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  • ‘Left out’ voters: EC orders special drive in 20 states where SIR over

    Why in the News

    Voters deleted in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) will now return through the plain statutory Form 6, not a form carrying an extra SIR declaration, in the 20 States and Union Territories (UTs) where the revision is over. The Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered this special drive amid scrutiny over 13 crore names struck off draft rolls in 30 States and UTs.

    What is the special drive, and how will it bring voters back?

    1. What the SIR was: A door to door recheck of every voter entry, like a fresh census of voters, that struck ineligible names off draft rolls.
    2. The directive: The ECI’s Secretary told all Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), who run elections in each State, to enrol “left out” and first time electors under continuous updation, the routine process of adding voters at any time.
    3. Roll comparison and house visits: CEOs must compare pre-SIR and post-SIR rolls and list those deleted. Officials will then visit genuine voters to fill Form 6, the form for new voters, helped by party booth level agents.
    4. The takeaway: The Commission is using its ordinary enrolment route to repair exclusions its own revision created.

    Why was the SIR question dropped from Form 6?

    1. The July change: The online Form 6 began asking whether the applicant or the parents were on the roll after the last SIR. An 18 year old whose parents had been deleted could not answer truthfully.
    2. Who can change the form: Only the government can, by amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and it had not.
    3. Commissioners’ objection: Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected in May that the Rules had not been amended. Sandhu later called the change “unauthorised/illegal”.
    4. The correction: The ECI’s letter to CEOs confines the declaration to the “SIR phase only”. Outside an SIR, the forms prescribed under the 1960 Rules apply.

    Why is control over ECINet contested?

    1. Dissent on record: The two Commissioners objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions taken without their knowledge, including centralised control of ECINet, the software holding every electoral roll.
    2. Law versus access: The law gives roll duties to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), who maintain each constituency’s roll, and to CEOs. Sandhu noted that the Director General (IT) had centralised ECINet access instead, and Joshi sought an audit.
    3. Goa’s blocked restorations: Goa’s EROs cleared 97 deleted voters for restoration, but ECINet had no way to reverse a deletion. The Goa CEO’s messages to the Commission went unanswered.
    4. Review promised: The Commission’s September 26 meeting set up a committee with an independent IIT/IIIT expert to review ECINet.

    How is Maharashtra handling voters still under revision?

    1. No hearing for flagged voters: The September 26 meeting ruled that voters served notices need not appear for hearings. These were voters marked “unmapped”, meaning not linked to a relative in the previous roll, or flagged for “logical discrepancies” in their details.
    2. No hasty exclusion: Maharashtra, where the SIR is still under way, told EROs to give a fresh chance, a hearing and an order before removing any name.
    3. Documents at the doorstep: Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will collect documents at homes for the ERO to decide, and special camps will be held.
    4. Scale of the task: The State’s draft roll flagged 1.22 crore records for verification.

    Challenges

    1. Burden on the excluded: Wrongly deleted citizens must reapply as new voters.
    2. Software over statute: Statutory officers cannot correct rolls where the software blocks them.
    3. Divided Commission: Decisions bypassing two Commissioners weaken a multi member body.
    4. Uneven reach: House visits depend on BLO capacity, so migrants may still be missed.

    Way Forward

    1. Forms by rule only: The ECI should alter forms only after the government amends the Rules.
    2. Restore ERO powers: ECINet should let EROs reverse deletions overturned on evidence.
    3. Publish deletion lists: CEOs should publish booth wise SIR deletion lists.
    4. Formal sittings: The full Commission should decide roll procedure in recorded meetings.

    Conclusion

    The Commission has conceded that its revision left eligible citizens out and is using routine enrolment to restore them. Whether the software review returns control to the officers the law holds responsible will decide if future revisions repeat these exclusions.

    Key numbers

    1. Relatives’ details mismatch: 62.48 lakh records in Maharashtra’s draft roll.
    2. Unmapped to a relative in the previous roll: 59.75 lakh records in Maharashtra.
    3. Maharashtra camp dates: October 3, 4, 10 and 11.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2026, GS2, 10 marks] Is the right to vote a fundamental right? Discuss the position of the Election Commission of India while undertaking the revision of electoral rolls. Can it also examine the question of citizenship of voters?”

  • Should the EC take action against those filing forms for mass deletions?

    Why in the News

    Form 7, meant for an elector to object to a voter’s entry and seek its deletion, is being filed in bulk, with more than 4,000 in Karnataka. The surge has come in Phase 3 of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Similar cases in Rajasthan and Gujarat raise whether the Election Commission (EC) should act against the filers.

    What is Form 7, and what safeguards do the Rules provide?

    1. What it is: Form 7 lets an elector object to another person’s name on the roll. The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 set out the steps for registration, deletion and amendment.
    2. Public notice: The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) must display each objection on a notice board, then serve a specific notice on the person objected to.
    3. Formal inquiry: If an inquiry is demanded, the ERO must hold one before deciding, and may summon both sides and make the objector testify under oath.
    4. Penalty for false claims: Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950 punishes false declarations with imprisonment, and objectors are warned of it.
    5. The takeaway: The Rules intend that no name is deleted without the voter getting a fair chance to respond.

