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  • What every girl needs: A leg up, a chance to fly

    What every girl needs: A leg up, a chance to fly

    Why in the News

    Three rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) show Indian girls marrying later and gaining schooling, bank accounts and phones. Earning has moved far more slowly: only 30.8% of women work and earn their own income, fewer than one in three.

    What does the National Family Health Survey show for girls?

    1. What it is: The NFHS is the Union Health Ministry‘s large household survey of health, family life and women’s status, run in rounds. It works like a periodic health check of the country.
    2. Child marriage: The share of young women married as children fell from 26.8% to 20.1% across the three rounds, from about one in four to one in five.
    3. School attendance: Attendance among girls aged six and above rose from 68.8% to 73.7%, so more girls are in school than before.
    4. The takeaway: Girls now marry later and stay in school more, which builds the base for earning and independence later in life.

    How far have women’s access and agency grown?

    1. Bank accounts: Women with a bank account rose from 53% to 89%, the widest gain in the series.
    2. Household decisions: Women taking part in decisions on their own healthcare, big purchases and family visits rose from 84% to 89%.
    3. Mobile phones: Phone ownership rose from 45.9% to 63.6%, which opens access to banking, learning and information.

    Why has earning not kept pace with these gains?

    1. Earning as the end goal: Every other gain was meant to lead to women earning their own income, and that step has not fully arrived.
    2. Reached in time: Each girl who broke through had a health worker, school or programme step in at the right moment. Eg. Child brides from Beed now work as a nurse and a salon owner.
    3. What the next girl needs: Reaching one girl does not prepare the next one. She needs:
      • health information, so she can make her own choices;
      • a voice in her community;
      • skills for a job market that artificial intelligence (AI) is changing.
    4. Shared responsibility: Preparing the next girl cannot be left to girls themselves or to the government alone.

    Challenges

    1. Informal work: Over 90% of employed women work informally, so more earners does not mean secure income.
    2. Unpaid care burden: Domestic and care work keeps women out of paid jobs. Eg. Women do over thrice men’s care work (Time Use Survey 2024).
    3. Proxy representation: In the “Sarpanch Pati” pattern, male relatives exercise power behind elected women, so the women elected have little real say in panchayats.
    4. Online harm: Phones bring cyber harassment, stalking and deepfakes, AI-made fake images, which drive girls to stop using phones and the internet.

    Way Forward

    1. School health for every girl: The Ministries of Health and Education should extend the Ayushman Bharat School Health and Wellness programme to every school, so trained teachers teach every girl health and life skills.
    2. Beyond one model panchayat: The Ministry of Panchayati Raj should take the Women-Friendly Gram Panchayat initiative, now one model panchayat per district backed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), to more panchayats.
    3. Learning to earning: Link skills training to real employers, markets and business openings, online and offline, with digital safety built in.
    4. Care infrastructure: Expand Anganwadis and creches so mothers can take up paid work.

    Conclusion

    Girls’ lives have changed on marriage, schooling and money, but the change stops short of independent earnings. Whether school, panchayat and skilling programmes grow from model sites to every girl will decide if the next generation earns as well as it learns.

    Key numbers

    1. Survey rounds: The three rounds are NFHS-4 (2015-16), NFHS-5 (2019-21) and NFHS-6.
    2. Child marriage, NFHS-5: 23.3% of women aged 20 to 24 married before 18.
    3. Women earning their own income, NFHS-4: 24.6%.

    Government Initiatives for the Girl Child

    1. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao: Addresses the declining child sex ratio and promotes the education of the girl child, under the Sambal (safety) component of Mission Shakti.
    2. Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Abhiyan: Aims to end child marriage by 2030, cutting it by 10% on the way, through Child Marriage Prohibition Officers and a reporting portal.
    3. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: A savings scheme for the girl child that builds money for her education and future.
    4. Lakhpati Didi: Helps women in Self-Help Groups (SHGs) earn an annual household income above Rs 1 lakh through small enterprises.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2024, GS1, 10 marks] Distinguish between gender equality, gender equity and women’s empowerment. Why is it important to take gender concerns into account in programme design and implementation?”

  • Cabinet Secretariat flags delay in pulse research scheme, Agri Ministry says ‘expediting’ it

    Cabinet Secretariat flags delay in pulse research scheme, Agri Ministry says ‘expediting’ it

    Why in the News

    One year into the six-year Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, not a single research project has been approved against its Rs 500 crore research allocation. The Cabinet Secretariat has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare to complete approvals by November 15. The ministry says it is “expediting” the process and will sanction recommended projects by the end of October.

    What is the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses?

    1. What it is: A mission running from 2025-26 to 2030-31 to make India self-reliant in pulses. It is like a household plan to grow its own dal instead of buying it from outside.
    2. Why it was launched: India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses. It still grows less than it eats each year, so imports fill the gap.
    3. Launch and outlay: The mission was announced in the Union Budget and carries an outlay of Rs 11,440 crore. The Union Cabinet approved it and the Prime Minister launched it in October 2025.
    4. Five focus areas: As outlined in the Budget speech, the mission emphasises five points:
      • development and commercial availability of climate-resilient seeds;
      • enhancing protein content;
      • increasing productivity;
      • improving post-harvest storage and management;
      • assuring remunerative prices to farmers.
    5. The takeaway: Better seed is the mission’s first tool, and new seed comes from research, so a stalled research component holds back the whole mission.

