💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (August Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Type: DOMR

  • ISRO staff question trajectory of space privatisation, want chief to clarify

    Why in the News

    Key employee associations at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have written to the ISRO chairperson seeking a written clarification on whether ISRO’s exit from launch vehicle manufacture is an approved decision of the Government of India, the Space Commission or the Department of Space. The letter follows a public statement by the chairperson of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), the nodal body under the Department of Space set up in 2020 to open India’s space sector to private participation, that ISRO will eventually not manufacture any launch vehicles. The associations say the statement was never followed by any formal communication from the Department of Space explaining the policy, its legal basis, its timeline or its effect on staff. The letter was sent hours after ISRO launched an earth observation satellite aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), ending a months-long hiatus. The dispute is between a promotion body announcing the direction of travel in public and a workforce with no document to read it in.

    What did the statement claim about ISRO’s future work?

    1. Launch vehicles move out: ISRO will eventually not manufacture any launch vehicles, and that work will be done by the private sector or a public sector undertaking.
    2. Routine satellites move out too: ISRO will not build what were described as day in day out satellites.
    3. What is retained is narrowly drawn: ISRO will build satellites for special purposes, for orbits meant for scientific research, or to develop new technology that is then transferred to the private sector.

    What are the employee associations asking for?

    1. The status of the statement: The letter asks the chairperson to issue a written clarification on whether the statements represent an approved decision of the Government of India, the Space Commission or the Department of Space.
    2. Who has signed it: It carries signatures of representatives from across ISRO’s centres, including the Space Applications Centre and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
    3. What the letter asks to be defined: It seeks answers on ISRO’s future role as a public organisation, on whether public sector undertakings will also be excluded from manufacturing work, on the safeguards available to current employees, and on how publicly funded technologies are being transferred to private companies.
    4. A consultation demand: It asks whether employee associations will be consulted before any irreversible decision affecting the agency’s structure, mandate or staffing is finalised.

    Why do the associations treat this as a threat to the organisation?

    1. The activities named are the core, not the periphery: The associations describe those activities as ISRO’s core competence, and say withdrawing from them threatens the organisation’s long-term viability.
    2. Career expectations are unsettled: Employees who built careers around ISRO’s stability and public character now face uncertainty about what the organisation will be.
    3. Recruitment is the compounding effect: Recruitment is already limited by vacancies and attrition, and a shrinking intake discourages young professionals who see ISRO as a respected public sector career path.

    How far has the transfer to industry already gone?

    1. The stated policy since 2020: The government’s approach has been for ISRO to mentor emerging companies and gradually shift routine work to them, with ISRO focusing on missions of scientific and strategic significance.
    2. The transfers already made: ISRO has transferred around 120 technologies to industry, including the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
    3. Infrastructure is being built for the same segment: The new spaceport at Kulasekharapatnam is expected to focus on small satellite launches, a segment where private capability is already fairly advanced.

    Where does expert opinion sit on the direction?

    1. The opening is defended as overdue: The Deputy Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses said the sector’s opening up was overdue and could have helped India capture a larger share of the global market sooner.
    2. Some shifting is treated as natural: With ISRO focused on Gaganyaan, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and a crewed lunar mission, some functions would move to private players as a matter of course.
    3. The limit drawn is on launch: Launch services and vehicle development remain core to ISRO’s mandate, and ISRO should remain capable of launching some of its own satellites, especially the strategic ones.
    4. The counter-example cited is American: The stated caution is that India should not reach the position of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which is completely dependent on a single commercial provider for its launches.

    Challenges to India’s space sector privatisation

    1. The opening rests on policy, not statute: Authorisation, liability and licensing of private space activity are governed by executive policy documents rather than by a law passed by Parliament. Eg. A draft Space Activities Bill was circulated for comment in 2017 and was never introduced, and the Indian Space Policy, 2023 has filled that space instead.
      The Fix: Enact a space activities law fixing licensing conditions, third-party liability and government indemnity, so operators and the regulator work to statutory terms.
    2. Promotion and authorisation sit in the same body: The agency that promotes private entry also authorises it, and the incumbent it is displacing reports to the same department. Eg. IN-SPACe, ISRO and NewSpace India Limited all sit under the Department of Space.
      The Fix: Separate the authorisation function into a body with its own statutory mandate, leaving promotion and hand-holding with IN-SPACe.
    3. Publicly funded designs move out without a published valuation: Technology developed at public cost is handed to firms without the consideration or the continuing support obligations being disclosed. Eg. Production of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle was transferred through a competitive bid won by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
      The Fix: Publish the consideration, the support commitment and the reciprocal obligations for every transfer above a stated value.
    4. Capability decays when it is not exercised: Launch vehicle engineering skill is retained by building vehicles, not by supervising others building them. Eg. India’s cryogenic upper stage took roughly two decades to reach operational service after technology transfer from Russia was blocked in the 1990s.
      The Fix: Attach a minimum in-house build and integration requirement to each new vehicle programme so design teams retain hands-on work.

    Conclusion

    A structural change of this size is being read off a public remark rather than a departmental order, and that is the substance of the objection rather than the policy direction itself. Employees can contest a document. They cannot contest a statement that nobody has confirmed to be policy. The written clarification the letter seeks is the marker to watch. Whether it names the Space Commission as the deciding authority, or declines to, will show where the decision on ISRO’s manufacturing role actually sits.