    How are bulk Form 7 filings being misused?

    1. Few filers, many objections: In Karnataka’s Babaleshwar, 1,363 objections came from just 10 electors, many reportedly targeting Muslim names.
    2. Filings in an official’s name: About 3,500 objections in one Uttarakhand constituency were filed in the ERO’s name near the deadline; the Haridwar Rural ERO says he filed none.
    3. Automated appeals: An Election Commissioner flagged that an automated method produced appeals for exclusion before West Bengal’s appellate tribunals.
    4. Earlier precedent: In Karnataka last year, the EC found only about 28 of some 2,000 objections correct.

    What does the West Bengal data show?

    1. Disclosure lapse: Totals for Form 6 (inclusion), Form 7 (deletion) and Form 8 (correction) must be published after each revision. Most States, especially West Bengal, have not.
    2. Inclusion claims: Of 34 lakh claims to add names, 7,26,000 were rejected, about one in five.
    3. Deletion objections: Of 6,39,000 deletion objections, high for the State’s size, 5,72,000 were accepted.
    4. Skewed acceptance: Accepting almost 90% of deletion objections is a glaring anomaly, argues the West Bengal petitioner before the Supreme Court.

    Why have existing safeguards failed to deter misuse?

    1. Narrow penalty: Section 31 punishes false information; it cannot be invoked merely for filing bulk forms.
    2. Penalty unused: The EC has no known prosecution for a false declaration, so the provision has lost its deterrent force.
    3. FIRs not pursued: The EC files First Information Reports (FIRs) but leaves follow-up to police, who treat such cases lightly.
    4. EC filing caps: EC instructions cap filings at five or six forms per person. Booths with over 2% additions or deletions get greater scrutiny.

    Is the system broken, or only poorly enforced?

    1. Misuse, not failure: A former Election Commissioner says an ERO cannot file objections, and calls central manipulation unproven. He wants the Chief Electoral Officer and the EC to investigate.
    2. Institutional breakdown: The West Bengal petitioner argues that when part of the institution meant to uphold the law violates it, the system breaks down.
    3. Outdated law: The RPA and its forms predate online submission, so the petitioner seeks legal reform and judicial intervention.

    Challenges

    1. Unverified online filing: Objections can be submitted online without proof that the named filer sent them.
    2. Opaque data: Without booth-level disclosure, parties and courts cannot detect targeted deletions in time.
    3. Burden on the voter: A migrant voter may miss a notice and, once deleted, must reapply.

    Way Forward

    1. Separate crime data: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) should publish a separate dataset on election-related crimes.
    2. Digital-era rules: Parliament should amend the RPA and the Rules to authenticate online objections against the filer’s identity.
    3. Mandatory disclosure: The EC should publish booth-wise data on all three forms at the end of each revision.

    Conclusion

    Deletion safeguards exist on paper, but false objections go unpunished, so mass filings cost their authors nothing. Whether the Supreme Court orders full disclosure in the West Bengal case will show if deterrence returns.

    What is the Special Intensive Revision?

    1. About: SIR is a time-bound house-to-house check of every voter entry by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), unlike the routine annual summary revision.
    2. Legal basis: Article 324 gives the EC control of electoral rolls. Section 21 of the RPA allows a special revision for recorded reasons.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2026, GS2, 10 marks] Is the right to vote a fundamental right? Discuss the position of the Election Commission of India while undertaking the revision of electoral rolls. Can it also examine the question of citizenship of voters?”

  • Industry is growing, but isn’t creating jobs

    Why in the News

    India’s registered manufacturing sector grew its output by 7.8% in 2024-25, according to the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI). Yet manufacturing has not become a mass employer as it did in Korea and China, and most non-farm workers remain outside the formal economy.

    What does the ASI show about formal factories?

    1. What it is: The ASI is the government’s yearly survey of registered factories, the formal part of manufacturing covered by factory laws. It works like an annual health check of organised industry.
    2. Jobs and pay grew: That year, factory employment rose 7.2% and emoluments (wages, salaries and benefits) rose 12.08%.
    3. Workforce size: Persons engaged in organised manufacturing have passed 2 crore. This is still only a fraction of the labour force.
    4. The takeaway: Formal factories are growing steadily, but they are too small a part of the economy to absorb India’s workers.

    Who gains from factory growth?

    1. Capital over labour: Invested capital has risen steadily, but output per worker has stayed roughly the same over the years.
    2. Profits ahead of wages: Wages per worker have grown more slowly than net profit, so owners gain more from growth than workers do.
    3. Economy-wide effects: Slow wage growth and flat output per worker affect consumption, investment and productivity across the economy.

    Where do most non-farm workers actually work?