    What has the Cabinet Secretariat flagged?

    1. Review meeting: On October 5, the Cabinet Secretary chaired a review of how agricultural research in oilseeds, pulses and cotton is being redirected.
    2. Unsanctioned proposals: Cabinet Secretariat officials noted that the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare had not yet sanctioned any project under the mission’s research component.
    3. Uneven progress: The mission’s other components have taken off. Its research projects have not begun.

    Where do the 419 research proposals stand?

    1. Proposals received: The ministry first set priority areas for research. It then invited proposals from institutions nationwide and received 419.
    2. Who applied: Institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the national farm research body, sent 125 proposals. State agricultural universities sent 249.
    3. Two-stage appraisal: A screening committee shortlisted proposals that matched priority research needs. Researchers now present them to a National-level Research and Development Committee of officials, ICAR scientists and experts.
    4. Appraisal criteria: The committee tests scientific merit, field application, benefits to farmers and duplication with existing research.

    Is first-year progress enough when research lags?

    1. Production target: The mission aims to lift pulse output to 350 lakh tonnes by its final year, about 45% above the base level.
    2. Area and yield targets: Area under pulses is to reach 310 lakh hectares and average yield 1,130 kg per hectare.
    3. Ministry’s claim of progress: The Third Advance Estimates, the ministry’s third provisional crop count, show first-year production up 6.7% and area and yield each up 3.3%.
    4. Why research still matters: Average yield must rise by about 28% over the mission period. That needs new climate-resilient varieties, and each month of delay cuts the time left to reach farmers.

    Challenges

    1. Long breeding cycles: A new variety takes several years to develop, test and multiply into seed, so a late start leaves little time.
    2. Import dependence: Domestic shortfalls are met through imports. Eg. Tur and urad bought from Mozambique and Myanmar.
    3. Rainfed cultivation: Most pulses grow on rainfed land, so output swings with the monsoon whatever the seed.
    4. Approval bottlenecks: Appraisal by several committees in turn slows sanction, as a full year without one approved project shows.

    Way Forward

    1. Sanction on time: The Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare should sanction shortlisted projects and release their funds within the deadline.
    2. Rice fallow varieties: Prioritise short duration, climate-resilient varieties for rice fallows, land left idle after the rice harvest, where the mission seeks new area.
    3. Milestone linked funding: Tie each project’s funding to field trial milestones that ICAR reports at every review.

    Conclusion

    The mission’s early output gains rest on weather and existing seed, not yet on the research meant to sustain them. Whether sanctioned projects deliver new varieties within the remaining five years will decide if the yield target is within reach.

    Key numbers

    1. Base level (2023-24): 242 lakh tonnes; 275 lakh hectares; 881 kg per hectare.
    2. Production, first year: 256.8 lakh tonnes (2024-25) to 274.1 lakh tonnes (2025-26, Third Advance Estimates).
    3. Area and yield, first year: 277.2 to 286.5 lakh hectares; 926 to 957 kg per hectare (2024-25 to 2025-26).

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2021] In the context of India’s preparation for Climate-Smart Agriculture, consider the following statements: 1.The ‘Climate-Smart Village’ approach in India is a part of a project led by the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), an international research program. 2.The project of CCAFS is carried out under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), headquartered in France. 3.The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India is one of the CGIAR’s research centers. Which of the statements given above are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2, and 3 ANSWER: (d)”

  • Treacherous waters

    Why in the News

    At least 13 children drowned when an overcrowded, leaking country boat capsized at Raghopur in Bihar’s Vaishali district, on a stretch of the Ganga where rides after sunset are banned. The accident shows that river crossings in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar remain unsafe, because villages lack safer transport and boat rules are enforced only after people die.

    Why are river crossings on the Ganga so unsafe?

    1. What it is: In many riverine villages a locally made country boat is the only way across. It works like a village bus running without registration, safety checks or a trained driver.
    2. Unsafe boats: Poorly lit, unregistered boats carry passengers with little or no lifesaving equipment. Many are overcrowded and run by untrained or underage operators.
    3. Who depends on them: Government personnel, teachers and bank employees ride them too, because many areas have no reliable alternative.
    4. The takeaway: Where the boat is the only route, an unsafe crossing becomes a daily risk whole communities must accept.

    What went wrong at Raghopur?

    1. Night trip: The boat set off at 8.30 p.m. for a memorial feast in an adjoining village, in breach of the ban on rides after sunset.
    2. Unfit vessel: The boat was visibly dilapidated, with a hole in the deck through which it drew water, and a young boatman at the helm.
    3. Overloading: The boat could reportedly carry five people. At least half a dozen others were aboard besides the children.
    4. Isolated riverine tract: River silt keeps reshaping Raghopur’s land. The area has no all-weather roads and is cut off during floods.
    5. Bridge without access: The first section of the Kachchi Dargah-Bidupur bridge from Patna was ready in June 2025. The monsoon then flooded its approach road and blocked access.

    Why do rules on paper not make crossings safer?

    1. Ferry law: The Bengal Ferries Act, 1885 and the Model Rules, 2011 framed under it already regulate ferries.
    2. Vessel law: The Inland Vessels Act, 2021 separately governs vessels on inland waters.
    3. Lagging capacity: Training programmes for operators and inspections of boats have not kept pace with the spread of unsafe transport practices.
    4. No safer alternative: What links such accidents is the lack of safer options, including a general shortage of public transport. A ban on night rides means little where no other way across exists.

