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  • India resets ties with Bangladesh and invites its new leader to the BRICS Summit

    Why in the News

    India distanced itself from former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s public event in Delhi while inviting Bangladesh’s new leader to the 18th BRICS Summit in his capacity as BIMSTEC Chair, signalling a recalibration of ties with Dhaka.

    What is BIMSTEC?

    • Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization established in 1997 to promote economic, technical, and security cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region.
    • Members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand
    • Secretariat: Dhaka, Bangladesh.

    What is the BRICS Outreach Session?

    • A special session where BRICS invites leaders of regional organizations and partner countries.
    • Bangladesh was invited in its capacity as the current BIMSTEC Chair.

    Why is India Recalibrating Ties?

    • Relations changed after Bangladesh’s political transition.
    • India has resumed engagement with the new government through diplomatic outreach and restoration of visa services.
    • Distancing from Sheikh Hasina’s event signals neutrality toward Bangladesh’s internal politics.

    Challenges in India-Bangladesh Relations

    • Anti-India sentiment in sections of Bangladeshi society.
    • Sheikh Hasina’s presence in India.
    • Teesta River water-sharing dispute.
    • Border management, smuggling, and illegal migration.
    • Security of minorities.
    • Growing Chinese strategic and economic influence in Bangladesh.

    [2026] Match List I (BIMSTEC Centre) with List II (Location):
    A. BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory
    B. BIMSTEC Energy Centre
    C. BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate
    D. BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility
    1. NOIDA 2. Bengaluru 3. Colombo 4. Thimphu
    (a) A-3, B-2, C-1, D-4
    (b) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
    (c) A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3
    (d) A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3

  • India Japan mobility deepens through the Specified Skilled Worker route and Assam semiconductors

    Why in the News?

    Youth from India’s Northeast are training as caregivers and agriculture workers for an ageing Japan under the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) programme. This channels India’s demographic surplus into Japan’s labour shortage and links mobility to investment such as Japanese financed projects and the Assam semiconductor ecosystem.

    What is the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) programme?

    1. Residence status from 2019: Japan introduced the SSW status of residence in 2019 to let blue collar foreign workers obtain a working visa for up to five years.
    2. Eligibility: Applicants must pass a Japanese language test and a specified skills exam in one of 16 fields, including nursing care, food and beverage manufacturing and industrial products.

    What is Official Development Assistance (ODA) through JICA?

    1. JICA loans: The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is Japan’s development agency that extends concessional ODA loans for infrastructure and social projects.
    2. Northeast footprint: JICA finances road corridors in Meghalaya, health facilities in Mizoram, Nagaland and Assam, and is joining Assam’s semiconductor ambitions.

    What is the A-SEMI project?

    1. Assam semiconductor ecosystem: The Assam Semiconductor Ecosystem on Manufacturing and Innovation (A-SEMI) is a state government project with JICA, alongside Tata Electronics’ assembly and testing facility expected to begin production this year.
    2. Research linkage: A Japanese firm signed a memorandum with IIT Guwahati for collaborative research in semiconductor manufacturing.

    Why is Japan turning to foreign workers?

    1. The 2040 problem: Japan’s working population is projected to fall from 66.34 million in 2025 to 55.42 million in 2040, threatening severe labour shortages.
    2. Ageing pressure: By 2040 there will be three seniors aged 65 and above for every teenager under 15.
    3. Scaled intake: Japan expects to accept 8.05 lakh Specified Skill Workers by the end of March 2029, with highest demand in industrial manufacturing, food and beverages and nursing care.

    How does this pathway serve India and the Northeast?

    1. Remittances: A caregiver in Japan can send home Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 a month, far above local nursing wages of around Rs 15,000.
    2. State backing: Assam subsidises SSW training fees, Manipur University opened a Japanese Language Centre, and Mizoram signed agreements with training centres.
    3. Cultural affinity: Widespread interest in Japanese media and easier physical assimilation draw young people from the region into the programme.