    1. Informal dominance: Nearly three in four non-farm workers work in informal-sector enterprises, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025.
    2. Formal shortfall: The formal sector, in both manufacturing and services, simply does not create enough jobs.
    3. Organised versus unorganised: In the previous year, organised manufacturing employed 1.9 crore people against about 3.3 crore in the unorganised segment, according to the Economic Survey.
    4. Firm size matters: Organised manufacturing is dominated by small firms, yet factories with more than 100 workers employ a larger share, pay higher wages and have higher labour productivity.

    Why has manufacturing not become a mass employer?

    1. Share unchanged: Successive governments have tried to boost manufacturing, yet its share in GDP and in employment has barely moved.
    2. Missed transition: Factories have not absorbed the millions who enter the labour force each year or who want to leave farming.
    3. Fallback options: Without factory jobs, low-skilled and unskilled workers stay on the farm or take gig work, short platform jobs such as delivery. This is the core of India’s employment challenge.

    Challenges

    1. Size thresholds: Labour rules that tighten above a worker count push firms to stay small. Eg. Lay-off permission above 100 workers under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
    2. Capital-heavy incentives: Industrial support often flows to capital-intensive sectors that create few jobs per rupee. Eg. Semiconductor fabrication plants.
    3. Export shocks: Labour-intensive exporters face sudden demand losses. Eg. The 50% United States tariff of 2025 on textiles and gems.
    4. Skill gaps: Many new entrants lack the vocational skills factories need, so firms prefer machines to hiring.

    Way Forward

    1. Employment-linked support: The Ministry of Labour and Employment should target the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme at first-time factory workers.
    2. Higher lay-off threshold: States should apply the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 threshold of 300 workers for lay-off permission, so firms can grow without penalty.
    3. Labour-intensive parks: The Centre should expand PM MITRA textile parks and plug-and-play parks for apparel, leather and food processing.
    4. Apprenticeships: The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme should be linked to factory hiring targets.

    Conclusion

    India’s factories are growing on capital rather than on workers, so formal manufacturing expands without changing where most Indians earn a living. Whether policy shifts from output targets to jobs created per rupee in labour-intensive sectors will decide if manufacturing absorbs those leaving the farm.

    Key numbers

    1. Organised manufacturing workforce, 2021-22: 1.72 crore.
    2. Non-farm workers in informal-sector enterprises (PLFS 2025): 73.1%.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2023, GS3, 15 marks] Most of the unemployment in India is structural in nature. Examine the methodology adopted to compute unemployment in the country and suggest improvements.”

  • For new energy, remove old bottlenecks

    Why in the News

    India has more than 300 gigawatts (GW) of installed renewable capacity and ranks third globally, yet grid operators curtailed (switched off) a significant amount of solar power between April and June. The causes were transmission constraints and grid security. The Centre’s new Green Energy Corridor Phase-III (GEC-III) will work only if it clears the land, clearance and coordination hurdles that slowed earlier lines.

    What is GEC-III, and why does it focus on lines inside States?

    1. What it is: GEC-III builds lines to evacuate up to 135 GW of renewable power, meaning carry it from plants to consumers, like widening roads out of a busy factory town.
    2. Why it was needed: Rapid solar growth has not made green power available when demand is highest, particularly at the evening peak after sunset.
    3. Storage component: The scheme adds 50 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery energy storage. Batteries smooth intermittency, the rise and fall of solar and wind output, and supply power after sunset.
    4. Intra-State focus: Plants cluster in a few regions but demand is spread across each State, so the network’s last leg decides whether green power reaches consumers. Rs 1,36,378 crore is earmarked for transmission.
    5. The takeaway: GEC-III can carry the next phase of India’s green energy transition only if it avoids the bottlenecks that slowed earlier lines.

    Why have transmission lines been slow to build?

    1. Money is not the only hurdle: Past projects show that transmission delays come from approvals on the ground, not only from a shortage of investment.
    2. Right-of-way compensation: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy named right-of-way compensation, payment to landowners when high-voltage lines pass near their property, a major hurdle. Its report was tabled last December.
    3. Land and clearances: The same panel flagged land acquisition and delays in environmental clearances as major hurdles in laying lines.
    4. Fragmented decisions: Separate agencies approve different parts of a line, and the committee found that such fragmented decision-making often delays projects.
    5. Boundaries do not match: Renewable resources, corridors and demand do not follow administrative boundaries, so the Centre and States must plan and implement together.

    What will it take for battery storage to work?

    1. Target versus function: The risk is that storage becomes a procurement target, counted by batteries bought, rather than a working part of the grid.
    2. Four requirements: Battery projects need:
      • viable business models, so storage earns steady revenue;
      • incentives, because the sector relies on overseas suppliers for critical raw materials;
      • recycling arrangements for used batteries;
      • clear rules on who can use storage and who pays for it.