    Back2Basics: IN-SPACe

    1. It is an autonomous single-window agency under the Department of Space, announced in 2020 and set up to enable private participation in space activities.
    2. It authorises and supervises space activities carried out by non-government entities in India.
    3. It arranges the sharing of ISRO’s facilities, expertise and technical data with private operators.
    4. It is distinct from NewSpace India Limited, which is the commercial arm that markets and sells ISRO’s products and services.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “Consider the following statements about involvement of private entities in India’s space programme: 1. IN-SPACe is an autonomous agency formed to facilitate participation of private entities. 2. Agnikul Cosmos launched the world’s first flight using 3D-printed rocket engine. 3. Skyroot Aerospace has developed liquid fuel for GSLV. (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 2 only (d) 1, 2 and 3”

  • Air quality panel holding talks with Punjab govt. and ISRO over tracking of stubble fires

    Air quality panel holding talks with Punjab govt. and ISRO over tracking of stubble fires

    Why in the News

    The Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), the statutory body that directs anti-pollution action across Delhi and the States around it, has said it is in talks with Punjab, Haryana and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to improve how stubble fires are measured.

    How does satellite fire counting work?

    1. Detection by heat signature: Two satellites passing over India during the day register the thermal signature of an active fire and log it as a fire count.
    2. A fixed overpass window: A polar orbiting satellite crosses a given location at roughly the same local time each day, so it sees only the fires burning at that moment.
    3. A count is not a quantity: The record shows that a field was alight. It does not show how much particulate matter the burning released.

    Why has the reported decline in farm fires come under doubt?

    1. The peak moved by three and a half hours: The Space Applications Centre recorded peak fire activity at about 1.30 p.m. in 2020 and at about 5 p.m. in 2024.
    2. The shift tracks the enforcement window: Farmers face fines for being caught setting fire to their fields, and burning after the daytime satellite passes leaves no entry in the record.
    3. Evidence has accumulated since 2024: Doubt over the Punjab government’s claim of a 90 percent reduction in farm fires since 2021 has been mounting since 2024.
    4. A decline that may be an artefact: A fall produced by unrecorded burning leaves the actual acreage burnt unknown, so the reported improvement cannot be checked.

    Why does the measurement matter for the capital’s winter air?

    1. Farm fires are a spike, not the base load: Over a whole winter farm fires contribute no more than 15 percent of particulate matter pollution. In certain weeks that share rises to almost 44 percent.
    2. The weather closes the escape route: Stalled monsoon withdrawal weakens the westerly winds that flush particulate matter out of the region through October and November.
    3. Several sources load the same air: Vehicles, industry, road dust, agricultural waste and Deepavali crackers add to the load in the same weeks.
    4. Paddy residue has a disposal logic: Stubble left after the paddy harvest is burnt to clear the field for wheat sowing, since burning is the quickest and cheapest method available.
    5. The response is calibrated to the number: The winter air quality response for the Delhi National Capital Region is built on this dataset, so a wrong count misdirects the measures taken.

    Why is a replacement protocol difficult to define?

    1. Burnt area measures land, not emissions: Mapping singed acreage gives a better estimate of how much land was burnt. The CAQM Chairman noted it is still not an accurate measure of the particulate matter emitted.
    2. Ground truthing needs the States: Verification on the ground requires Punjab and Haryana to run field checks against the satellite record, which is what the Commission is negotiating with both.
    3. A first protocol has been sought this year: ISRO has been asked to supply a basic protocol this year so that the estimate improves on fire counts.

    Challenges to stubble fire measurement

    1. A single daytime overpass: One pass at a fixed hour cannot capture a fire lit after it. Eg. The Terra and Aqua satellites carrying the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cross northwest India around the middle of the day.
      The Fix: Pair the polar orbiting record with geostationary imaging from INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR, which observe the same area every fifteen minutes, and with night time detections from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite.
    2. Cloud and haze block an optical sensor: Smoke and cloud hide active fires at exactly the point in the season when burning peaks. Eg. Detection weakens during the late October haze episodes that trigger emergency curbs in the capital.
      The Fix: Add radar based burnt area mapping from Sentinel-1, which images through cloud, as an independent cross check on the count.
    3. Penalties fall on the cultivator, not on the residue: Environmental compensation and red entries in land records punish the act of burning without funding an alternative to it. Eg. Punjab has recovered environmental compensation from farmers recorded as burning paddy stubble.
      The Fix: Pay a verified per acre amount for residue actually managed, so the incentive attaches to disposal rather than to concealment.
    4. The window between two crops is too short: Roughly two to three weeks separate the paddy harvest from wheat sowing, which makes burning the only method that fits. Eg. The Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 pushes paddy transplanting into late June and shortens the gap at the other end.
      The Fix: Expand shorter duration paddy varieties such as PR-126 and guarantee machinery through custom hiring centres so the window becomes workable.
    5. The airshed is governed in pieces: Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi each report and act separately on pollution that is common to one airshed. Eg. The Graded Response Action Plan is triggered by the air quality index recorded in Delhi.
      The Fix: Build one airshed level emission inventory on a common reporting standard, so source shares are settled by an agreed method rather than disputed each winter.

    Conclusion

    The argument here is not about whether stubble is burnt but about whether the instrument that counts it still works. A performance claim measured by a tool that a farmer can time his way around cannot settle how much of the capital’s winter air the fields are answerable for. The marker to watch is whether a verification protocol is in place before the burning window opens rather than after it closes.