    Why are children the most exposed?

    1. Bombay High Court: The Court recently faulted Maharashtra for not arranging transport for over 200 children near Chandoli National Park and Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. These children walked kilometres to school past wild animals.
    2. Wider pattern: Children face similarly unsafe journeys in Hingoli, Palghar and Nashik, in Maharashtra alone.
    3. School reorganisation: Programmes that shut unviable schools create the same risk when they ignore how children will reach the next one safely.
    4. Preventable danger: Children need extra protection. In poor communities their daily activities still expose them to dangers that public institutions already know how to prevent.

    Challenges

    1. Unregistered fleet: Most country boats are never registered, so authorities cannot count them or their operators.
    2. Reactive enforcement: Officials check boats after a tragedy rather than before one, and once checks fade, overloading resumes.
    3. Fragile connectivity: Roads in floodplains go under each monsoon, keeping the boat as the fallback.
    4. State level responsibility: Ferries are a State subject under Entry 13 of the State List, so safety depends on each State’s rules and inspection staff.

    Way Forward

    1. Register and mark boats: States should register every passenger boat, mark its capacity, require life jackets aboard and inspect it before each monsoon.
    2. Licensed boatmen: Train and license operators, and bar minors from running passenger boats.
    3. All-weather access: Raise approach roads to new bridges above flood level, and run public ferries or buses for isolated tracts.
    4. Safe school transport: States should arrange transport for children in remote villages before closing or merging schools.

    Conclusion

    River crossings stay deadly because rules exist on paper but safer transport does not, so villages keep choosing the risky boat. Until States build dependable access and inspect boats as routine, accidents of this kind will recur.

    Back2Basics: Inland Vessels Act, 2021

    1. What it replaced: The Act replaced the Inland Vessels Act, 1917 with a single national law on the safety, registration and navigation of vessels on inland waters.
    2. Uniform registration: A registration certificate issued under it is valid in every State, so a vessel needs no separate State permission.
    3. Central record: It provides for a central electronic database of vessels, registrations and crew.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2019, GS3, 10 marks] Disaster preparedness is the first step in any disaster management process. Explain how hazard zonation mapping will help in disaster mitigation in the case of landslides.”

  • Oil firms bar ethanol from sugar for blending in fuel

    Why in the News

    India’s ethanol programme has moved from drawing on both sugar based and grain based ethanol to a supply year in which sugar diversion for ethanol is to be reduced to zero. The 2026-27 procurement tender of the oil marketing companies (OMCs) bars ethanol made from sugarcane juice, sugar syrup and B-heavy molasses, after poor rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka raised fears for domestic sugar supply and prices.

    What is ethanol blending, and why does the sugar feedstock matter?

    1. What it is: Ethanol is an alcohol made from sugarcane or grains. Blended with petrol, it replaces part of the fossil fuel, like stretching each litre of petrol with a farm-grown fuel.
    2. Why it was introduced: The Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme aims to cut crude oil imports and vehicle emissions. India has adopted E20, petrol containing up to 20% ethanol, as the nationwide standard.
    3. Two kinds of molasses: B-heavy molasses is drawn off midway through sugar making and still holds recoverable sugar. C-heavy molasses is the final residue, with little sugar left to extract.
    4. Food versus fuel: Diverting sugarcane and sugar to fuel competes with the supply available for food, so the conflict sharpens whenever cane output falls.
    5. The takeaway: Ethanol from sugar saves oil imports, but in a weak cane year every litre of it is sugar taken off the market.

    What does the 2026-27 tender change?

    1. Sugar feedstocks barred: The tender cites a government direction to cut sugar diversion for ethanol to zero. It invites no offers for ethanol made from sugarcane juice, sugar, sugar syrup or B-heavy molasses.
    2. Permitted feedstocks: Bids are open for ethanol from maize, broken rice, surplus rice procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), and C-heavy molasses.
    3. Tender size: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) issued the tender on behalf of all OMCs. It seeks about 11 billion litres for the supply year beginning in November, to meet 20% blending.
    4. Maize incentive cut: The extra amount paid for each litre of maize based ethanol falls to Rs 2.79 from Rs 5.79.
    5. Lower maize price: As a result, the price OMCs pay for maize ethanol drops to Rs 68.86 a litre from Rs 71.86.

    Why does the shift matter?

    1. Sugar supply protection: Poor rainfall in key sugar producing States has raised the risk of lower cane output. India is the world’s largest sugar consumer, so a shortfall quickly lifts domestic prices.
    2. Energy security balance: The tender keeps the blending programme running. It also holds back enough sugar to keep food supply adequate and prices in check.
    3. Grain becomes the mainstay: With sugar feedstocks out, grain based distilleries must supply most of the ethanol. Grain supply, OMC prices and distillery capacity now decide whether the blending target is met.

    Challenges

    1. Food versus feed: Heavier grain demand for fuel competes with maize used as poultry and cattle feed. Eg. India imported maize in 2024 as distillery demand rose.
    2. Idle sugar based capacity: Distilleries that sugar mills built to run on cane juice and B-heavy molasses lose their main raw material for a whole year.
    3. Weaker incentive: The lower maize price cuts grain distillers’ earnings just when the programme needs more of their output.
    4. Uncertain rice stocks: Surplus FCI rice exists only when procurement exceeds public distribution needs, so it is an unreliable feedstock.