    Challenges

    1. Wildlife conflicts: Overhead lines kill endangered birds, which forces costly rerouting or undergrounding. Eg. The Great Indian Bustard case in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
    2. Weak distribution utilities: Loss-making State power distribution companies (discoms) delay payments, which weakens the case for new intra-State investment.
    3. Slow cell manufacturing: Domestic advanced chemistry cell (battery cell) plants under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme have been slow to start, so batteries stay imported.

    Way Forward

    1. Single approval portal: The government should act on the committee’s proposal for a portal bringing all approving authorities together for real-time monitoring and faster decisions.
    2. Storage market rules: The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) should notify who may use stored power and how it is paid for.
    3. Standard compensation: States should adopt uniform, time-bound right-of-way compensation so landowner disputes settle quickly.
    4. Joint corridor planning: The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and State transmission utilities should plan corridors together across State boundaries.

    Conclusion

    India’s renewable push has moved from building generating capacity to getting power to consumers when they need it. Whether the single approval portal is set up and storage rules are notified will decide if GEC-III escapes the delays of earlier corridors.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2026] Which of the following statements with regard to Green Hydrogen is/are correct? 1. It is decarbonized hydrogen obtained from natural gas reforming combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS). 2. It is produced using electrolysis of water with electricity generated by renewable energy. 3. National Green Hydrogen Mission of India aims for abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 2 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 Answer: B”

  • We have a model investment treaty. And are losing billions because of it

    Why in the News

    India’s bilateral investment treaties (BITs) in force fell from 73 in 2015 to eight by 2021 after the 2016 Model BIT tightened its terms for foreign investors. Eighteen months after the Finance Minister promised Parliament a revision, the model is unchanged and foreign investment stays weak.

    What is the 2016 Model BIT, and why is it called restrictive?

    1. What it is: A BIT protects one country’s investors in the other and lets them take disputes to international arbitration, a neutral tribunal. The 2016 Model is India’s negotiating template.
    2. Five-year local litigation rule: A foreign investor must litigate in Indian courts for five years before arbitration. Indian courts rarely finish a case in that time, so the rule brought only delay.
    3. Global norm: Other countries require only a three to six month consultation period, like a cooling-off period before a divorce, to try to settle.
    4. Partial easing: Newer treaties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel cut the wait to three years; proposals for two give no stated reason.
    5. The takeaway: The model made arbitration hard to reach, so India’s treaty network shrank.

    What has the 2016 model cost India?

    1. Treaty network dismantled: The new model produced only six new treaties. None of the eight still in force covers a significant source of foreign capital.
    2. Investment forgone: American investment is large even without a treaty; the cost is the extra investment a treaty would add.
    3. Obstruction charge: India is described as the most obstructionist member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), with a matching treaty model. Deregulation and a US trade deal have also stalled.

    Why does a record FDI inflow hide a weak picture?

    1. Gross versus net: Net foreign direct investment (FDI) is money coming in minus money going out. Gross inflow hit a record, but net FDI was only $7.65 billion last year.
    2. Money going out: Foreign investors took home or sold off $53.6 billion, and Indian firms invested $33.3 billion abroad.
    3. Reinvested earnings: Profits foreign firms reinvest in India reached $25.6 billion, over three times net FDI. This is not a fresh commitment.
    4. Older definition: Excluding reinvested earnings, as India once did, gives a net direct investment outflow of about $18 billion.
    5. Portfolio exit: Indian shares trail other emerging markets by about 30 percentage points this year. Foreign investors have pulled out another $10.5 billion.

    Is counting long-held portfolio investment as FDI a fix?

    1. What separates the two: Direct investment is a stake large enough to give a say in running the business; portfolio investment is too small for that.
    2. Reported proposal: Counting portfolio investment held over three years as direct investment, a reported plan, adds no new dollar and changes only the headline.
    3. International standard: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Benchmark Definition, the global rule for counting FDI, bars extra conditions. No country uses holding period.

    Challenges

    1. Arbitration exposure: Easier arbitration exposes India to treaty claims over tax. Eg. The Vodafone and Cairn Energy awards of 2020.
    2. Slow commercial courts: Commercial case backlogs make local litigation a denial of remedy for investors.
    3. Statistical credibility: Redefining FDI to flatter the headline would weaken trust in balance of payments data.

    Way Forward

    1. Revised model: The Department of Economic Affairs should publish a revised Model BIT replacing local litigation with a short consultation window.
    2. Priority partners: India should first negotiate with its largest capital sources, such as the European Union.
    3. Stake-based definition: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should keep FDI defined by size of stake, in line with the OECD standard.

    Conclusion

    India’s problem is not the headline inflow but whether foreign capital makes fresh, long-term commitments. Whether the promised revised model drops mandatory local litigation is the decision to watch.

    Key numbers

    1. Gross FDI inflow, 2025-26: $94.5 billion, a record.
    2. Net FDI, 2024-25: 0.02% of GDP.
    3. Net FDI, 2025-26: about 0.18% of GDP, the second-lowest in three decades.
    4. Reinvested earnings: excluded from India’s FDI data until 2000-01.
    5. BITs in force: 29 (2017) and 16 (2019).
    6. Newer BITs: UAE (2024) and Israel (2025).