    Where does India stand among Japan’s foreign workforce?

    1. China leads: China was the largest foreign resident group in Japan at the end of 2025 with 9.3 lakh residents.
    2. Ahead of India: Vietnam, South Korea, the Philippines and Nepal all rank above India in resident numbers.
    3. India’s small slice: There were 53,974 Indian nationals in Japan as of December 2024, a fraction of the foreign worker pool.
    4. The joint target: India and Japan set an aspirational target of exchanging more than 5,00,000 personnel in both directions over five years, including 50,000 skilled personnel from India.

    What are the challenges to India Japan labour mobility?

    1. Language barrier: School level Japanese proves inadequate for daily workplace use, slowing settlement and placement.
    2. Migration safeguards: Ensuring legal, documented channels is essential to prevent exploitation of workers moving abroad.
    3. Skill drain: Trained nurses and caregivers leaving India can deepen shortages in the Northeast’s own health system.
    4. Small scale: Placement numbers remain nascent relative to Japan’s demand and India’s demographic potential.
    5. Isolation and costs: New arrivals face social loneliness and heavy documentation and relocation costs before earning.
    6. Certification bottlenecks: Delays such as the Certificate of Eligibility can stall departures despite cleared exams.

    Conclusion

    India Japan mobility is at an early but expanding stage, with the SSW route, JICA financed projects and the A-SEMI semiconductor plan tying labour flows to investment. The next milestone is the launch of the A-SEMI project and progress towards the joint target of 5,00,000 personnel over five years, alongside Japan’s planned intake of 8.05 lakh Specified Skill Workers by March 2029.

    Back2Basics:

    Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

    1. Type: Japan’s governmental agency for delivering Official Development Assistance (ODA).
    2. Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan.
    3. Mandate: Provides concessional loans, grants and technical cooperation for infrastructure and social development in partner countries.
    4. India role: A major bilateral development partner financing metro rail, connectivity, health and industrial projects, including in the Northeast.

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2019] The time has come for India and Japan to build a strong contemporary relationship, one involving global and strategic partnership that will have a great significance for Asia and the world as a whole.” Comment.

    Linkage: The question examines the strategic and economic dimensions of the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. The article shows how India-Japan ties are expanding beyond infrastructure to skilled mobility, human resource cooperation and semiconductor collaboration, deepening the strategic partnership.

  • The race for the next UN Secretary General and the UNSC straw poll

    Why in the News?

    The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held its first straw poll to choose the next United Nations Secretary General (UNSG), whose five year term begins on 1 January 2027. The exercise exposed that the outcome turns on acceptability to the five permanent members and their veto, not on multilateral merit.

    How is the UN Secretary General appointed?

    1. Article 97 of the UN Charter: The Secretary General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
    2. Security Council primacy: The Council forwards a single name to the General Assembly for endorsement, giving it decisive control over the choice.

    What is the process for candidate nomination and campaigning?

    1. Public hearings: Candidates present their vision statements in the General Assembly for transparency and answer questions from member states (informal dialogues)
    2. Joint letter: The UNSC President and the UNGA President will jointly write a formal letter to all member states asking them to nominate candidates.
    3. Nominations: Member States officially submit the names of their candidates, including their biodata.

    What is a straw poll?

    1. Secret ballot: The 15-nation Security Council (UNSC) conducts a series of secret ballots (Straw Polls) to assess the strength of the candidates.
    2. Voting options: UNSC members mark slips carrying a candidate’s name as encourage, discourage, or no opinion, without disclosing which state voted how.
    3. Signalling a veto: In later rounds the slips of the permanent members are coloured, so a coloured discourage slip indicates a likely veto by a permanent member.
    4. Minimum votes: A candidate must receive at least 9 positive votes and no vetoes from the P5 countries to be elected
    5. Single name: The Security Council finalizes the name of a single candidate and recommends it to the General Assembly by secret resolution

    Who are the five permanent members that decide the outcome?