    Way Forward

    1. Second generation ethanol: Scale up ethanol from crop residue under the Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana to reduce reliance on food crops.
    2. Output linked diversion: The Department of Food and Public Distribution should allow sugar diversion each year only after cane output estimates confirm a surplus.
    3. Maize productivity: Raise maize yields and area so that fuel demand does not eat into feed supplies.
    4. Stable feedstock pricing: OMCs should announce feedstock prices several years ahead so distillers can plan capacity.

    Conclusion

    India’s blending programme now rests on grain for a year, trading a sugar supply risk for pressure on maize and rice. Whether grain distilleries can fill the whole tender at a lower maize price will decide if the blending standard holds through the supply year.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2013] With reference to the usefulness of the by-products of sugar industry, which of the following statements is/are correct? (1). Bagasse can be used as biomass fuel for the generation of energy. (2). Molasses can be used as one of the feedstocks for the production of synthetic chemical fertilizers. (3). Molasses can be used for the production of ethanol. Select the correct answer using the codes given below. (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2, and 3 ANSWER: (c)”

  • CISF to overhaul its administrative structure

    Why in the News

    The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will supervise its units by type of installation, such as power, coal, steel and ports, instead of largely by geographical region. The revised arrangements, approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), come into effect on November 1, as the force takes on new duties beyond industrial security.

    What is the CISF, and how was it supervised until now?

    1. What it is: The CISF is a Central Armed Police Force under the MHA, set up in 1969. It works like an in-house security wing for the country’s vital installations.
    2. Wide coverage: It secures airports, seaports, atomic and space installations, power plants, steel plants, coal mines, oil and gas facilities, currency note presses, government buildings, monuments and mass transit systems.
    3. Regional supervision: Administrative and operational supervision was largely organised along geographical lines, so one regional sector oversaw very different installations.
    4. Partial functional shift: Over 25 years, the force adopted a functional approach, supervising by type of installation, in selected sectors, such as aviation and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Space (DoS) establishments.
    5. The takeaway: A coal mine, a port and a metro face different hazards, so supervisors organised by sector can build expertise a regional command cannot.

    What changes from November 1?

    1. Government buildings and transit: The National Capital Region Sector becomes the Government Building, Museums & Monuments and Mass Rapid Transit System (GBMM & MRTS) Sector, New Delhi.
    2. Power sectors: The North Sector (New Delhi) and North Eastern Sector-II (Kolkata) become the Power-I and Power-II Sectors.
    3. Coal, steel, oil and gas: The Eastern (Ranchi), Central (Bhilai) and North Eastern (Guwahati) Sectors become the Coal, Steel and Petroleum & Natural Gas Sectors.
    4. Port sectors: The Western (Mumbai) and Southern (Chennai) Sectors become the West Coast Port and East Coast Port Sectors, to strengthen security at maritime trade infrastructure.
    5. Unchanged sectors: The DAE and DoS Sector (Bengaluru), Airport Sector-I (New Delhi) and Airport Sector-II (Bengaluru) continue under their existing arrangements.

    Why does the force need sector specific supervision now?

    1. Stated objectives: The change aims to improve operational oversight, build sector specific expertise, make security practices uniform and strengthen coordination with ministries and installation managements.
    2. Port security role: The CISF is now the Recognised Security Organisation (RSO) for port facilities under the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, the global port security standard. The port sectors will build this expertise and work with port authorities.
    3. Prisons and aerial security: It guards high security prisons in Jammu and Kashmir. It is also the nodal agency for aerial security of critical infrastructure, meaning protection against threats from the air.
    4. Need for specialisation: These duties need specialised training and clear accountability for operations. They also need coordinated responses to new security threats.

    Challenges

    1. Stretched manpower: Ports, prisons and aerial security draw on the same personnel already deployed at installations across the country.
    2. Many port stakeholders: Port security depends on port authorities, terminal operators and customs, so the CISF cannot secure ports alone.
    3. Local coordination: One district may now host units under several sectors, which can complicate joint responses with the State police.

    Way Forward

    1. Sector training: The CISF should run dedicated training for each sector, starting with ports and aerial security.
    2. Matching strength: The MHA should sanction additional posts for the new duties rather than thin out existing deployments.
    3. Joint protocols: Each sector should agree response protocols with State police and installation managements.

    Conclusion

    The CISF is turning from a regionally run guard force into a set of sector specialists as its duties widen to ports, prisons and aerial security. Whether the new sectors receive matching manpower and training will decide if the change improves security or only redraws the command chart.

    Back2Basics: ISPS Code

    1. What it is: The ISPS Code is a global security standard for ships and port facilities.
    2. Origin: The International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted it after the September 2001 attacks in the US. It came into force in 2004 under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
    3. What it requires: Ships and ports must carry out security assessments, keep security plans and appoint security officers.
    4. Recognised Security Organisation: A body a government authorises to carry out security assessments and plans for port facilities on its behalf.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “No direct PYQ traced in the provided files. Thematic PYQ: [2023, GS3, 15 marks] What are the internal security challenges being faced by India? Give out the role of Central Intelligence and Investigative Agencies tasked to counter such threats.”

