designed to prevent “distress sales” of property during periods of violence or intimidation.
• Its stated aim was to protect vulnerable property owners from being forced to sell assets below market value due to fear or coercion.
• How the Act Works?
  • Under the law, the state government can notify an area as a “disturbed area” based on a history of communal violence or mob unrest.
  • Once notified, any transfer of immovable property — including houses, shops or land — requires prior approval from the district collector.
  • Transactions carried out without this sanction are deemed void.
• Role of the District Collector
  • The collector is mandated to conduct a formal inquiry before granting approval, to ensure that the sale is voluntary and not the result of pressure, threat or inducement.
  • This administrative scrutiny is central to the functioning of the Act.
• Constitutional and Legal Concerns
  • Critics argue that by regulating property transactions, the Act effectively enables the state to influence the demographic composition of neighbourhoods.
  • This raises concerns under Article 19(1)(e), which guarantees the right to reside and settle anywhere in India, and Article 15, which prohibits discrimination on grounds such as religion or caste.
  • Legal scholars contend that the law risks curbing free movement and organic social integration under the guise of protection.

Legal Scrutiny of the Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act

• The constitutional validity of the Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act is currently being examined by the Gujarat High Court.
• Two key petitions, filed in January 2021 and August 2022, are pending before benches led by the Chief Justice.
• One petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Gujarat sought an interim stay in 2024, alleging misuse of the Act to harass citizens.
• The High Court refused interim relief. The Supreme Court also declined to intervene, directing an expedited hearing in the High Court instead.
• Challenge to the 2020 Amendment
  • Petitioners, however, succeeded in challenging the 2020 amendment that expanded the Act’s scope.
  • The amendment introduced vague concepts such as “proper clustering” and “demographic equilibrium,” granting collectors wider discretionary powers.
  • In January 2021, the Gujarat High Court stayed the operation of these expanded provisions, preventing the state from issuing notifications under the amended language. This interim stay remains in force.
• Relevance to Rajasthan’s Proposal
  • The Rajasthan government’s stated objective of preventing “improper clustering” closely mirrors the language of the stayed Gujarat amendment, raising fresh constitutional and legal concerns.

Free Consent and Fair Market Value: Limits on State Power

• Collector’s Authority Under Judicial Review - Although the Disturbed Areas Act declares the collector’s decision final, the Gujarat High Court has consistently exercised judicial review under Article 226 to check administrative overreach and rights violations.
• Narrow Scope of Collector’s Inquiry - Through multiple rulings, the High Court has clarified that a collector’s role is strictly limited to verifying two factors: whether the sale reflects free consent and whether it is at fair market value. No other considerations are permitted.
• Law and Order Grounds Rejected - In a March 2020 case involving a Hindu seller and Muslim buyers in Vadodara, the High Court quashed a collector’s refusal based on police reports citing law and order concerns. The court held such inquiries irrelevant to the Act’s purpose.
• No Role for Neighbours’ Objections - The court has repeatedly ruled that neighbours have no legal standing in private property transactions.
• Police Reports as Extraneous Considerations - In October 2023, the High Court set aside another collector’s rejection that relied on police inputs. The court reiterated that relying on such extraneous grounds amounted to jurisdictional overreach.
• Core Purpose of the Act Reaffirmed - As recently as September 2025, the High Court emphasised that the Act’s sole objective is to prevent distress sales caused by coercion or fear — not to manage law and order or regulate demographic patterns.

Why in news?

India is facing a growing threat from antimicrobial resistance (AMR) driven by widespread antibiotic overuse. In 2021, an estimated 2.67 lakh deaths were linked to AMR.

Key data point to alarmingly high resistance levels — including evidence that 83% of Indians carry drug-resistant bacteria — alongside major treatment gaps and widespread antibiotic misuse, rendering routine infections harder to treat and threatening the foundations of modern medicine.