    1. The P5: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States hold permanent seats with veto power.
    2. Non permanent members: Ten members are elected for two year terms by the General Assembly, giving the Council 15 members in total.

    How is the approval given by the General Assembly?

    1. Final vote: The General Assembly (UNGA), which has 193 member states, will vote on the name sent by the Security Council.
    2. Majority: Usually this option is approved unanimously or by a simple majority.
    3. Term of Office: The elected Secretary General will be appointed for a term of 5 years. They will be eligible for re-election

    Why do the permanent members dominate the selection?

    1. The consensus threshold: Repeated straw polls run until one candidate secures nine encourage slips and no coloured discourage slip, meaning support of the majority and no veto.
    2. Acceptability over merit: Success may go not to the strongest diplomatic candidate but to one acceptable to all five permanent members.
    3. Great power divergence: The three front runners enjoy good relations with the United States, yet China and Russia may hold their own views that reshape the field.

    Who are the front runners and what regional logic applies?

    1. Regional rotation: With the current holder from Portugal and predecessors from Asia and Africa, expectation favours a candidate from Latin America.
    2. A woman contender: No woman has held the post, strengthening the case for a female Latin American candidate.
    3. Leading names: The head of UN Trade and Development from Costa Rica, Guyana’s Permanent Representative, and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from Argentina scored well.
    4. Open field: There is no bar on new entrants, so more candidates may emerge as the process unfolds.

    What are the challenges to the UNSG selection process

    1. Opaque bargaining: Decisive negotiations occur privately among the P5, limiting the General Assembly to endorsement.
    2. Veto capture: A single permanent member can block the most qualified candidate through a coloured discourage slip.
    3. Underrepresentation: Regions such as Latin America have never held the post, exposing a persistent geographic imbalance.
    4. Limited transparency reforms: Public candidate hearings introduced in recent cycles have not displaced the closed straw poll as the real gatekeeper.
    5. Great power rivalry: East and West divisions within the P5 can deadlock the choice and force compromise candidates.
    6. No fixed criteria: The absence of binding qualifications lets geopolitical acceptability outweigh administrative competence.

    Conclusion

    The next Secretary General will be selected through a Security Council process where the veto makes acceptability to the P5 the decisive test. Straw polling has begun with Latin American front runners, and further rounds with coloured slips will reveal whether any candidate can clear the veto threshold before the term begins on 1 January 2027.

    Back2Basics:

    United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

    1. Formation Year: 1945.
    2. Headquarters: New York City, United States.
    3. Mandate: Primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
    4. Composition: 15 members; 5 permanent members (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China) with veto power and 10 non permanent members elected for two year terms.
    5. Powers: Can authorise peacekeeping, sanctions, military action and the admission of new UN members.

    Role of UN- Secretary General

    The Secretary-General of the United Nations acts as the chief administrative officer, global diplomat, and spokesperson for the organization. Current officeholder António Guterres leads the United Nations by managing daily operations, mediating global conflicts, and bringing threats to international peace to the Security Council.

    Administrative Duties

    1. Manages the UN Secretariat and its global staff.
    2. Prepares the organization’s budget and handles financial administration.
    3. Appoints top UN officials and staff members.

    Diplomatic and Political Role

    1. Mediates disputes between member nations.
    2. Warns the Security Council about any crisis that may threaten world peace.
    3. Serves as a neutral global moral voice and public advocate for vulnerable people

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2025] The reform process in the United Nations remains unresolved, because of the delicate imbalance of East and West and entanglement of the USA vs. Russo-Chinese alliance. Examine and critically evaluate the East-West policy confrontations in this regard.

    Linkage: The question examines how East-West rivalry and P5 politics have stalled reforms in the United Nations. The UNSG selection process reflects this unresolved power imbalance, as the P5 veto and geopolitical bargaining outweigh merit in choosing the UN Secretary-General.