  • In Manipur, a flailing state, a missing political process

    Why in the News

    Manipur’s ethnic conflict has widened from a fight between the valley’s Meiteis and the hill Kuki-Zo, under way since May 2023, to a new Kuki-Zo and Naga conflict deep in the hill districts. At least nine people were killed in a day from the night of October 9. President’s Rule, a change of Chief Minister and heavy security deployment had all failed to end the strife.

    What is Manipur’s conflict, and how has it shifted?

    1. Rival claims: Manipur’s valley and hill communities compete over land, identity and constitutional protections. Like neighbours fighting over one boundary wall, each clash hardens every side’s claim.
    2. Meitei and Kuki-Zo toll: This violence has continued with little respite. It has claimed around 300 lives and displaced close to 60,000 people.
    3. Naga and Kuki-Zo fault line: This older rivalry produced violent clashes in the 1990s. It has now resurfaced across the hill districts.
    4. Persistent failure: In three and a half years, neither the State nor the Union government has addressed the violence or the ethnic tensions beneath it.
    5. The takeaway: Changing who governs Manipur and adding troops has not touched the underlying tensions, so the conflict keeps finding new fault lines.

    Why has the state failed to contain the violence?

    1. State capacity and Union neglect: The State government has limited capacity to control the violence, and the Union government has shown negligence towards it.
    2. Failure to foresee: Neither outbreak was anticipated. This raises doubts about the state’s law enforcement and its understanding of ethnic tensions.
    3. Missed chance to disarm: President’s Rule (direct Union rule over a State) ran from February 2025 to February 2026. It was a chance to recover looted weapons, and it was missed.
    4. Militias as stakeholders: Militant groups and ethnic militias were never disarmed, so they still shape the violence, including the recent Kuki-Zo and Naga clashes.

    Why is there no political process, and what has it cost?

    1. Peace Committee unused: A 51-member Peace Committee was announced after the Union Home Minister’s visit in June 2023. It was meant to bring warring groups to talks with the Governor, but it never started work.
    2. Hill councils: Manipur’s six Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) are elected bodies giving hill communities local self-government, under the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils Act, 1971, not the Constitution’s Sixth Schedule.
    3. Overdue elections: The last ADC elections were held in 2015. The councils’ term ended in 2020, so polls are now long overdue.
    4. Councils and peace: Militant activity and violence fell between 2010 and 2020, when the ADCs functioned, alongside peace agreements. Their dysfunction has cut the link between hill communities and the government.
    5. Eroded social cohesion: Communities have sharply lost trust in one another, which has deepened the political failure. The state’s response has not repaired these relations.

    Challenges

    1. Weapons in circulation: Looted arms remain with militias, so any local dispute can escalate into armed clashes.
    2. Physical separation: Meitei and Kuki-Zo areas remain divided by security-manned buffer zones, which blocks everyday contact and reconciliation.
    3. Competing territorial demands: Kuki-Zo groups seek a separate administration. Naga groups claim the same hill districts for a Greater Nagalim.
    4. Porous Myanmar border: Cross-border movement and drug trafficking finance armed groups. Eg. The Moreh drug corridor.

    Way Forward

    1. Time bound disarmament: The State and Union governments should run a joint drive to recover looted weapons from all militias.
    2. ADC elections: The State government should hold the overdue council elections and give the councils direct funds.
    3. Revive the Peace Committee: Convene a dialogue forum with Meitei, Kuki-Zo and Naga representatives under the Governor.
    4. Smart border fencing: Complete surveillance and fencing along the Myanmar border to cut arms and drug flows.

    Conclusion

    Manipur shows that deploying forces without a political process holds violence down only until the next fault line opens. The test is whether the State revives elected councils and disarms the militias before the earlier gains against militancy are lost.

    Government Initiatives on Manipur’s Conflict

    1. Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement (2008): Kuki groups under the Kuki National Organisation and United People’s Front agreed to halt armed operations and stay in designated camps.
    2. United National Liberation Front (UNLF) accord (2023): The UNLF, the oldest valley insurgent group, signed a peace agreement with the Centre.
    3. Inner Line Permit (2020): Extended to Manipur, requiring outsiders to obtain a permit to enter.
    4. Free Movement Regime scrapped (2024): Visa-free movement across the Myanmar border was ended, with plans to fence it.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “No direct PYQ traced in the provided files. Thematic PYQ: [2025, GS3, 15 marks] What are the major challenges to internal security and peace process in the North-Eastern States? Map the various peace accords and agreements initiated by the government in the past decade.”

  • Washington’s Russia pivot is geopolitical shift, carries message for India-US deal

    Why in the News

    In less than a month, the United States has threatened buyers of Russian energy with tariffs, become a buyer of Russian diesel itself, and then put the penalties on hold. The reversal comes as India and the US near an interim trade agreement, raising the question of what India gains by signing.

    What did Washington do on Russian energy, and why?