    Government Initiatives on Foreign Direct Investment

    1. Liberalised routes: Most sectors allow 100% FDI through the automatic route, without prior approval.
    2. Invest India: The national investment facilitation agency since the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) was abolished in 2017.
    3. EFTA pact: The India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement commits $100 billion of investment over fifteen years.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2022] Which one of the following situations best reflects “Indirect Transfers” often talked about in media recently with reference to India ? (a) An Indian company investing in a foreign enterprise and paying taxes to the foreign country on the profits arising out of its investment (b) A foreign company investing in India and paying taxes to the country of its base on the profits arising out of its investment (c) An Indian company purchases tangible assets in a foreign country and sells such assets after their value increases and transfers the proceeds to India (d) A foreign company transfers shares and such shares derive their substantial value from assets located in India Answer: D”

  • [1st October 2026] The Hindu OpED: The India-EFTA partnership, one plus one equals three

    [1st October 2026] The Hindu OpED: The India-EFTA partnership, one plus one equals three

    Question (2025, GS3 – 10 Marks): What are the challenges before the Indian economy when the world is moving away from free trade and multilateralism to protectionism and bilateralism? How can these challenges be met?”
    Linkage: Evaluates India’s trade strategy of negotiating bilateral Trade and Economic Partnership Agreements (TEPAs) to secure investment, technology, and market access as traditional WTO multilateralism faces headwinds.
    [2026] Which of the following countries are members of the European Union?
    1. Belarus
    2. Poland
    3. Germany
    4. Switzerland
    (a) 1, 2 and 4 (b) 1 and 4 only (c) 2 and 3 (d) 2 and 4 only

    Mentor’s Comment

    TEPA is publicised through tariff coverage, but its test is whether an investment and jobs pledge converts into commercial projects. Iceland’s contribution is knowledge, and India’s CCUS effort is at the pre-commercial stage where that knowledge is most useful. The ambition is $100 billion and one million jobs. The missing precondition is evidence of conversion, since a drying facility at Tapri and a memorandum at Raigad are not investment flows. The partnership also shifts the constraint to India. Licensing, storage assessment and monitoring require domestic institutions able to absorb the technology. The article is an ambassador’s advocacy piece, so its claims need to be read against outcome data.

    Why in the News

    The Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between India and the four European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, entered into force on 1 October 2025. A year on, the real test is the industrial and technological partnership it enables, not tariff cuts.

    What is TEPA, and what sets it apart?

    1. What it is: TEPA is a trade deal in which each side cuts customs duties on the other’s goods, like a standing discount between regular partners.
    2. EFTA’s offer: EFTA states cut duties on 92.2% of their tariff lines (product categories), covering 99.6% of the value of India’s exports to them.
    3. India’s offer: India grants concessions on 82.7% of its tariff lines, covering 95.3% of EFTA’s exports, among India’s most ambitious openings to developed economies.
    4. Investment and jobs chapter: TEPA is India’s first trade agreement with a dedicated chapter on investment and job creation. EFTA states aim to invest $100 billion over 15 years.
    5. The takeaway: By tying market access to investment and jobs, TEPA is built for lasting industrial partnerships, not only cheaper trade.

    Where can Iceland’s experience serve India’s priorities?

    1. Geothermal direct use: Iceland uses low and medium temperature ground heat directly, not to make power. India’s Himalayan geothermal belt can do the same:
      • at Tapri, Kinnaur district, the Indian-Icelandic venture Geotropy dries fruit, so apple growers need not sell at low harvest-time prices;
      • a geothermal cooling facility at the site is due by the end of the year;
      • frontier posts reliant on fuel convoys gain energy security independent of roads.
    2. Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS): CCUS traps carbon dioxide from industry and reuses or buries it. India is at a pre-commercial stage:
      • the Department of Science and Technology (DST) published India’s first CCUS research road map in December 2025, for the 2070 net-zero goal;
      • Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), NTPC Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited are running pilots and feasibility studies;
      • Iceland’s CarbFix injects dissolved carbon dioxide into basalt, where over 95% turns to stone within two years. India’s Deccan Trap basalts are similar;
      • Carbon Iceland, JSW Steel and Bharatia signed a memorandum on an e-methanol project in Raigad, turning steel emissions into fuel with green hydrogen;
      • the gain lies in technology licensing and co-developed projects, not equipment exports.
    3. Fisheries processing: Icelandic firms plan to process North Atlantic catch in India under TEPA. Iceland uses about 90% of each cod, far more than most fishing nations.

    How does Iceland link India to the Arctic and to Europe?