Experts warn that the global antibiotic pipeline is nearly dry, with few genuinely new drugs in development, putting modern medicine at serious risk.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Antimicrobial Resistance in India: A Growing but Largely Invisible Crisis
• Behaviour Drives Antibiotic Overuse in India
• A Drying Antibiotic Pipeline
• Role of Antibiotic Stewardship
• Role of Livestock, Environment and Humans
• Data Gaps Limit the Full Picture
• Exploring Alternative Therapies

Antimicrobial Resistance in India: A Growing but Largely Invisible Crisis

• AMR is emerging as a silent pandemic in India, intensifying both within hospitals and in the community.
• High antibiotic use in hospitals creates strong pressure on bacteria to evolve resistance through genetic mutations, which then spread rapidly via resistance genes, fuelled by antibiotic misuse.
• Patients often enter hospitals for unrelated conditions such as heart or kidney disease but acquire drug-resistant infections during treatment, sometimes with fatal outcomes.
• This hidden pathway makes AMR difficult to quantify accurately. Reliable global estimates only began emerging in 2021, and even now, comprehensive data remains limited.
• Beyond hospitals, common community infections such as typhoid, diarrhoea and pneumonia are increasingly becoming drug-resistant.
• Given that India accounts for about 18% of the world’s population, roughly one-fifth of global infections are estimated to occur in the country, underscoring the scale of the challenge despite the absence of precise national figures.

Behaviour Drives Antibiotic Overuse in India

• Antibiotic misuse in India is largely behavioural. Many people take antibiotics for common ailments like coughs, colds or diarrhoea without confirming whether the infection is bacterial.
• Antibiotics are often taken on pharmacists’ advice or prescribed prophylactically by doctors, reinforcing habitual overuse. This behaviour needs urgent correction.

A Drying Antibiotic Pipeline

• Although a few antibiotics have been approved in recent decades, almost none belong to new drug classes or use novel mechanisms.
• With no strong replacements in sight, continued misuse risks exhausting the effectiveness of existing drugs.
• Treating Routine Infections Is Getting Harder
  • Drug-resistant infections now require stronger, last-resort antibiotics.
  • Even community infections like UTIs and typhoid are becoming harder to treat due to repeated inappropriate antibiotic use.
  • Resistance to fluoroquinolones in Salmonella typhi is rising, while overuse of ceftriaxone and azithromycin risks rendering them ineffective.
  • However, resistance can reverse when drugs are withdrawn, as seen with older typhoid medicines regaining effectiveness.

Role of Antibiotic Stewardship

• Antibiotic stewardship is the effort to measure and improve how antibiotics are prescribed by clinicians and used by patients.
• Stewardship programmes are more effective than sudden bans. Kerala’s antimicrobial stewardship programme, launched in 2015, focused on rational prescribing and awareness.
• Only after nearly a decade did the state ban over-the-counter sales, with reasonable success. Responsible use requires public understanding, not just regulation.

Role of Livestock, Environment and Humans

• High resistance levels in humans are largely driven by human antibiotic use, not livestock.
• Studies by ICMR found significant overlap of resistance genes between human and hospital environments, but minimal overlap with animals.
• A key concern is antibiotic residues in food, which persist in the gut microbiome and act as a reservoir for resistance.

Data Gaps Limit the Full Picture

• India’s AMR data mainly comes from 25 tertiary hospitals under the ICMR network, where resistance rates are higher due to prior hospitalisation and antibiotic exposure.
• This limits nationwide representation. Wider surveillance, similar to Japan’s system covering around 2,000 hospitals, is needed.

Exploring Alternative Therapies

• Phage therapy, which uses bacteria-eating viruses, shows promise for infections like UTIs but requires precise matching and often virus combinations.
• Resistance can develop even here. Monoclonal antibodies are another emerging option, though still in early stages of development.

Why in News?

• Recent walkouts by Governors during inaugural sessions of State Legislative Assemblies in Opposition-ruled States like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have triggered a constitutional debate.
• These incidents relate to the Governor’s refusal to read or complete the customary address under Article 176(1), prompting concerns over the erosion of constitutional conventions and federal balance.
• The Karnataka government is reportedly considering approaching the Supreme Court (SC) for a judicial declaration on the issue, which is required to touch upon key constitutional principles of -
  • Parliamentary democracy,
  • Collective responsibility of the Cabinet,
  • Federalism,
  • Constitutional morality, and
  • Limited discretion of constitutional authorities.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Constitutional Position of the Governor
• Constituent Assembly Debates - Ambedkar’s Vision
• Judicial Interpretation and Key SC Judgments
• Challenges Highlighted and Way Ahead
• Conclusion

Constitutional Position of the Governor:

• Article 176(1):
  • It mandates that the Governor “shall” address the Legislative Assembly (or both Houses where a Legislative Council exists) at the beginning of the first session every year.
  • The address reflects the policies and programmes of the elected State Cabinet, not the personal views of the Governor.
  • The Governor acts indirectly as a communicator to the people, through their elected representatives.
• Aid and advice of the Council of Ministers:
  • A Council of Ministers, led by the Chief Minister, must aid and advise the Governor in performing their functions, except where the Constitution requires the Governor to act in their discretion (Article 163).
  • Selective reading, skipping paragraphs, or walking out amounts to constitutional impropriety.