    Back2Basics: Commission for Air Quality Management

    1. Statutory basis: The Commission was established under the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021.
    2. Jurisdiction: It covers Delhi and the adjoining areas of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh that affect the capital’s air quality.
    3. Powers: It issues directions binding on State governments and State pollution control boards, and its directions prevail where they conflict with a State board’s.
    4. Enforcement: Non-compliance with its directions is punishable with imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to one crore rupees.

    [2020, GS3, 15 marks] What are the key features of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) initiated by the Government of India?

  • Presumed guilty, SIR’s spreading stain

    Why in the News

    An investigation into four booths in Godda, Jharkhand has documented Bharatiya Janata Party workers filing Form 7 objections in bulk, seeking deletion of names from the draft electoral rolls. Many of the voters marked for deletion had already submitted the required documents. Others had lived in the same house for generations or were mapped onto the 2003 rolls. The booths sit inside the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, an exercise that has produced 13 crore deletions nationwide. An inquiry has been ordered into the Godda booths. The contest is over who must prove what: roll maintenance is a routine statutory duty, and a revision that asks a voter to establish belonging converts it into a test of citizenship.

    What is the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls?

    1. A full re-verification, not a routine update: The Election Commission of India (ECI) requires an existing voter to submit fresh documentary proof of eligibility, in place of the ordinary practice of adding and deleting names on application.
    2. Form 7 is the deletion instrument: Under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, Form 7 allows an objection to a proposed inclusion, an objection to an existing name, or a request for deletion.
    3. An earlier intensive roll is the baseline: A voter traceable to the 2003 rolls is treated as verified, and every other voter must produce documents afresh.

    What did the Godda booths reveal about how deletions are sought?

    1. Bulk objections came from workers of one party: Form 7s were submitted in lots at a minimum of four booths, producing a standoff between election officials and Bharatiya Janata Party workers.
    2. Compliance did not protect a voter: Names of people who had filed the required documents, or who were mapped onto the earlier intensive roll, still appeared on the objection lists.
    3. The pattern points at a specific set of voters: Objections filed in bulk raise the concern of deletion aimed at minority voters rather than at genuine duplication or migration.
    4. An inquiry is the response so far: Officials ordered an inquiry after the report, and no change has been made to how third party objections are received.

    How does the revision shift the burden of proof onto the voter?

    1. The voter answers an accusation she was never served: The exercise asks her to establish belonging, in place of requiring the objector to establish ineligibility.
    2. The documents demanded are hard to access: Proof of the kind sought is least available to the poorest and the least documented households.
    3. The deadlines are unrealistic: The window to respond is shorter than the time it takes to obtain a record from a revenue or municipal office.
    4. The process itself is the penalty: A voter finally retained on the roll has still spent days, travel and money defending a name she already held.

    Where does the Supreme Court’s role in the exercise now stand?

    1. It intervened in Bihar: The Court directed the Commission to accept Aadhaar as acceptable proof. It also nudged the Commission toward recording reasons for a deletion.
    2. It stepped back in West Bengal: The Court gave the Commission the benefit of every doubt and did not press the questions the exercise had raised.
    3. The added layers do not close the process: Micro-observers, judicial officers, a bulky under adjudication list and 19 appellate tribunals were set up too late and carry no deadline, so the appellate process runs on after polling ends.
    4. Exclusion carries no defined consequence: A deleted voter is told nothing about what follows, whether detention, deportation, denial of benefits, prolonged litigation or reapplication.

    What does criticism from within the electoral establishment add?

    1. Legality is being separated from fairness: A former Election Commissioner described the revision as legal but not fair, and located justice in the spirit of the law rather than its letter.
    2. The critique names the judiciary alongside the Commission: Statutory institutions and constitutional bodies were described as acting on a might is right basis, with the judiciary validating the result.
    3. Participation is the cost being incurred: About 33 percent of the electorate already does not vote, and anxiety over the roll adds a fresh reason to disengage.

    Challenges to the Special Intensive Revision

    1. No threshold governs a third party objection: The Rules fix no limit on how many Form 7 objections one person may file and no standard of scrutiny before a name is acted on. Eg. Bihar’s revision produced a draft roll from which about 65 lakh names were dropped in a single cycle.
      The Fix: Cap objections per objector per booth and require a recorded hearing before any deletion made on a third party objection.
    2. Documentary proof excludes the least documented: A verification standard built on legacy papers falls hardest on people who never received them. Eg. The National Register of Citizens exercise in Assam left about 19 lakh people off the final list in 2019, largely on documentary grounds.
      The Fix: Treat a name on the immediately preceding final roll as presumptive proof, so the objector carries the burden of displacing it.
    3. The statutory appeal has no disposal clock: Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 provides an appeal to the District Magistrate and then to the Chief Electoral Officer, without a fixed period for decision. Eg. The Bengal appellate tribunals will decide claims after the votes have been counted.
      The Fix: Fix a statutory disposal period ending before the last date for nominations, with the name restored by default if it lapses.
    4. Migrant workers are structurally exposed: A voter absent from the constituency during verification cannot answer an objection filed against her. Eg. Census 2011 recorded about 45 crore internal migrants in India.
      The Fix: Allow verification through a designated relative or a digital filing that returns a dated acknowledgement.
    5. Deletions are published as counts, not as reasons: The Commission reports how many names were removed and not the category of ground on which each was removed. Eg. A household learns of a deletion from the published roll rather than from a served notice.
      The Fix: Publish booth level deletion grounds in a machine readable form, so a pattern is visible before an election rather than after it.