    1. Graham sanctions law: Enacted on September 18, it threatens countries such as India with extra tariffs of up to 100% for buying Russian oil. It is a secondary sanction, punishing third countries, not Russia.
    2. Diesel deal with Russia: On October 9 the US agreed to buy Russian diesel, after US retail diesel prices rose 66.5% in a year and angered voters before the midterm elections.
    3. Relief and waiver: Russia gained sanctions relief until April 2027 for producers such as Rosneft and Lukoil. Punishing others would now look hypocritical, so the US waived the penalties for an unstated period.
    4. Allies’ objections: Ukraine’s President said the relief would legitimise Moscow and finance its war. European leaders said it undermines sanctions.
    5. The takeaway: Domestic needs overrode a foreign policy commitment within weeks. India can keep buying Russian oil, but the tariff threat survives as trade leverage.

    Where do the India-US trade talks stand?

    1. Interim agreement: The deal follows the February 6 Joint Statement framework, and its legal text is reportedly being drafted.
    2. Signals of progress: The US Trade Representative said talks were “in the short strokes”, meaning nearly done. India’s External Affairs Minister called them “pretty far advanced”.
    3. Finance Minister’s warning: The Finance Minister said talks had reached a “plateau” and further concessions would be “very, very difficult”.
    4. Condition for signing: The deal can be signed once the US gives Indian goods a clear tariff advantage over competitors.

    Why is the US tariff offer the central obstacle?

    1. Lapsed tariff cut: The February framework proposed cutting the US reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25% to 18% in return for major Indian concessions.
    2. US Supreme Court ruling: The Court struck down those reciprocal tariffs on February 20, so the promised cut had nothing left to apply to. India’s concessions stayed on the table.
    3. Forced labour tariff: Washington then imposed a 10% forced labour tariff under Section 301, a US trade law provision against foreign practices it judges unfair.
    4. Competitors shielded: Most competitors face no penalty for Russian oil. China is shielded from new bilateral tariffs until January 2027 under the Busan Agreement.

    Should India sign on the February terms?

    1. No special favour: The US could extend India’s Russian oil exemption if India accepts the February terms. That is no real favour, since competitors without a deal pay only normal duties plus 10% or 12.5%.
    2. Duty cuts already given: Over two years India has cut duties on goods of US interest, such as motorcycles, bourbon, some pharmaceuticals and Ethernet switches.
    3. Policy concessions: It allowed foreign investment in inventory-based e-commerce, where the platform owns the goods it sells, for exports. It also scrapped the equalisation levy, a tax on payments to foreign digital platforms.
    4. Lost bargaining power: Each concession without a return weakens India’s hand, so accepting the old terms now could leave India worse off.

    Challenges

    1. Unpredictable US policy: Domestic needs can override Washington’s commitments, so tariff relief can be reversed.
    2. Concessions before a deal: Unilateral changes give away leverage early. Eg. Proposed Unified Payments Interface (UPI) fees could benefit Visa and Mastercard.
    3. Energy security on a waiver: India’s Russian oil imports rest on a waiver of unstated duration.

    Way Forward

    1. Wait for final duties: Sign only after the US states its final duties on Indian goods and on competitors.
    2. Freeze unilateral concessions: The Commerce Ministry should pause further duty cuts until the deal is signed.
    3. Price the concessions: Count the value of concessions already given and seek a matching US offer.

    Conclusion

    US tariff threats over Russian energy have proved to be bargaining tools that bend to domestic needs, not fixed policy. The test is whether Washington offers Indian goods a final tariff below competitors’ duties before New Delhi signs.

    About India-US Trade Relations

    1. Largest export market: The US is India’s largest export destination, and India runs a trade surplus with it.
    2. Investment: The US is India’s third largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI), with about $70.65 billion in cumulative inflows since 2000.
    3. Mission 500: A joint target of $500 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “No direct PYQ traced in the provided files. Thematic PYQ: [2024, GS2, 10 marks] Discuss the geopolitical and geostrategic importance of Maldives for India with a focus on global trade and energy flows. Further also discuss how this relationship affects India’s maritime security and regional stability amidst international competition?”

  • Audit in 2 Delhi booths finds over 100 voters wrongly marked absent, shifted, dead

    Why in the News

    The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) deletion list is meant to drop only voters who are absent, shifted, dead or duplicate, but in two polling booths of Delhi’s Okhla constituency it wrongly tagged at least 100 resident voters. A seven-day public audit of 258 households presented the cases at a Jan Sunwai (public hearing) organised by groups including the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS).

    What is the ASDD list, and why does a wrong entry matter?

    1. What it is: In the SIR, a Booth Level Officer (BLO) collects enumeration forms at each home. Electors whose forms are not collected are tagged Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate (ASDD) and left off the draft.
    2. Why it exists: The tag cleans the roll of people who no longer live at that address. It works like a register marking a pupil “left” because nobody answered at roll call.
    3. What goes wrong: A wrong tag removes a living resident, who must apply again as a new voter on Form 6, the enrolment form, and loses the old voting record.
    4. The takeaway: A tag based on a missed visit rather than proof can disenfranchise long-settled residents.

    What did the Okhla audit find?

    1. Scope: The hearing was meant for the G and K blocks near Batla House, but announcements drew voters from other booths too.
    2. Turnout at the hearing: More than 150 voters registered to present their cases before a panel of Supreme Court advocates and transparency activists.
    3. Okhla’s scale: The draft roll carried over 1.85 lakh voters, and over 67,000 of them were placed on the notice list, meaning they were asked to prove eligibility.
    4. Deletion rate: Okhla recorded the second highest rate of deletions in Delhi’s draft roll.

    Who was wrongly tagged, and how?