  • NATO enters a new strategic era as burden shifts to Europe and openings emerge for India

    Why in the News

    The 36th North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit held in Ankara (July 2026) highlighted a shift in transatlantic security, with the United States (US) urging European allies to take greater responsibility for conventional defence, allowing Washington to focus more on the Indo-Pacific.

    What is NATO?

    • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance established in 1949 under the Washington Treaty.
    • Based on collective defence under Article 5, where an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
    • Members: 32 countries (including Finland and Sweden).

    Key Developments

    • US expects European allies to assume primary responsibility for conventional defence.
    • Greater emphasis on burden-sharing through higher defence spending.
    • US continues as NATO’s: Nuclear guarantor. Strategic enabler. Political leader.

    Evolution of NATO

    • NATO 1.0 (1949-1991): Cold War; deterrence against the Soviet Union.
    • NATO 2.0 (1991-2022): Eastward expansion and operations in the Balkans and Afghanistan.
    • NATO 3.0 (2022 onwards): Europe strengthens conventional defence while the US focuses increasingly on the Indo-Pacific.

    Significance for India

    • Greater US strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific.
    • Enhanced opportunities for India-Europe cooperation in: Defence manufacturing. Artificial Intelligence (AI). Cybersecurity. Semiconductors. Space technology.
    • Supports India’s strategic autonomy through diversified partnerships.

    Challenges

    • Burden-sharing disagreements among NATO members.
    • Europe’s dependence on US military capabilities.
    • Industrial capacity constraints.
    • Continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
    • Simultaneous security commitments in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

    Value Addition

    Article 5: The cornerstone of NATO, providing collective defence. It has been invoked only once, after the 11 September 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks on the United States.

    Article 10: Allows European states to join NATO by unanimous agreement of existing members.

    • NATO and India
      • India is not a NATO member.
      • India engages with several NATO members through bilateral defence cooperation while maintaining strategic autonomy.

    “[2024] Consider the following pairs:
    Country : Reason for being in the news
    1. Argentina : Worst economic crisis
    2. Sudan : War between the country’s regular army and paramilitary forces
    3. Turkey : Rescinded its membership of NATO
    How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
    (a) Only one pair
    (b) Only two pairs
    (c) All three pairs
    (d) None of the pairs

  • Census 2027 finalises Phase 2 questions with caste enumeration

    Why in the News

    Around 28 questions have been finalised for the Population Enumeration phase of Census 2027, which will record caste for all residents for the first time in decades. The enumeration begins on 17 August in Ladakh and snow bound areas ahead of the rest of the country.

    What is the Census in India?

    1. Constitutional and legal basis: The Census is conducted under the Census Act, 1948 by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, and Census is a Union subject in the Seventh Schedule.
    2. Decadal count: It is a decennial enumeration of the entire population covering demographic, social and economic characteristics.

    What are the two phases of Census 2027?

    1. Houselisting phase: The first phase records houses, household amenities and assets.
    2. Population Enumeration: The second phase counts every individual and records personal and household particulars, and is where caste will be captured.

    What is new in Census 2027?

    1. Caste for all: For the first time in decades, the caste of every resident is to be recorded, not only Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
    2. Questionnaire: The final questionnaire is likely to carry 28 questions for the Population Enumeration phase.
    3. Phased timing: Snow bound areas of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are counted from 17 August, and the rest of the country in February 2027.

    Why does caste enumeration matter?

    1. Evidence for policy: Caste data informs reservation, welfare targeting and assessment of backwardness beyond SC and ST groups.
    2. Filling a data gap: The last full caste count outside SC and ST dates to 1931, leaving current policy reliant on dated estimates.

    Challenges to caste enumeration in the Census

    1. Classification complexity: Caste names run into thousands with regional and spelling variations, complicating standardised recording.
    2. Self identification: Responses depend on self reporting, which can be inconsistent or strategically stated.
    3. Enumerator training: Accurate capture of caste needs trained enumerators and a controlled code list.
    4. Political sensitivity: Publication of caste numbers can intensify demands for revised reservation shares.
    5. Data privacy: Handling granular caste data raises confidentiality and misuse concerns.