    Conclusion

    An electoral roll needs continuous cleaning and updating, and that is not in dispute. The dispute is over who carries the burden of proof, and over what a voter is owed when she cannot discharge it. The tests to watch are two: whether the Commission is required to record a reason for every deletion, and whether an excluded voter receives a final decision before polling rather than after it.

    Back2Basics

    1. The Representation of the People Act, 1950 provides for the allocation of seats in Parliament and the State legislatures, the delimitation of constituencies, and the qualifications of voters.
    2. It is the statute under which electoral rolls are prepared and revised, with the machinery of electoral registration officers and booth level machinery drawn from it.
    3. Section 21 empowers the Election Commission to direct a special revision of an electoral roll for any constituency, for reasons to be recorded.
    4. Section 24 provides the appeal against an inclusion or a deletion, first to the District Magistrate and then to the Chief Electoral Officer.

    [2018, GS2, 10 marks] In the light of recent controversy regarding the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), what are the challenges before the Election Commission of India to ensure the trustworthiness of elections in India?

  • NTA looks for exam centres, seeks help from technical education body

    NTA looks for exam centres, seeks help from technical education body

    Why in the News

    The National Testing Agency (NTA) has begun assembling a network of government owned computer laboratories to run the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET-UG) as a computer based examination. It has asked the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to collect information from government institutions on their information technology infrastructure and available space. The move follows the government’s decision to shift NEET-UG out of pen and paper mode from next year, taken after a question paper leak forced the cancellation of the examination and a nationwide protest. The constraint the request exposes is physical rather than procedural. A nationwide computer based test needs a geographically distributed network of secure, connected centres, and that network does not yet exist in public hands.

    What is a Standard Testing Centre?

    1. A vetted venue rather than a hired hall: A Standard Testing Centre is a facility identified and developed in advance for computer based testing, instead of being arranged afresh for each examination cycle.
    2. The infrastructure it must carry: Institutions have been asked to report the number of functional computers and computer systems, their information technology systems, networking and internet connectivity, availability of power backup, and CCTV and related facilities.
    3. It must have usable spare capacity: Institutions have also been asked to report vacant space, since a centre needs room that is not already committed to teaching.
    4. Only government institutions qualify at this stage: The information has been sought only in respect of government colleges and institutions approved by AICTE.

    Why is NTA routing the search through the technical education regulator?

    1. AICTE approved institutions are the largest pool of public computer laboratories: Engineering colleges, polytechnic institutes, government university departments and other state run technical or management institutions all sit inside its approval network.
    2. The requirement is geographic spread, not raw seat count: The stated reason is the progressive migration of examinations to computer based mode and the need for a wider geographically distributed network of testing centres.
    3. The request travelled down the institutional chain: NTA wrote to AICTE on 5 August, and AICTE then wrote to Vice Chancellors of state run technical universities and to directors and principals of approved government institutions.
    4. The returns are dated and must be certified: Institutions must submit details that are accurate, complete and duly verified by the competent authority of the institution, by 15 September.

    What forced the shift to computer based testing?

    1. A paper leak invalidated the examination: The Union Education Ministry cancelled the NEET-UG entrance examination held on 3 May after the question paper leaked.
    2. The scale of the disruption: Around 22 lakh candidates had appeared in that examination.
    3. The political cost: The cancellation sparked nationwide protests and the Union Education Minister resigned.
    4. The stated remedy: The government has said NEET-UG will move from pen and paper mode to computer based testing from next year.
    5. The agency itself is being restructured: The search for centres runs alongside an ongoing overhaul of NTA, the nodal autonomous body that conducts NEET-UG and other entrance tests for higher educational institutions.

    Challenges to migrating NEET-UG to computer based testing

    1. The scale has no precedent in computer based testing: No Indian examination has run a computer based test for a cohort of this size in a single sitting, so the centre requirement is a multiple of anything currently operated. Eg. The Joint Entrance Examination (Main) already runs on computer, and it is spread across multiple sessions and days rather than one day.
      The Fix: Publish the shift and session design alongside the centre inventory, so candidates know in advance whether scores will be compared across papers.
    2. Multiple shifts require score normalisation, which is itself contested: Candidates sitting different question papers must be compared through a statistical adjustment rather than through raw marks. Eg. Percentile normalisation in the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) has repeatedly been challenged for producing rank differences between shifts.
      The Fix: Release the normalisation formula and shift wise difficulty data with the result, rather than only the final percentile.
    3. Rural and small town candidates face a familiarity gap: A test taken on a keyboard and screen advantages candidates with routine computer access, and NEET-UG draws heavily from districts where school computer laboratories are shared or non functional. Eg. The very shortage of government computer infrastructure that NTA is now mapping is the same shortage those candidates study under.
      The Fix: Fund a compulsory mock test on the actual examination software at the allotted centre before the examination day.
    4. The centre, not the press, is the historic weak point: Leaks and impersonation cases have originated at the examination venue, and a computer based test moves that risk to local network access and administrator privileges. Eg. The compromise that led to the May cancellation happened before candidates ever reached the hall.
      The Fix: Log and audit every administrator level action at a centre, with the log held by the agency rather than by the host institution.
    5. Host institutions are being asked to supply capacity without a funding line: A college that lends its laboratory absorbs power, staff time and lost teaching hours on examination days. Eg. The AICTE communication seeks an inventory of infrastructure and states nothing about what a host institution receives in return.
      The Fix: Attach a per candidate hosting grant to the Standard Testing Centre designation, paid against certified compliance with the infrastructure norms.