Constituent Assembly Debates - Ambedkar’s Vision:

• The Governor has no independent functions.
• He is a constitutional head, not a political actor.
• He represents the people of the State as a whole, not any party or ideology.

Judicial Interpretation and Key SC Judgments:

• Shamsher Singh vs State of Punjab (1974) – Seven-Judge Bench:
  • Governors cannot take public stances critical of Cabinet policy. Any such conduct is an “unconstitutional faux pas”.
  • Even the limited discretion is not personal, but effectively “remote-controlled” by the Union Council of Ministers, which is accountable to Parliament.
• Nabam Rebia vs Deputy Speaker (2016) – Five-Judge Constitution Bench:
  • The Constitution explicitly defines areas of limited gubernatorial discretion, such as appointment of Chief Minister, dissolution of the House, Governor’s report under Article 356, and granting or withholding assent to Bills.
  • Addressing the House under Articles 175(1) and 176(1) is an executive function, not a discretionary one.
• Tamil Nadu Governor case:
  • The Supreme Court held that discretionary powers cannot be exercised to negate the authority of an elected government.
  • A subsequent Presidential Reference described the Governor as a “guide, philosopher and friend”, not an adversary.

Challenges Highlighted and Way Ahead:

• Politicisation of the Governor’s office: Centre–State friction especially in Opposition-ruled States.
  • Reinforcing constitutional morality - Governors must act as neutral constitutional heads, not political actors.
• Erosion of constitutional conventions: Codification of conventions - development of binding guidelines for gubernatorial conduct, possibly through an Inter-State Council or SC jurisprudence.
• Risk of turning the Governor into a parallel power centre: Judicial clarification - a clear SC declaration on the mandatory and non-discretionary nature of Article 176(1).
• Undermining the authority of elected State governments: Strengthening federalism - Respect for State autonomy and Cabinet supremacy in policy matters.

Conclusion:

• The recent gubernatorial walkouts mark a troubling departure from India’s parliamentary and federal ethos.
• The Constitution envisages the Governor as a constitutional sentinel, not a veto-wielding authority.
• Judicial precedents—from Shamsher Singh to Nabam Rebia—clearly establish that discretionary power is limited, defined, and non-personal.
• Upholding constitutional morality and democratic accountability is essential to prevent the Governor’s office from becoming, as the SC warned, a “reincarnation of colonial authority” inimical to responsible government.

Why in the News?

• India’s flagship ACC Battery Manufacturing PLI scheme has fallen significantly short of its targets due to delays in capacity creation and technology constraints.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• ACC Batteries (Background, Importance, PLI Scheme, Current Status, Performance Gap, Key Challenges, Implications, Way Forward)

Background: Advanced Chemistry Cells and Their Strategic Importance

• Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACCs) are next-generation battery technologies, such as lithium-ion cells, that power electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy storage systems, and consumer electronics.
• Unlike traditional lead-acid batteries, ACCs offer higher energy density, faster charging, and longer lifecycle performance.
• For India, domestic ACC Battery Manufacturing is strategically important for three reasons.
  • First, batteries account for nearly 40% of the cost of electric vehicles, making local production critical for EV affordability.
  • Second, India is heavily dependent on imports, mainly from China, for lithium-ion cells and battery components.
  • Third, battery manufacturing is central to India’s clean energy transition and its commitments toward reducing carbon emissions and enhancing energy security.

The ACC Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme

• The ACC-PLI scheme was launched in October 2021 by the Ministry of Heavy Industries to catalyse domestic manufacturing of next-generation battery cells.
• With a total financial outlay of Rs. 18,100 crore, the scheme aimed to establish 50 GWh of battery manufacturing capacity by 2026.
• Under the scheme, selected manufacturers were promised incentives linked to actual battery sales, with a maximum subsidy of about Rs. 2,000 per kilowatt-hour.
• Companies were required to make a minimum investment of Rs. 1,100 crore and meet phased domestic value-addition targets, 25% within two years and 60% within five years.
• Beyond capacity creation, the policy intended to develop a complete battery supply chain covering cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, and cell assembly, while also generating over one million jobs.