    Census Act, 1948

    1. Central legislation empowering the government to conduct the decennial Census.
    2. Administered by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
    3. Makes public cooperation compulsory and guarantees confidentiality of individual records.
    4. Census information is not admissible as evidence in court, protecting respondent data.

    [2009] Consider the following statements:
    1. Between Census 1951 and Census 2001, the density of the population of India has increased more than three times.
    2. Between Census 1951 and Census 2001, the annual growth rate (exponential) of the population of India has doubled.
    (a) 1 only
    (b) 2 only
    (c) Both 1 and 2
    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

  • Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls leaves about 20 lakh names flagged in Punjab

    Why in the News

    The first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Punjab ended with about 20 lakh names flagged as uncollectable. Authorities cited permanent relocation, absence, death and duplicate entries, and opened a claims and objections window.

    What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)?

    1. Roll purification drive: SIR is an Election Commission of India (ECI) exercise of house to house enumeration to update and cleanse the electoral roll of ineligible or dead entries.
    2. Fresh verification: Electors submit enumeration forms and are mapped afresh, unlike a routine summary revision that only adds or deletes on application.

    What did the first phase in Punjab find?

    1. Scale of enumeration: Against 2,14,61,043 registered electors as of 9 June, about 1,93,94,408 submitted enumeration forms by 3 August across all 23 districts and 117 constituencies.
    2. Uncollectable forms: A total of 20,66,635 forms, or 9.63% of electors, were categorised as absent, shifted, dead or duplicate.
    3. Breakdown: These include 5,74,568 dead, 4,12,715 untraceable or absent, 9,44,131 permanently shifted, and 1,19,145 enrolled elsewhere.
    4. Mapping: About 93.40% of electors in the draft roll have been mapped.

    Why does the ECI conduct an intensive revision?

    1. Purity of rolls: Removing dead, shifted and duplicate entries reduces the scope for impersonation and bogus voting.
    2. Universal inclusion: House to house verification aims to capture genuine electors missed by application based revision.

    What are the challenges to the SIR exercise?

    1. Wrongful exclusion: Genuine electors who are temporarily absent risk deletion, as seen in disputes over detention and citizenship claims.
    2. Burden of proof: Placing the onus on electors to submit forms can disadvantage migrants, the poor and the less literate.
    3. Enumerator capacity: House to house coverage depends on adequate, trained booth level officers within a tight timeline.
    4. Data reconciliation: Matching shifted and duplicate entries across constituencies and states is error prone.
    5. Political contestation: Large deletions invite allegations of targeted disenfranchisement, straining trust in the roll.

    Conclusion

    The SIR is at the draft roll stage in Punjab, with about 20 lakh names flagged for removal after house to house enumeration. Any person inadvertently left out can file claims and objections between 13 August and 12 September, and notices to unmapped electors will be issued from 13 August, after which the final roll will be published.

    Back2Basics:

    Electoral roll revision

    1. Electoral rolls are prepared and revised under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
    2. The Election Commission of India superintends preparation and revision of rolls.
    3. Revisions may be intensive, involving fresh house to house enumeration, or summary, involving updates on claims and objections.
    4. Eligibility requires Indian citizenship, age of 18 years and ordinary residence in the constituency.

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2017] For election to the Lok Sabha, a nomination paper can be filed by
    (a) Anyone residing in India.
    (b) A resident of the constituency from which the election is to be contested.
    (c) Any citizen of India whose name appears in the electoral roll of a constituency.
    (d) Any citizen of India.
    Answer: (c)

  • Supreme Court extends Section 498A cruelty protection to live in relationships

    Why in the News

    The Supreme Court held that protection against cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 extends to women in live-in relationships, provided the partners share a genuine intent to marry. The ruling is based on Article 14 (Right to Equality).

    What is Section 498A?