    Conclusion

    The decision to move NEET-UG onto computers has already been announced. The capacity to run it has not yet been counted. The agency is conducting an inventory now, which means the size of the network will be known only after the mode has been committed to. The point to watch is what those returns show. If the public system cannot supply enough certified centres, the test either returns to private venues, which is where the security problem originated, or it splits across shifts and sessions, which substitutes a scoring dispute for a leak.

    Back2Basics

    1. What it is: The All India Council for Technical Education is the national body for the planning and coordinated development of technical education in India.
    2. Statutory basis: It was set up in 1945 as an advisory body and given statutory status by the All India Council for Technical Education Act, 1987.
    3. Where it sits: It functions under the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education.
    4. What it does: It grants approval to technical institutions and prescribes norms and standards for courses and infrastructure, across fields including engineering, technology, management, architecture, pharmacy and hotel management.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “No direct PYQ traced in the provided files. Closest microtheme: Domestic Bodies/Agencies.”

  • Over 7,200 CBI cases under Prevention of Corruption Act pending trial, says CVC report

    Over 7,200 CBI cases under Prevention of Corruption Act pending trial, says CVC report

    Why in the News

    The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has reported in its annual report that over 7,200 cases investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 were awaiting completion of trial at the end of 2025.

    Where does the anti-corruption pipeline stall?

    1. Trials run past two decades: More than 400 of the 7,229 pending Prevention of Corruption Act trials have been open for over 20 years.
    2. Appeals add a second backlog: 14,083 appeals, revisions and writ petitions under the Act were pending in the High Courts and the Supreme Court.
    3. Over a third of those are more than a decade old: 3,161 were 10 to 15 years old, 1,347 were 15 to 20 years old and 739 were over 20 years old.
    4. The wider trial load is larger still: Counting cases outside the Act, 11,510 CBI court cases were pending trial at the end of the year.

    What do the investigation and conviction figures show?

    1. Convictions improved: The conviction rate in CBI cases was 71.71 percent in 2025 against 69.14 percent in 2024.
    2. Investigation pendency is small by comparison: 755 corruption related cases were pending investigation, made up of 679 regular cases, 63 preliminary enquiries and 13 Lokpal references (cases the Lokpal has referred to the CBI for investigation).
    3. A year is the usual limit, and 274 cases crossed it: Of the 679 regular cases, 274 had been pending for over one year.
    4. The intake in 2025: The CBI registered 797 regular cases, 177 preliminary enquiries and recorded 31 Lokpal references during the year.

    What capacity does the vigilance system have?

    1. One in seven CBI posts is vacant: Against a sanctioned strength of 7,300, 1,088 posts were vacant, with the largest gap of 672 in the executive ranks.
    2. Departmental inquiries under the Commission: For officers under CVC jurisdiction, 1,460 departmental inquiries were in process during 2025 and 731 were completed.
    3. Inquiries outside its purview: For employees outside its jurisdiction, 9,883 inquiries were in process and 5,561 were completed.
    4. Complaint disposal kept pace: The Commission received 34,153 complaints in 2025 in addition to 1,260 carried forward from 2024, and disposed of 35,193.

    Challenges to prosecuting corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act

    1. Sanction is a gate the executive controls: Section 19 requires the government’s sanction before a court can take cognisance against a public servant, and Section 17A, added by the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, requires prior approval even to begin an inquiry into a decision taken in official capacity. Eg. In Vineet Narain v Union of India (1997) the Supreme Court fixed a three month limit for sanction decisions, and the 2018 amendment wrote that limit, extendable by one month, into Section 19 itself.
      The Fix: Treat sanction as deemed granted when the statutory period lapses without a decision.
    2. Special courts are too few for the load: Section 3 of the Act requires trials before special judges, and the same judges carry other criminal work, so a corruption trial waits behind the general docket. Eg. In Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v Union of India the Supreme Court in 2021 recorded 4,984 pending criminal cases against legislators and directed special courts to prioritise them.
      The Fix: Designate exclusive special judges for Prevention of Corruption Act trials in every district with a CBI court, with a monthly disposal target monitored by the High Court.
    3. State consent limits where the CBI can act: Under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 the CBI needs a State’s consent to investigate within it, and a growing list of States has withdrawn general consent so every case needs a fresh order. Eg. West Bengal withdrew general consent in November 2018, and in 2024 the Supreme Court allowed the State’s suit against the Union over CBI investigations to proceed to trial.
      The Fix: Enact a standalone CBI statute defining its jurisdiction, as the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice recommended in 2023.
    4. Deputation, not a cadre, staffs the agency: The CBI fills most executive posts by deputation from State police and central forces, so vacancies persist when States decline to release officers. Eg. In May 2013, during the coal block allocation hearing, the Supreme Court described the CBI as a “caged parrot” after the agency’s status report had been shared with the Law Minister.
      The Fix: Expand direct recruitment at the sub inspector and deputy superintendent levels and offer fixed tenure with cadre security to reduce reliance on deputation.

    Conclusion

    The Commission’s numbers show the agency’s work improving at the stages it controls and stalling at the stages it does not. The pendency now sits with the courts and the sanctioning authorities rather than with the investigators. The marker to watch is whether the next annual report shows the oldest trials closing rather than the backlog growing.