    1. Arctic Council: Iceland is a founding member of the Arctic Council, the forum of the eight Arctic States. India has been an Observer since 2013.
    2. India’s Arctic engagement: India published its Arctic Policy in 2022 and runs the Himadri station in Svalbard. Iceland offers it a direct bilateral channel into Arctic research.
    3. Complement to the EU deal: TEPA complements, not rivals, the European Union (EU)-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Together the two pacts give India more than either alone, “one plus one equalling three“.

    Challenges

    1. Investment promise unproven: Turning the investment pledge into ground-level projects remains a bureaucratic challenge.
    2. Standards barriers: Strict European sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules on food safety and plant health hold back Indian farm exports.
    3. Investor caution: Norwegian pension funds have hesitated to invest in India over perceived regulatory unpredictability.
    4. Thin logistics links: Few direct shipping and air-cargo routes raise freight costs.

    Way Forward

    1. Investment tracker: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry should publish yearly EFTA investment and jobs data.
    2. Pension fund outreach: India should court Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global for Indian green bonds.
    3. Geothermal mapping: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy should map Himalayan direct-use sites on the Tapri model.
    4. Joint storage pilots: DST and public sector firms should run basalt storage pilots with Icelandic partners.

    Conclusion

    TEPA’s worth will be judged by the plants and jobs it seeds, not by tariff schedules. Whether its investment chapter turns geothermal, carbon capture and fisheries ideas into bankable ventures will decide if the European pacts truly add up.

    Key numbers

    1. Jobs target: one million direct jobs to be facilitated under TEPA.
    2. CCUS potential: about 750 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2050 (NITI Aayog, 2022).
    3. CCUS Budget outlay: Rs 20,000 crore over five years (Union Budget, February).
    4. Raigad e-methanol project: 3,00,000 tonnes a year.
    5. First carbon-to-fuel plant: George Olah plant, Svartsengi, Iceland, making methanol since 2011-12.
  • Women and Transgender Changemakers of Swachhata

    Women and Transgender Changemakers of Swachhata

    Why in the News?

    • Swachhata Hi Seva 2026 was launched on 17 September 2026 with the theme “Swachhata Mein Sahbhag; Swachh Bharat, Viksit Bharat”.
    • It highlights women’s participation, livelihood creation and inclusion of transgender persons in sanitation and waste-management activities.

    Key Highlights

    • Promotes a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society approach to Swachhata.
    • Women are involved in:
      • Waste-to-livelihood enterprises
      • Material Recovery Facilities
      • Community cleanliness campaigns
      • Composting and waste reduction
    • Transgender persons are being integrated into urban sanitation services through Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

    Women-led Waste-to-Livelihood

    • Loni, Uttar Pradesh: Women use cow dung to produce incense sticks and Loban cups.
    • Initiative began with 8-10 women and employs around 40-50 women during peak summer production.
    • Products use around 30-35% dry cow dung powder, reducing the requirement for wood sawdust.
    • Loni Nagar Palika Parishad can earn up to 25% revenue from product sales.
    • Products supplied to Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab, Gujarat and Hyderabad, with some orders reaching Mauritius and South Africa.
    • Future possibilities include cow-dung fuel and biodegradable flower pots.

    Pink Material Recovery Facility

    • Patna, Bihar: Pink Material Recovery Facility (MRF) is operated primarily by women.
    • Capacity:
      • 2 tonnes/day dry waste
      • 1.5 tonnes/day wet waste
    • Cash for Waste: Citizens receive payment for bringing dry waste at prescribed rates.
    • Patna also converted old unusable vehicles into mobile Pink Toilets.
    • Reflects the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

    Community-led Swachhata

    • Bhopal: 250 women brand ambassadors work on cleanliness and waste management.
    • Bartan Banks: Established across 25 wards to reduce single-use plastic through reusable utensils.
    • Swachhata Kitty Group: 60 women, each contributing ₹100 per month, fund community cleanliness activities.
    • Uttarakhand:Bainni Sena (“Army of Sisters”) comprises 57 groups and 570 women.
      • Monitor cleanliness
      • Conduct awareness programmes
      • Communicate complaints
      • Coordinate with municipal authorities and sanitation workers.
    • Shillong: Iynnehskhem Self-Help Group converts household wet waste into compost.

    Inclusion of Transgender Persons

    • Cuttack, Odisha: Municipal Corporation organised transgender persons into a Self-Help Group and trained them to operate and maintain a Septage Treatment Plant.
    • Model expanded to other Odisha Urban Local Bodies through Self-Help Groups.
    • Areas include:
      • Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM)
      • Solid waste management
    • Bhubaneswar: Swikruti SHG operates a 75-KLD Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) at Basuaghai.
    • Transgender groups are also involved in operation and maintenance of seven cesspool vehicles.
    • Training includes health, hygiene, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and desludging protocols.