    • Penalized cruelty by a husband or his relatives against a woman.
    • Now corresponds to Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
    • Traditionally applied only to legally valid marriages.

    Supreme Court Ruling

    • Adopted a purposive interpretation to address changing social realities.
    • Extended protection to women in live-in relationships where there is: A relationship in the nature of marriage, and A genuine intent to marry.
    • Held that denying such protection violates Article 14.

    Why is the Domestic Violence Act Not Enough?

    • The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act, 2005 covers women in relationships in the nature of marriage.
    • However, it provides civil remedies such as: Protection orders, Residence orders, and Maintenance
    • Section 85, BNS provides criminal punishment, offering stronger deterrence.

    Challenges

    • Difficulty in proving intent to marry.
    • Limited documentary evidence in live-in relationships.
    • Possibility of misuse.
    • Overlap between civil remedies under the PWDV Act and criminal proceedings.

    Important Constitutional Provisions

    • Article 14: Equality before law.
    • Article 21: Right to life and personal liberty, including dignity and autonomy.

    Landmark Judgments

    • D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal (2010): Defined “relationship in the nature of marriage.”
    • Indra Sarma v. V.K.V. Sarma (2013): Laid down factors for determining live-in relationships under the PWDV Act.

    [2019] Which Article of the Constitution of India safeguards one’s right to marry the person of one’s choice?

    (a) Article 19

    (b) Article 21

    (c) Article 25

    (d) Article 29

  • What is the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill

    Why in the News?

    Repeated crises in NEET 2024, UGC NET 2024 and NEET 2026 have exposed a gap in how examination breaches are defined and prevented. Despite the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, closure reports found no prosecutable conventional paper leak, raising the deeper question of institutional accountability.

    What is the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024?

    1. Anti cheating law: It criminalises organised cheating, paper leaks and impersonation in public examinations conducted by central agencies.
    2. Penalties: It prescribes stringent imprisonment and fines and targets service providers and organised gangs, not candidates alone.

    What counts as a paper leak?

    1. Traditional meaning: A paper leak is the unauthorised disclosure of a printed question paper before the exam, during printing, storage or transport.
    2. Broader compromise: Confidential material can leak at question setting, moderation, translation or digitisation, disclosing selected questions without any printed paper being recovered.

    Why do repeated crises yield no prosecutable evidence?

    1. Investigation focus: Probes trace physical papers, so a compromise at the source may never produce recoverable evidence of a conventional leak.
    2. Closure reports: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed closure reports in the 2024 cases, reportedly finding no prosecutable leak under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 or this Act.
    3. Detection failure: In NEET 2026, official action followed a whistleblower’s complaint rather than the exam’s own security or intelligence systems.

    Where does primary accountability lie?

    1. Examination authority: Prevention rests with the examination body, here the National Testing Agency (NTA), not with the CBI, police or courts that act only after a crisis.
    2. Lifecycle safeguards: Accountability must run from selection of question setters and translators to centres, digital systems, evaluation and result processing.

    What is the proposed way forward?

    1. White Paper: A committee headed by the former Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman is to document the full spectrum of breaches across the three examinations.
    2. Integrity framework: This should underpin a Public Examination Integrity Framework (PEIF) prescribing standardised end to end standard operating procedures, conflict of interest management and cybersecurity audits.

    What are the challenges to examination integrity?

    1. Insider access: A small number of individuals with privileged access at setting and moderation are the hardest risk to police.
    2. Coaching ecosystems: Organised coaching networks create demand and channels for leaked or guided material.
    3. Cybersecurity: Digitised question banks and candidate data widen the attack surface beyond physical papers.
    4. Scale: Examinations covering millions of candidates across thousands of centres magnify any single point of failure.
    5. Attribution and prosecution: Source compromises leave little physical evidence, making conviction under penal law difficult.
    6. Conflict of interest: Repeated engagement of the same experts and vendors without rotation weakens independent oversight.