    Back2Basics: Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)

    1. Origin: Set up in 1964 on the recommendation of the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption, and made a statutory body by the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003.
    2. Composition: A Central Vigilance Commissioner and up to two Vigilance Commissioners, appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee of the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
    3. Powers over the CBI: It exercises superintendence over the CBI’s investigations of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act by virtue of Section 4 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, and reviews the progress of those investigations.
    4. Reporting: It submits an annual report to the President, and the report is laid before both Houses of Parliament.

    [2026, GS2, 15 marks] “Transparency and accountability in governance are not about controlling corruption but about creating the trust of stakeholders in the policy process by following the Rule of Law and Participatory Governance.” Comment.”

  • Why regulators are tightening the cybersecurity net around India’s financial sector

    Why regulators are tightening the cybersecurity net around India’s financial sector

    Why in the News

    The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced an IT Resilience Index for Market Infrastructure Institutions, converting cyber preparedness into a periodically computed score rather than a one time compliance certificate. The same circular aligns the regulator’s cyber incident reporting portal for regulated entities with a standardised Format for Incident Reporting Exchange (FIRE), a common template that lets an incident be reported in stages as it unfolds. This follows the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) framework for banks and financial institutions issued last month, which mandates board level oversight, a dedicated information technology risk committee and a six hour window to report a cyber incident. Both regulators are responding to artificial intelligence lowering the cost of committing fraud at scale, including deepfake voices used to bypass Know Your Customer (KYC) verification. The tension is that resilience is now scored by the institution being scored, on a six monthly cycle, against threats that move in hours.

    What is the IT Resilience Index?

    1. What it covers: It quantifies the information technology readiness of Market Infrastructure Institutions, meaning the stock exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories through which trading and settlement actually happen.
    2. The nine parameters: Availability and security carry a weight of 20 per cent each, and integrity, governance, reliability and monitoring, modularity and flexibility, and business continuity carry 10 per cent each. Scalability and a residual “others” parameter carry 5 per cent each.
    3. The reporting cycle: Each institution computes the index half yearly and files it within 60 days of the end of each half year. The filing carries a comparative analysis of two consecutive half years on a rolling basis together with the corrective action taken.
    4. When it applies: The framework takes effect from early 2027 and carries an early warning system with continuous monitoring to flag risks before they mature.

    Why is cyber readiness being converted into a score?

    1. The stated risk: Disruption, degraded performance or compromise of these systems can hit critical market operations and damage trust in the securities market itself.
    2. A score reaches the board: Resilience expressed as a number can be measured and benchmarked, which moves it from the technology function into boardroom accountability.
    3. Direction matters more than a snapshot: A comparative filing across two consecutive half years shows whether an institution is improving or slipping, which a point in time audit cannot establish.

    How is incident reporting being standardised?

    1. One template across regulated entities: The reporting portal now follows the FIRE format, so incidents arrive in a comparable structure rather than in each entity’s own narrative.
    2. Reporting follows the incident life cycle: The format carries initial reporting, intermediate updates and a final closure, and it accepts that some information will not be available at the first report.
    3. Two regulators, two clocks: The banking regulator fixes a hard outer deadline for reporting by banks, and the market regulator fixes a staged format for its own regulated entities.

    How is artificial intelligence changing both the threat and the response?

    1. Fraud now scales cheaply: Synthetic voice is being used to defeat customer verification, and complex scams are being run against critical financial services institutions rather than only against individuals.
    2. Breaches have already landed: Cybersecurity threats infiltrated a number of banks during 2026.
    3. Guidelines are pending: The market regulator has said it will shortly issue guidelines for the responsible use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
    4. The regulator is also a user: Artificial intelligence models already flag suspicious trading patterns, and a team has been constituted to build models covering corporate investigations, extending surveillance from trade data to filed quarterly results.

    Why is the response shifting into the account holder’s own hands?

    1. The killswitch idea: The banking regulator has flagged a mechanism allowing a user to freeze all financial transactions in their accounts during an ongoing fraud.
    2. The securities market is examining the same tool: The market regulator is evaluating a comparable mechanism as part of its artificial intelligence guidelines.
    3. Compensation was widened first: In June the banking regulator revised its fraud compensation mechanism, enlarging the set of victims who can claim and bringing newer digital scams into the definition of fraud.

    Challenges to the IT Resilience Index

    1. The score is self computed: An institution scores its own controls and files the result, so a weak control can be scored generously without an independent check. Eg. Lapses in access and system controls at a Market Infrastructure Institution surfaced in the co-location proceedings against the National Stock Exchange, not through its own reporting. Fix. Require third party assurance of the score before it is filed, in the same way financial statements are audited.
    2. A half yearly cadence cannot track a live intrusion: An index computed twice a year describes a posture, not an event that unfolds within a trading session. Eg. The National Stock Exchange outage of February 2021 halted cash and derivatives trading for close to four hours. Fix. Pair the half yearly score with a continuous telemetry feed to the regulator’s monitoring desk.
    3. The riskiest dependencies sit outside the perimeter: Cloud providers, data centres and software vendors are shared across institutions, and their failure is not captured by any single institution’s score. Eg. The CrowdStrike update failure of July 2024 disabled Windows systems at banks and airlines across several countries at once. Fix. Score vendor and cloud concentration explicitly, and require a tested failover to an alternative provider.
    4. Disclosure competes with reputation: An institution’s first instinct in a breach is containment, and a reporting clock runs against that instinct. Eg. The 2016 malware compromise of a payment switch led to about 32 lakh debit cards being recalled, and it surfaced weeks after the breach began. Fix. Make timeliness and completeness of incident reporting a scored parameter, so silence costs the institution its index.