Current Status and Performance Gap

• Despite its ambitious design, the scheme’s on-ground performance has been weak.
• As of October 2025, only 1.4 GWh of battery cell capacity had been commissioned on time, while 8.6 GWh was under development but delayed. This is far below the original 50 GWh target.
• Although bids were invited for the entire capacity, only 30 GWh was finally allotted.
• Importantly, none of the selected firms had prior experience in large-scale battery cell manufacturing.
• As no company has begun commercial battery sales, zero incentives have been disbursed so far, against a targeted Rs. 2,900 crore payout by October 2025.
• Job creation has also been minimal, with just over 1,100 jobs generated compared to the projected 1.03 million.

Key Challenges Affecting Implementation

• One major bottleneck is the lack of a mature battery manufacturing ecosystem in India.
• Critical inputs such as lithium refining, cathode materials, and specialised machinery remain import-dependent, largely sourced from China.
• Delays in visa approvals for foreign technical experts, especially Chinese specialists needed for equipment installation, have further slowed plant commissioning.
• Additionally, strict localisation norms and aggressive installation timelines have posed challenges for companies without prior technical expertise.

Implications for Electric Mobility and Energy Transition

• The EV sector accounts for nearly 70-80% of lithium-ion battery demand in India.
• Slower progress in ACC Battery Manufacturing directly affects EV affordability, supply chain resilience, and the pace of clean mobility adoption.
• While EV sales continue to grow, the pace has been lower than earlier projections, partly reflecting supply-side constraints in battery availability and pricing.
• Continued reliance on imports also exposes India to geopolitical risks and trade disruptions.

Way Forward

• To revive momentum, India needs a more flexible and phased localisation strategy that aligns with existing industrial capabilities.
• Facilitating technology partnerships, easing skilled-visa processes, and supporting component-level manufacturing are critical.
• Policy recalibration may also be required to encourage participation by experienced manufacturers and align incentives with realistic timelines.
• Without such course correction, India’s ambition of becoming a global battery manufacturing hub may remain unfulfilled.

Context

• In an era of geopolitical uncertainty, moments of strategic clarity are increasingly rare yet profoundly consequential.
• The evolving relationship between the European Union and India, highlighted by the visit of senior EU leaders to New Delhi for India’s 77th Republic Day and the 16th India–EU Summit, marks such a moment.
• Their presence signals a deliberate shift toward deeper alignment, driven by shared concerns about global instability and a common pursuit of autonomy in foreign policy decision-making.

Changing Global Context and Strategic Urgency

• The strengthening of India–EU ties must be understood against a backdrop of eroding trust in traditional alliances.
• India’s relationship with the United States has come under strain due to punitive tariffs and sharp rhetoric linked to India’s energy ties with Russia.
• Europe has faced similar disillusionment amid shifting U.S. priorities and the consequences of the Ukraine conflict.
• These experiences have reinforced a shared conclusion: reliance on any single power is increasingly risky, and strategic diversification is essential for long-term stability.

Untapped Potential in India–EU Relations

• Despite clear complementarities, India–EU relations have historically fallen short of their promise.
• Engagement has been uneven, often sidelined by disagreements over Russia and China or overshadowed by stronger ties with Washington.
• The current moment, however, reflects a recalibration. Both sides now view the relationship not as secondary, but as central to their broader global strategies, creating conditions for more sustained and meaningful engagement.

The Strategic Importance of the Free Trade Agreement

• A key pillar of this renewed engagement is the long-pending Free Trade Agreement between India and the EU.
• Negotiated intermittently since 2007, the FTA has taken on new significance as a tool of economic and strategic diversification.
• Its conclusion could expand trade across sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, machinery, and digital services.
• For India, it offers greater access to European markets and support for its manufacturing ambitions.
• For the EU, it provides an opportunity to reduce over-dependence on China by engaging one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies. 

Climate Equity and Trade Challenges

• The FTA negotiations also expose important tensions, particularly around climate equity.
• The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which imposes carbon-related charges on imports such as steel and cement, has emerged as a major concern for India.
• These measures risk undermining the economic benefits of the agreement by acting as de facto non-tariff barriers.
• A balanced approach, one that recognises developmental differences while maintaining environmental ambition, is essential to prevent climate policy from becoming a source of strategic friction.