    Prelims Quick Revision

    • Swachhata Hi Seva 2026: Launched 17 September 2026.
    • Theme: “Swachhata Mein Sahbhag; Swachh Bharat, Viksit Bharat”.
    • Loni: 30-35% dry cow dung powder used in incense products.
    • Pink MRF, Patna: 2 tonnes/day dry + 1.5 tonnes/day wet waste.
    • Bhopal: 250 women brand ambassadors and Bartan Banks across 25 wards.
    • Uttarakhand: Bainni Sena = 57 groups, 570 women.
    • Bhubaneswar: 75-KLD FSTP operated by Swikruti SHG.
    • Patna’s mobile Pink Toilets demonstrate the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

    UPSC Prelims Trap

    • MRF is associated with material recovery and waste processing, while FSTP deals with faecal sludge treatment.
    • Bainni Sena is associated with Uttarakhand, not Odisha or Bihar.
    • Swikruti SHG operates a 75-KLD FSTP in Bhubaneswar.
    • The Pink MRF is located in Patna, while the cow-dung livelihood initiative described is from Loni, Uttar Pradesh.
  • Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 2026

    Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 2026

    Why in the News?

    • The Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 2026 comes into force on 1 October 2026, replacing the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891.
    • It modernises the evidentiary framework for banking records by recognising physical, electronic and digital records.

    Key Highlights

    • Applies to court cases, arbitrations, investigations and inquiries where banking records are required as evidence.
    • Covers banking records stored in physical or digital forms.
    • Introduces standardised authentication and certification of bankers’ books.
    • Certified copies can generally be used instead of producing the original banker’s book.
    • Bank officials are protected from routine appearance solely to prove bank records when the bank is not a party.
    • Government can extend the Act to specified financial sector entities by notification.
    • Provides safeguards against unauthorised changes, tampering and loss of data integrity.

    Bankers’ Books

    • Include:
      • Ledgers
      • Day-books
      • Cash-books
      • Account books
      • Other records maintained in the ordinary course of banking business.
    • Records may be maintained in written/physical form or any data-storage mechanism.
    • The definition of bank/banker also covers specified financial-sector entities to which the Act is extended, besides banks and certain post office offices.

    Electronic and Digital Records

    • Electronic/digital records are admissible subject to conditions including:
      • Copy must be a true and accurate representation of the original record.
      • Unauthorised changes must not be detected.
      • No tampering or event affecting integrity and accuracy of the system should be detected.
    • Authentication may use manual, digital or electronic signatures.

    Production of Bankers’ Books

    • A certified copy can ordinarily prove the contents of a banker’s book.
    • Bank officers ordinarily cannot be compelled to produce the original records or appear as witnesses merely to prove them.
    • A court may require production or appearance through a written order recording special cause.

    Special Cause

    A court may require production/appearance where:

    • Accuracy or authenticity of an entry is uncertain.
    • Regular record-keeping was interrupted by an event.
    • The bank failed to comply with a previous court order concerning inspection or production of certified copies.

    Prelims Quick Revision

    • 2026 Act replaces: Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891.
    • Effective from: 1 October 2026.
    • Covers physical + electronic + digital banking records.
    • Certified copies can ordinarily establish the contents of bankers’ books.
    • Bank officer appearance requires a court order recording special cause.
    • Government can extend the Act to specified financial-sector entities by notification.
    • Electronic records require safeguards relating to authenticity, unauthorised changes and data integrity.
    • The Act applies to proceedings including arbitration, investigation and inquiry.

    UPSC Prelims Trap

    • The 2026 Act does not discard the certified-copy framework of the 1891 law; it retains and modernises it.
    • Electronic/digital records are not automatically admissible; prescribed authenticity and integrity conditions apply.
    • A bank officer is not routinely required to appear to prove records, but a court can order appearance for special cause.
    • The Government can extend the Act to other financial-sector entities by notification; such extension is not automatic.
  • Green Energy Corridor Phase-III (GEC-III)

    Green Energy Corridor Phase-III (GEC-III)

    Why in the News?

    • The Union Cabinet approved Green Energy Corridor Phase-III (GEC-III) on 30 September 2026 to strengthen the Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) for renewable energy integration. pasted

    Key Highlights

    • Target: Evacuation of up to 135 GW of renewable energy across States/UTs.
    • Target completion: FY 2032-33.
    • Total project outlay:₹1,86,405 crore.
      • Intra-State Transmission Systems: ₹1,36,378 crore
      • Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS): ₹50,000 crore
    • Central Financial Support (CFS): ₹54,082 crore.
    • BESS deployment: 50 GWh.
    • Aims to support India’s target of 900 GW installed Non-Fossil capacity by 2035.

    Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS)

    • Focuses on grid integration and power evacuation within States/UTs.
    • Greenfield projects: Implemented through Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB).
    • Brownfield upgradation/network strengthening: Implemented on Cost Plus Basis (CPB).
    • State Transmission Utilities (STUs): Overall implementing agencies.
    • Transmission Service Providers (TSPs): Participate under TBCB through Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (BOOM) model.

    Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)

    • 50 GWh BESS will be deployed.
    • Can be located at:
      • Renewable Energy developer/generator end, or
      • Other locations important for grid flexibility.
    • Addresses:
      • Renewable energy intermittency
      • Grid congestion
      • Peak-hour curtailment
      • Demand during non-solar hours
    • BESS deployment will support the development of the domestic energy storage industry.

    Prelims Quick Revision

    • GEC-III: Approved by Union Cabinet in September 2026.
    • Renewable energy evacuation capacity: 135 GW.
    • BESS deployment: 50 GWh.
    • Total outlay: ₹1,86,405 crore.
    • Central Financial Support: ₹54,082 crore.
    • Target completion: FY 2032-33.
    • Supports 900 GW installed Non-Fossil capacity by 2035.
    • Greenfield = TBCB; Brownfield = CPB.

    UPSC Prelims Trap

    • GEC-III is focused on Intra-State transmission, not solely inter-state transmission.
    • 50 GWh refers to BESS deployment, while 135 GW refers to renewable energy evacuation capacity.
    • TBCB applies to greenfield InSTS projects, whereas CPB applies to brownfield upgradation and network strengthening.
    • STUs are the overall implementing agencies; TSPs participate under the TBCB model.

  • A library without a home speaks of a larger absence

    Why in the News

    The Central Secretariat Library (CSL) is yet to find a new home as Shastri Bhawan, its base since 1969, makes way for the Central Vista redevelopment. The delay raises the question of whether a project rebuilding the seat of government has planned for the institutions that hold its memory.

    What is the Central Secretariat Library, and why does it matter?

    1. Colonial origin: The CSL was established in 1891 as the Imperial Secretariat Library in Calcutta. It moved with the capital to Delhi and was renamed after Independence.
    2. Collection: It holds over 8.5 lakh books and documents, including material dating back to 1702.
    3. Institutional memory: The CSL serves as a working archive of the Indian state, keeping its institutional memory, the record of past government work and decisions. It is like the government’s own record room.
    4. The takeaway: Leaving an institution of archival importance without a secure home is a troubling statement of priorities for a project of such scale and ambition.

    Why was the displacement foreseeable?

    1. Known relocation: Central Vista is a long-term project involving some of the country’s most storied buildings, so relocation was not an unforeseen complication.
    2. Early request: As early as 2023, the Ministry of Culture sought matching space in the new Common Central Secretariat, the heart of the redevelopment.
    3. Statement of priorities: By deciding which institutions get space in a new administrative centre, the government signals what belongs at the centre of public life.

    What do other heritage relocations in the project show?

    1. Earlier controversies: The demolition of the National Archives Annexe and the relocation of the National Museum‘s collections drew public debate and expert opinion.
    2. New museum: The National Museum’s collections are moving to the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum, coming up in the North and South Block buildings.
    3. Preservation needs: Those debates showed the need for proper inventories and cataloguing, conservation facilities, climate-controlled storage for fragile and rare material, digitisation, trained staff and public access.
    4. Planning lapse: Such provisions should have been integral to the project from the outset.

    Why can a temporary move become permanent?

    1. Tulsi Sadan precedent: The CSL’s regional languages section, the Tulsi Sadan Library, was temporarily shut in 2011 for construction of the Mandi House Metro station.
    2. Stored, not served: Its contents were housed in the National School of Drama premises, and the library remains shut to this day.
    3. Displacement lesson: When institutions are displaced without a durable plan, temporary arrangements can become permanent absences.

    Challenges

    1. No fixed destination: Moving lakhs of rare documents into interim storage without a final site raises the risk of damage and loss.
    2. Interrupted access: Officials and researchers lose access to records while a collection sits in storage.
    3. Split responsibility: The library’s ministry seeks the space, but another ministry redevelops the buildings, so no single agency owns the relocation.
    4. Irreversible damage: Without digitised copies, any harm to fragile originals during a move cannot be undone.

    Way Forward

    1. Permanent allotment: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs should allot the CSL space before Shastri Bhawan is vacated.
    2. Collections protocol: Make cataloguing and climate-controlled storage a precondition for vacating any building that houses archives.
    3. Digitise first: Digitise rare and fragile material before any move.
    4. Reopen Tulsi Sadan: Set a dated plan to reopen the Tulsi Sadan Library.

    Conclusion

    The CSL’s displacement shows a redevelopment that planned new buildings ahead of the institutions meant to fill them. Whether the library gets a permanent address before Shastri Bhawan is vacated will show if Central Vista avoids repeating its own past mistakes.

    Back2Basics: Central Vista Redevelopment Project

    1. What it is: A project to rebuild India’s central administrative area in New Delhi, along the stretch between Rashtrapati Bhavan and India Gate.
    2. Nodal ministry: It is executed under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
    3. Key components: They include a new Parliament building, inaugurated in 2023, and the redeveloped Kartavya Path, formerly Rajpath.
    4. Launch: The project was announced in 2019.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2018, GS1, 10 marks] Safeguarding the Indian art heritage is the need of the moment. Discuss.”

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