    Conclusion

    Cyber readiness has been turned into a score, on the reasoning that a number reaches a board in a way an audit finding does not. The weakness is that the entity being scored computes its own score. The marker to watch is the first round of comparative filings, since that is when it becomes clear whether the index is measuring behaviour or documentation.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2022, GS3, 10 marks] What are the different elements of cyber security? Keeping in view the challenges in cyber security, examine the extent to which India has successfully developed a comprehensive National Cyber Security Strategy.”

  • Why is FSSAI tightening the rules on food claims?

    Why in the News

    The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued more than 150 notices to food companies in recent months over misleading advertisements, false claims and labelling non compliance. Mondelez India has withdrawn certain health and nutrient comparison claims for Bournvita and removed the related advertisements from e-commerce platforms. The regulator has extended its scrutiny beyond the physical package to online marketplaces and food service establishments. A claim can be withdrawn on notice years after consumers have already acted on it, which is what makes the reach of this enforcement contested.

    What is a health claim, and what is a nutrient comparison claim?

    1. Health claim: A statement suggesting that a product helps deliver a particular health outcome. It can create expectations beyond what the product’s ingredient composition or the available evidence justifies.
    2. Nutrient comparison claim: A claim that positions a product’s nutrient content against another product or against a reference, such as a comparative calcium benefit.
    3. What the regulator governs: Food regulation is not limited to whether a product contains permitted ingredients. It also governs how a product’s nutritional qualities and benefits are communicated.

    Which claims and companies are under scrutiny?

    1. The companies served notices: The list includes Nestlé India, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola India, Abbott India, Red Bull India, Danone India, Mondelez India, Ferrero India and Kenvue.
    2. Bournvita: The product came under public scrutiny in 2023 over its sugar content and its claims about nutritional benefits. The present action does not establish that the product is unsafe, it questions whether particular claims are adequately supported.
    3. Amway India: The company removed “100%” from its “100% Pure Coconut Oil” packaging and promotional material. It also dropped the “Energy Drink” descriptor from its caffeinated XS products.
    4. Juza Foods: The Kerala based company agreed to withdraw claims of immunity, stronger bones and comparative calcium benefits from its baby food products.

    Why has the regulator targeted the word “100%”?

    1. The advisory: In May 2025 FSSAI advised food businesses to stop using “100%” on food labels, packaging and promotional material.
    2. The reasoning: The regulator held that such language conveys a false sense of absolute purity or superiority to consumers.
    3. Why absolute words matter: Words such as “pure”, “natural”, “healthy”, “immunity-boosting” and “100%” influence a purchase before the consumer examines the nutrition panel or the ingredient list.

    Why has enforcement moved to e-commerce?

    1. Notices beyond the shelf: Notices have gone to online marketplaces as well as to restaurants and other food businesses.
    2. Online pages carry different content: An online product page can carry claims, images and promotional language that differ from what appears on the physical package.
    3. How consumers now decide: A purchase is often made off an online banner or product description rather than off the label read in a shop.

    What does the crackdown still leave unaddressed?

    1. Withdrawal comes late: A company can remove a claim after receiving a notice, and consumers may already have encountered that claim for years.
    2. Messaging survives across platforms: An advertisement can disappear from one platform and its messaging remain present elsewhere.
    3. Listings change faster than checks: Online listings change rapidly, which makes sustained monitoring necessary rather than one time correction.
    4. Compliance is episodic: The regulator’s task is to make compliance routine rather than a temporary response to regulatory scrutiny.

    Conclusion

    The shift being sought is from broad marketing language to claims that can be demonstrated. This matters as India confronts rising obesity and unhealthy diets, and FSSAI has linked its food safety messaging to that wider push for healthier eating. For a consumer, a health claim on a food packet remains a claim and not a guarantee.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2015, GS2, 12 marks] For achieving the desired objectives, it is necessary to ensure that the regulatory institutions remain independent and autonomous. Discuss in the light of the experiences in recent past.”

  • Soon, red hexagonal label to warn of high fat, sugar, salt in snacks

    Why in the News

    The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has told the Supreme Court that it proposes a red hexagonal front of pack label to warn consumers when a packaged food is high in salt, added sugar or added fat. The proposal answers the Court, which is hearing a plea by 3S and Our Health Society, a Kerala based non-profit organisation. No notification has been issued. What is contested is whether the phasing and the trigger conditions attached to the label leave most unhealthy products outside it.

    What would the proposed label carry?

    1. Shape and placement: The label is a red hexagon carried on the front of the packet, so the warning is visible before the pack is turned over.
    2. Language and size: The warning will be in English, in a font one point larger than the font used in the nutritional information table at the back of the pack.
    3. The declarations: The label will state “high fat”, “high sugar”, “high salt” or “highly sweetened beverage”, as applicable, to let consumers identify products high in the specified nutrients.
    4. The thresholds: What counts as high is set against the thresholds in the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN).

    How will the rollout be phased?

    1. The first phase: Only products high in at least two of the ingredients of concern will carry the warning label.
    2. The second phase: The warning will extend to products high in even one ingredient.
    3. The stated reason: FSSAI said the two phase plan is meant to secure consumer acceptability and to give industry adequate time for reformulation.

    Which products are exempt?

    1. Single ingredient foods: Food products with a single ingredient fall outside the labelling requirement.
    2. Foods inherently rich in the nutrients: Ghee, edible oil, salt, sugar, jaggery and honey are exempt, subject to the other requirements under the food safety and labelling regulations.