Defence and Security Cooperation

• Beyond economics, defence cooperation represents a critical dimension of India–EU engagement.
• Proposals for a dedicated security and defence partnership, comparable to EU arrangements with Japan and South Korea, reflect growing strategic convergence.
• For Europe, closer ties would open access to India’s defence market and enable co-production opportunities.
• For India, such cooperation aligns with domestic manufacturing goals and enhances access to advanced technology.
• Expanded collaboration would also strengthen security in the Indian Ocean region, an area of increasing geopolitical competition.

A Model for a Multipolar World

• At a systemic level, the India-EU relationship has the potential to serve as a template for cooperation in a multipolar world.
• Both partners emphasise sovereignty and resist external vetoes over national decision-making, whether from Washington, Beijing, or Moscow.
• Having experienced the costs of over-dependence-on energy supplies, markets, or security guarantees-India and the EU increasingly view strategic resilience as a shared objective.
• Their partnership demonstrates how flexibility, mutual respect, and pragmatic cooperation can coexist with differing domestic priorities.

Conclusion

• The deepening India-EU relationship reflects a broader search for stability and balance in a rapidly changing global order.
• By advancing collaboration in trade, climate policy, defence, and global governance, both sides can translate long-standing potential into durable outcomes.
• Success will depend on political resolve and the ability to overcome bureaucratic inertia.
• If sustained, this partnership could strengthen multilateralism and contribute meaningfully to a more balanced, equitable, and resilient international system.

Context

• Every democracy must periodically realign political representation to reflect demographic change.
• In India, this process, delimitation, is constitutionally mandated but politically fraught.
• The exercise due after Census 2027 will be the most consequential redistribution of power since Independence, reshaping representation, federalism, and the ethical foundations of democratic fairness. 

Historical Context and the Frozen Constitution

• The Constitution originally required delimitation after every Census to ensure equal suffrage.
• This principle was suspended in 1976, freezing the inter-State distribution of Lok Sabha seats at 1971 population levels so that States would not be penalised for controlling population growth.
• The 84th Amendment (2001) extended this freeze until the first Census after 2026.
• As a result, India’s parliamentary map reflects a country of 548 million, not today’s 1.47 billion people.
• With the suspension expiring after Census 2027, redistribution becomes unavoidable, raising profound constitutional and political challenges.

Demographic Divergence and the Moral Paradox

• In the 1970s, fertility rates across States were broadly similar. Today, sharp divergence defines India’s demographic landscape.
• Southern and western States invested in education, health, and women’s empowerment, achieving below-replacement fertility.
• Northern States such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar continue to record higher population growth.
• Population-based redistribution would dramatically increase northern representation.
• Projections suggest that in an expanded House of around 888 seats, U.P. and Bihar together would command over a quarter of Parliament.
• Although southern States gain seats in absolute terms, their share of total representation declines.
• This creates a moral paradox. States that demonstrated governance success and adhered to national population goals face diminished political influence, while those that did not gain power. The ethical reasoning behind the original freeze therefore remains compelling.

Arithmetic versus Assurances

• Political assurances that no State will lose seats offer limited comfort. Parliamentary power functions through absolute numbers, not proportional guarantees.
• Even if southern States retain current seat counts, the dramatic rise in northern representation weakens their bargaining capacity.
• Suspending redistribution indefinitely to preserve balance risks violating Article 14, which guarantees equality and fair representation.
• The dilemma is thus structural: reconciling constitutional fairness with political stability.

Evaluating the Options

• Extending the freeze preserves balance but undermines democratic equality. Expanding the Lok Sabha ensures no State loses seats but fails to address disproportionate dominance by larger States.
• A weighted formula, combining population with development indicators such as literacy, health, or sustained fertility control, offers a more ethically balanced model, rewarding outcomes rather than numbers alone.
• Strengthening the Rajya Sabha as a truly federal chamber could offset Lok Sabha imbalances.
• Restoring domicile requirements and restructuring seat allocation to emphasise State equality, rather than population, would revive its moderating role.
• Bifurcating Uttar Pradesh presents another federal solution.
  • Dividing its projected strength across multiple States would prevent excessive concentration of power while addressing long-standing regional demands.
• Finally, phased redistribution across two election cycles would reduce political shock while respecting constitutional obligations.