    Conclusion

    The central issue is not the absence of a law but the failure to detect and prevent breaches early. Public confidence will be restored by an examination system with lifecycle safeguards and clear institutional accountability, not by harsher penalties or more logistics after the fact.

    Back2Basics:

    Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024

    1. Central legislation to prevent unfair means in public examinations conducted by bodies like the NTA, UPSC, SSC, railways and banking recruitment.
    2. Defines offences including paper leaks, impersonation and tampering with computer systems.
    3. Provides for imprisonment of three to ten years and fines up to one crore rupees for organised crimes.
    4. Makes offences cognisable, non bailable and non compoundable.

    Defined Unfair Means

    1. Unauthorized access to or leakage of question papers or answer keys.
    2. Assisting candidates physically or via communication devices inside exam halls.
    3. Tampering with computer networks, hardware, or customized software resources.
    4. Creation of fake examination authorities or issuance of bogus admit cards to cheat

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2024] What are the aims and objects of the recently passed and enforced, The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024? Whether University/State Education Board examinations, too, are covered under the Act?

    Linkage: The question tests the objectives, scope and limitations of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The article evaluates the Act’s implementation, showing that institutional safeguards and accountability remain as important as legal penalties in ensuring examination integrity.

  • Parliamentary panel flags that only 30% of urban households under AMRUT have sewerage

    Why in the News

    The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs reported that only about 30% of urban households under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) have a sewerage connection. It flagged slow progress and inter state gaps in sanitation infrastructure.

    What is AMRUT?

    1. Flagship civic scheme: AMRUT is the Union government’s flagship urban civic infrastructure mission, providing water supply, sewerage, septage, stormwater drains and green spaces.
    2. Two phases: AMRUT (2015 to 2021) covered 500 cities, and AMRUT 2.0 (from 2021) covers all statutory towns with a focus on universal water and sewerage coverage.

    What did the parliamentary panel find?

    1. Low sewerage coverage: Of 11.32 crore urban households, only 3.44 crore had sewerage connections and 2.84 crore relied on septage systems, per the City Water Balance Plans (2025).
    2. Inter state variation: Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar depend more on septage than on sewer networks.
    3. Network gap: Of 59,261 km of approved sewer network, only 27,418 km has been laid so far.

    Why does the sewerage gap persist?

    1. Small share of projects: Of 8,743 projects approved under AMRUT 2.0, only 594 (about 6.79%) relate to sewerage and septage management.
    2. Slow completion: Only 104 of those 594 sewerage projects (17.51%) are complete, while 398 (67%) remain under implementation.
    3. Funds pending: Only Rs 22,762 crore of the Rs 66,059 crore committed as central assistance has been released.

    What did the committee recommend?

    1. Database and audit: The Ministry should build a database of existing sewer networks, functional status and household connectivity gaps and carry out periodic assessments.
    2. End manual cleaning: Manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks should be eliminated.

    Challenges to urban sanitation delivery

    1. Weak urban local bodies: Municipal bodies often lack the finances and technical staff to build and operate sewage treatment plants.
    2. Trunk versus last mile: Laying trunk sewer lines without household connections leaves treatment capacity underused.
    3. Cost recovery: User charges for sewerage are politically difficult, so operation and maintenance is chronically underfunded.
    4. Land and legacy: Retrofitting sewer networks into dense, unplanned settlements is slow and expensive.
    5. Faecal sludge gap: Cities dependent on septic tanks lack faecal sludge treatment plants, so untreated waste re enters water bodies.

    AMRUT

    1. Launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
    2. Aims at universal household water supply and sewerage or septage coverage in urban areas.
    3. AMRUT 2.0, launched in 2021, targets all statutory towns and water body rejuvenation.
    4. Beneficiaries are urban households, with a stated focus on the urban poor.