    1. Retired professor: A 74-year-old retired Jamia Millia Islamia professor, at the same address for over five decades, was marked “untraceable/absent”.
    2. His wife: The ASDD list of August 31 listed her as “permanently shifted”.
    3. Forms lost after submission: Their son said he gave filled enumeration forms for both parents to the BLO, yet only his own name reached the draft roll.
    4. Verification ignored: A resident of 30 years, also marked “permanently shifted”, had met the BLO, been photographed and signed a form.
    5. Who informs voters: He asked why he must register afresh, and why social workers, not the Election Commission, told him.

    What has the Delhi election office done?

    1. Weekend camps: The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the Election Commission’s top official in Delhi, has held camps at all polling stations every weekend since September 20.
    2. Re-verification order: The CEO has ordered field officers to re-verify ASDD entries door to door and restore eligible voters. The stated aim is that “no eligible voter should be left out”.
    3. Outreach gap: Around 20 people at the hearing knew nothing of the camps. Some did not know their BLO, and others said their BLO never contacted them.

    Challenges

    1. Tagging without proof: An ASDD mark rests on a BLO not finding a person, not on evidence of death or migration.
    2. Lost enumeration forms: Forms handed to BLOs do not always reach the system, and voters learn this only from the draft roll.
    3. Burden of proof on the voter: The elector, not the officer, must prove residence and eligibility to undo a wrong tag.

    Way Forward

    1. Finish re-verification first: The Delhi CEO should complete door-to-door checks of every ASDD entry before the final roll, starting with Okhla.
    2. Booth-wise ASDD lists: Publish each booth’s ASDD list with the reason for each tag, so residents can object in time.
    3. Receipts for forms: BLOs should give a dated acknowledgement for every enumeration form they collect.

    Conclusion

    The Okhla audit shows that the SIR’s deletion list can remove settled, documented residents on the strength of a missed visit. Whether Delhi’s door-to-door re-verification restores such voters before the final roll is published is what to watch.

    Back2Basics: Social audit

    1. Meaning: A social audit lets citizens check government records against what happened on the ground, with findings read out in a public meeting where officials must answer.
    2. Origin: The MKSS held Jan Sunwais in Rajasthan in the 1990s to expose corruption in local works.
    3. Legal footing: Social audit was first institutionalised through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) Audit of Schemes Rules, 2011 require States to set up independent Social Audit Units.

    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?”

  • 37 voters file Form 7 saying they are dead; 334 pairs declare each other dead

    Why in the News

    Form 7 is meant to remove dead or ineligible names from the electoral rolls after a check, but in Karnataka it carried at least 37 people declaring themselves dead and 334 pairs of voters declaring each other dead. Election Commission of India (ECI) data processed by Mandate Analytics and Consulting (MAC Insights) show the pattern around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a fresh house-to-house check of the whole roll.

    What is Form 7, and how is it meant to work?

    1. What it is: Form 7 is the application to object to a name on the roll and seek its deletion, on grounds such as death, shifting or duplication. It is like asking a registrar to strike a name off.
    2. Why it exists: It cleans the roll of people who have died or moved, so each name belongs to a real, eligible elector.
    3. How it is checked: The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) decides each objection after a field check by the Booth Level Officer (BLO) and notice to the person named.
    4. Public record: Form 10 is the daily consolidated list of Form 7 filings, so anyone can cross-check who objected to whom.
    5. The takeaway: A form built to remove dead voters is declaring living voters dead, so the checks are missing impossible claims.

    What did the analysis find?

    1. Matching names: In the self-deletion cases, the filer and the person to be struck off had the same name, down to the initials.
    2. Timing of self-deletions: Most were filed before the SIR began across Karnataka on June 30.
    3. After the draft rolls: At least three came after the draft rolls, the provisional lists open to objection, were published, in Magadi, Sandur and Byatarayanapura, so those names were on the draft roll.
    4. Mutual death claims: In each pair, one person sought the other’s deletion as dead, and the second then did the same. Both sat at the same polling station.
    5. Spread of pairs: The pairs ran across more than 25 districts, led by Belagavi. All 28 Mysuru cases sat in one constituency, Chamundeshwari.

    What does the timing of the pair filings show?

    1. After the announcement: Every pair case was filed after the SIR was officially announced on May 14.
    2. June peak: June saw the most cases, 333. Most pair forms came before the SIR began, ahead of house-to-house checks.
    3. Same-day filings: Form 10 records show two electors in Raybag, Belagavi district, declaring each other dead on the same day.

    How do officials explain the cases?

    1. Byatarayanapura: A woman appeared as both filer and deletee. The BLO said the form sought her husband’s deletion, but his roll entry carried her name.
    2. Uncertain origin: The BLO could not say whether a software glitch during enumeration, the collection of forms from homes, or an error in earlier rolls caused this.
    3. Sandur: A software glitch is the stated reason for a man’s self-deletion form. His BLO was unaware that a Form 7 had been filed.
    4. Magadi: The filer’s serial number was 416, on a draft roll part listing only 415 electors, so no such entry exists.

    Challenges

    1. Weak screening: Forms naming the filer as the dead person entered the system, so basic consistency checks failed.
    2. Software and data errors: Glitches in digitised enumeration can swap or merge names and generate false deletion requests.
    3. Targeted deletion: Bulk or retaliatory Form 7 filings can remove genuine voters before they learn of the objection.
    4. Rare penalties: Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 punishes false declarations with up to one year’s imprisonment, but prosecutions are rare.