Procedural Integrity and Democratic Trust

• Beyond numerical formulas, legitimacy depends on procedure.
• The Delimitation Commission must be transparent, inclusive, and supported by expertise in demography and constitutional law.
• Meaningful State participation and public consultation are essential, particularly when redrawing internal constituencies and allocating SC/ST reserved seats.
• Poorly managed discretion risks perceptions of manipulation and deepening distrust.
• Delimitation also intersects with reforms such as women’s reservation, complicating timelines and political consensus.
• Without careful sequencing, overlapping changes may strain institutional credibility.

Conclusion

• Delimitation will reshape coalition politics, alter regional influence, and test the balance between democratic equality and federal justice.
• If guided by transparency, empathy, and institutional imagination, it can modernise representation while reinforcing national unity.
• If driven solely by political arithmetic, it risks eroding trust and injuring the federal spirit.
• The Census will count India’s people; delimitation will judge its democracy. Once numbers harden into seats, consensus will fade.
• The present moment therefore demands dialogue, foresight, and shared responsibility, before the moral balance of the Republic is redrawn.

About Liberalised Remittances Scheme (LRS):

• It is part of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999, which lays down the guidelines for outward remittance from India.
• Under LRS, all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to USD $250,000 per financial year (April–March).
  • This can be for any permissible current or capital account transaction, or a combination of both.
  • Any remittance exceeding this limit requires prior permission from the RBI.
• Who can remit funds under LRS?
  • Only individual Indian residents, including minors, are permitted to remit funds under LRS.
  • Corporates, partnership firms, Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), trusts, , are excluded from its ambit.
• Frequency of Remittances:
  • There is no restriction on the frequency or number of transactions during a financial year.
  • However, the total amount of foreign exchange remitted through all sources in India under LRS during the current FY should be within the LRS limit.
• Types of transactions permitted:
  • Opening of a foreign currency account abroad with a bank;
  • Acquisition of immovable property abroad, overseas direct investment (ODI), and overseas portfolio investment (OPI);
  • Extending loans, including loans in Indian Rupees to non-resident Indians (NRIs) who are relatives as defined in the Companies Act, 2013;
  • Private visits abroad (excluding Nepal and Bhutan);
  • Maintenance of relatives abroad;
  • Medical treatment abroad;
  • Pursuing studies abroad;
  • Any other current account transaction that does not fall under the definition of current account (FEMA 199);
• Types of transactions not permitted:
  • Remittance for purposes specifically prohibited, such as buying lottery tickets or restricted items.
  • Sending money from India for margins or margin calls to overseas exchanges or parties.
  • Remittance for buying Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) issued by Indian companies in the overseas secondary market.
  • Sending money for trading in foreign exchange abroad.
  • Sending money to individuals and entities identified as posing a significant risk of terrorism.
  • Sending money to countries identified as “non-cooperative countries and territories” by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
• Tax Imposed on LRS:
  • Tax Collected at Source (TCS) applies to LRS transactions exceeding INR 7 lakh in a financial year.
    • Current TCS rates are 20% for general remittances and may vary based on the purpose and the total amount remitted.
  • Any profit made from abroad investments under LRS is subject to tax in India depending on the holding period.

About Ammonia:

• It is a colorless, pungent gas composed of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH₃.
• It is the simplest stable compound of these elements and serves as a starting material for the production of many commercially important nitrogen compounds.
• It exists naturally in humans and in the environment.
  • In the environment, ammonia is part of the nitrogen cycle and is produced in soil from bacterial processes.
  • Ammonia is also produced naturally from decomposition of organic matter, including plants and animals.
• Industrial production: Manufactured mainly by the Haber–Bosch process (from nitrogen and hydrogen).
• Ammonia gas can be dissolved in water. This kind of ammonia is called liquid ammonia or aqueous ammonia. Once exposed to open air, liquid ammonia quickly turns into a gas.
• Uses:
  • The major use of ammonia is as a fertilizer.
    • Ammonia is a basic building block for ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which releases nitrogen, an essential nutrient for growing plants.
    • About 90 percent of ammonia produced worldwide is used in fertilizer.
  • Additional uses include as a refrigerant, stabilizer, neutralizer, and purifier — particularly in food transport and water treatment applications.
  • It can also be used in the manufacture of plastics, explosives, fabrics, dyes, and pharmaceuticals.
• Exposure to high levels of ammonia in air may be irritating to a person’s skin, eyes, throat, and lungs and cause coughing and burns.
• To prevent the release of toxic fumes, ammonia should not be mixed with other chemicals (especially chlorine bleach).