    [2022] Consider the following statements
    1. The India Sanitation Coalition is a platform to promote sustainable sanitation and is funded by the Government of India and the World Health Organization.
    2. The National Institute of Urban Affairs is an apex body of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in Government of India and provides innovative solutions to address the challenges of Urban India.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    [A] 1 only

    [B] 2 only

    [C] Both 1 and 2

    [D] Neither 1 nor 2

  • Rajya Sabha clears the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026

    Why in the News

    The Rajya Sabha passed the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026, after the Lok Sabha cleared it earlier. The amendment requires an order from a Judicial Magistrate First Class for any birth or death registered more than two years after the event, tightening the civil registration system toward universal registration.

    What is the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969?

    1. Legal basis: The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 makes recording of every birth and death compulsory and lays down the machinery of registrars for the Civil Registration System.
    2. Vital statistics: Registration data feeds official birth and death rates and underpins the issue of legal identity documents.

    What does the amendment change?

    1. Stricter delayed registration: It amends sub section (3) of Section 13 so that registrations delayed beyond two years need an order from a Judicial Magistrate First Class.
    2. Existing tier retained: Delays of up to two years will continue to require an order from a district, sub divisional or authorised executive magistrate.

    Why tighten delayed registration?

    1. Curbing misuse: The government stated that late registration beyond two years was being misused to create fraudulent records.
    2. Guarding the rolls: Ministers argued the change stops fictitious entries from becoming voters and prevents registration of persons born elsewhere.
    3. Universal registration: The stated aim is that every child born is registered and every death recorded, encouraging timely reporting.

    What concerns were raised?

    1. Overburdened magistrates: Members warned that judicial magistrates are already overburdened, so the requirement could delay genuine registrations.
    2. Uneven capacity: The number of judicial magistrates varies sharply across states, creating disparity in access.
    3. Ease of registration: Some urged easier registration through camps and door to door drives and removal of penalties rather than added judicial steps.

    What are the challenges to universal civil registration?

    1. Rural and remote reach: Home births and deaths in remote areas often go unreported because families lack awareness of the reporting window.
    2. Migrant populations: Mobile and migrant families struggle to register events at their place of residence, producing gaps and duplicate records.
    3. Institutional coordination: Registration depends on hospitals, panchayats and municipal registrars whose reporting discipline varies widely.
    4. Cause of death recording: Medical certification of cause of death remains weak outside large hospitals, limiting the quality of vital statistics.
    5. Added judicial load: Routing older registrations through magistrates can create backlogs where courts are already understaffed.

    Conclusion

    The amendment tightens the civil registration system by making very late registration a judicial act rather than an administrative one. It now proceeds to receive the President’s assent, after which state rules and registrar capacity will determine whether it improves accuracy without excluding the genuinely late.

    Back2Basics:

    Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969

    1. Central legislation administered through the Registrar General of India and state Chief Registrars.
    2. Makes registration of births, deaths and stillbirths compulsory across the country.
    3. Provides for the Civil Registration System that generates continuous vital statistics.
    4. Amended in 2023 to enable a national database and use of birth certificates as a single document for various services.

    The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGI)

    1. It is the top government authority under the Ministry of Home Affairs responsible for conducting the country’s decennial Census, managing demographic surveys, and overseeing civil registration.

    Key Functions and Responsibilities

    1. Census Operations: Plans, conducts, and analyzes India’s large-scale population censuses.
    2. Civil Registration: Implements the Registration of Births and Deaths Act (1969), maintaining national vital statistics via the Civil Registration System.
    3. Linguistic & Demographic Surveys: Conducts linguistic surveys and tracks socio-economic and population indicators

    What are the benefits of registration of birth and death?
    The birth certificate is the first right of the child and it is the first
    step towards establishing its identity. The following compulsory
    uses     of birth and death certificates are emerged:

    1. For admission to schools
    2. As proof of age for employment.
    3. For proof of age at marriage.
    4. To establish parentage.
    5. To establish age for purpose of enrollment in Electoral
      Rolls.
    6. To establish age for insurance purposes.
    7. For registering in National Population Register (NPR).
    8. Production of Production of death certificate for the purpose of inheritance of property and for claiming dues from insurance companies and other companies.