    Way Forward

    1. Automatic flags: The ECI should make its software flag any Form 7 where filer and deletee match, or where two electors object to each other.
    2. Proof before deletion: EROs should delete a name on grounds of death only against a death record or a BLO visit, with notice.
    3. Act on false filings: District Election Officers should prosecute false death declarations under Section 31.

    Conclusion

    Karnataka’s data show that impossible claims can set off the deletion process, and officials have not settled whether software or people are to blame. Whether the ECI checks these entries and explains the glitches before the rolls are finalised is the next test.

    Key numbers

    1. Belagavi: 160 cases of mutual death declarations, the highest of any district.
    2. Kalaburagi: 80 cases, the second highest.
    3. Electoral rolls frozen: June 16, before the SIR began.

    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?”

  • Revamp functioning of Parliament

    Why in the News

    The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, introduced together, would raise the Lok Sabha’s strength from 550 to 850 members. The plan tackles the size of constituencies but not Parliament’s working capacity, so more members would share the same limited floor time, the hours the House sits to debate.

    Why does an MP need floor time, not just a seat?

    1. Two layers of representation: Voters need access to their Member of Parliament (MP), and the MP needs floor time to speak for them. More MPs without more time is like more students in an unchanged class period.
    2. Why delimitation is proposed: Delimitation redraws constituencies. India’s 97.98 crore voters give each Lok Sabha seat roughly 18 lakh voters, a heavy load for one MP.
    3. Uneven constituencies: Malkajgiri in Telangana has 37.8 lakh voters. Lakshadweep has just 57,953.
    4. The takeaway: More seats without more floor time would leave representatives “muted on the floor”.

    How would a larger House squeeze Question Hour?

    1. Question Hour: Question Hour is the sitting time when MPs question Ministers. Lok Sabha rules allow at most 20 starred questions (answered orally) and 230 unstarred questions (answered in writing) per sitting day.
    2. Daily ballot: Each MP can submit up to five questions a day, but a ballot picks only a tiny fraction for answer.
    3. Lower odds at 850: With more MPs and unchanged sitting hours, an MP’s chance of an oral answer from a Minister falls further.
    4. 17th Lok Sabha record: Question Hour functioned for only 60% of its scheduled time.
    5. Monsoon Session 2026: Question Hour ran for only 1% of scheduled time, nine minutes in all. More members cannot improve executive-legislative accountability, Ministers answering to Parliament, if the hour does not run.

    Which other floor tools would lose time?

    1. Zero Hour: MPs use it to raise urgent issues without advance notice. Eg. Regional crop failures or disaster relief.
    2. Private Members’ Business: It lets MPs who are not Ministers bring in their own Bills.
    3. Unprotected instruments: With more MPs sharing the same slots, these tools lose their purpose unless rules protect the time to use them.

    Why is sitting time not guaranteed today?

    1. Article 85(1): The President summons each House at such time and place as he thinks fit. Six months must not pass between one session’s last sitting and the next session’s first.
    2. No minimum days: The Article caps the gap between sessions but fixes no minimum number of sitting days, so the government of the day sets the calendar.
    3. Speaker’s discretion: The time for Question Hour and Zero Hour can be changed at the direction of the Speaker.
    4. NCRWC benchmark: The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) recommended that the Lok Sabha meet for at least 120 days a year.

    Challenges

    1. Disruptions: Over a quarter of available time is lost to disruptions, and Question Hour is usually the first casualty.
    2. Executive-set calendar: The government decides when Parliament meets, so sessions can be cut short at will.
    3. Hasty law-making: In the 17th Lok Sabha, 35% of Bills passed with less than an hour of discussion.
    4. Weak committee scrutiny: Only 17% of Bills in the 17th Lok Sabha went to Department Related Standing Committees, the subject-wise panels that examine Bills, so lost floor time is not made up elsewhere.

    Way Forward

    1. Statutory sitting time: Parliament should give its sitting time statutory status through a law.
    2. Minimum days clause: Amend Article 85(1) to add a mandatory minimum number of working days, on the NCRWC benchmark.
    3. Protected question time: Fix a mandatory time for Question Hour and Zero Hour that the Speaker cannot alter.
    4. Opposition days: Let the Business Advisory Committee fix the calendar, with a quota of days for Opposition business.

    Conclusion

    Enlarging the Lok Sabha answers the problem of constituency size but leaves the problem of floor time untouched. Whether the delimitation Bills are paired with a guaranteed sitting calendar and protected Question Hour will decide if more MPs means more representation.

    Functioning of Parliament in India

    1. Sitting days: The 17th Lok Sabha averaged only 55 sitting days a year, against 127 in the 1950s.
    2. Legislative output: The 17th Lok Sabha held 274 sittings and passed 179 Bills, excluding Finance and Appropriation Bills.
    3. Private Members’ Bills: 729 were introduced in the 17th Lok Sabha, the second highest ever, but only two were discussed.
    4. Budget scrutiny: About 80% of the Budget was voted without discussion between 2019 and 2023.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2017] The Parliament of India exercises control over the functions of the Council of Ministers through 1. Adjournment motion 2. Question hour 3. Supplementary questions Select the correct answer using the code given below: (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 ANSWER: (d)”

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