    Why do nutrition experts call the proposal ineffective?

    1. The two nutrient trigger: The Convener of Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) India said many unhealthy products will not need the warning label in the first phase, since they are high in just one nutrient.
    2. No date for the second phase: FSSAI has given no timeline for the phase in which every product high in fat, sugar or salt must carry the warning.
    3. The word “added”: The warning is triggered only by added sugar or added fat, and the added quantity is difficult to estimate.
    4. Natural sugars escape the trigger: High levels of naturally occurring sugars also harm health, and the proposed trigger does not capture them.
    5. Presentation: The proposed font size is too small, and the message should also be carried in Hindi.

    Conclusion

    FSSAI has accepted warning labelling in principle, and the conditions attached to it decide how many products will actually carry a warning. The petitioner has circulated a revised draft, invited public comments on it, and will file a rejoinder once those comments are received. The next milestone is the notification itself, which will show whether the second phase carries a date.

    Back2Basics

    1. Statutory basis: FSSAI was established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
    2. Parent ministry: It functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
    3. Mandate: It lays down science based standards for articles of food and regulates their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import.
    4. Labelling powers: Packaging and labelling requirements for packaged food, including what must be declared on the pack, are framed under regulations it issues.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2016] With reference to pre-packaged items in India, it is mandatory to the manufacturer to put which of the following information on the main label, as per the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011? 1. List of ingredients including additives 2. Nutrition information 3. Recommendation, if any, made by the medical profession about the possibility of any allergic reactions 4. Vegetarian/non-vegetarian Select the correct answer using the code given below. (a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 2, 3 and 4 (c) 1, 2 and 4 (d) 1 and 4 only ANSWER: (c)”

  • NITI Aayog: Degrees like BA, B.Sc, B.Com have ‘weak job linkages’, need reforms

    NITI Aayog: Degrees like BA, B.Sc, B.Com have ‘weak job linkages’, need reforms

    Why in the News

    NITI Aayog has flagged that unemployment among graduates remains far higher than the national average, and that over-reliance on generic degrees such as BA, B.Sc and B.Com is contributing to the problem. The finding comes amid a renewed push to redesign India’s skilling architecture toward specialised, job-linked programmes.

    What does NITI Aayog’s assessment find?

    1. Most graduates work outside their field of study: Over 90% of India’s graduates are employed in roles not aligned with their qualifications.
    2. The disconnect is curriculum level: NITI Aayog states that curriculum in most institutions remains outdated and misaligned with evolving industry needs, producing degrees and diplomas with weak job linkages.
    3. The proposed direction is sector specific: The think tank makes the case for moving toward specialised, job-linked programmes in high-growth sectors such as green industries and electric vehicles, with greater emphasis on apprenticeships.

    Conclusion

    NITI Aayog’s assessment reframes graduate unemployment as a curriculum design problem rather than only a labour demand problem, and its recommendation is a shift from generic degrees toward sector-specific, apprenticeship-linked training in high-growth industries.

    “[2015, GS3, 12 marks] The nature of economic growth in India in recent times is often described as a jobless growth. Do you agree with this view? Give arguments in favour of your answer.”

  • Opposition raises concerns over ‘weakening’ of ISRO; Centre hits back

    Why in the News

    Opposition parties in Parliament questioned the government’s push to privatise parts of the space sector, citing recent resignations at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and asking whether the shift toward private participation is weakening the organisation. The government responded by citing the $44-billion space economy target, the Kulasekarapattinam spaceport under development, and continued investment in the Sriharikota launch facility, arguing that private participation is expanding, not displacing, ISRO’s role.

    What is the Opposition’s specific concern?

    1. Reported resignations at ISRO cited as evidence of institutional strain: Opposition members pointed to recent resignations at ISRO as a sign that the organisation is losing talent, and linked this to the government’s parallel push to open the space sector to private companies.
    2. Question framed as public-versus-private capacity, not merely personnel: The core question raised was whether directing new space-sector opportunities toward private players comes at the cost of ISRO’s own institutional capacity and morale, rather than being framed as a narrow human-resources issue alone.

    How did the government respond?

    1. The $44-billion space economy target as the framing device: The government’s rebuttal centred on India’s targeted space economy size, cited at $44 billion, arguing that reaching this scale requires private capacity in addition to, not instead of, ISRO’s own programmes.
    2. The Kulasekarapattinam spaceport as evidence of expansion: The government cited the Kulasekarapattinam spaceport, under development in Tamil Nadu specifically to support the small-satellite launch vehicles that private and ISRO missions alike are expected to use, as evidence of continuing public investment in launch infrastructure.
    3. Continued investment in Sriharikota: The government also pointed to ongoing investment in the Sriharikota launch facility, ISRO’s principal spaceport, as evidence that ISRO’s core launch infrastructure is being expanded rather than run down.

    What is the structural relationship between ISRO and India’s growing private space sector?

    1. IN-SPACe as the facilitating body for private entry: The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), an autonomous body under the Department of Space, was created specifically to authorise and facilitate private-sector participation in space activities that were previously the exclusive domain of ISRO.
    2. NewSpace India Limited as the commercial arm: NewSpace India Limited, the public sector undertaking under the Department of Space, commercialises ISRO-developed technology and manages the transfer of ISRO capabilities to industry.
    3. Private launch capability is still at an early, unproven stage: Private Indian space companies have made progress, including new propulsion technologies, but have not yet demonstrated launch capability at the scale or reliability of ISRO’s own vehicles, meaning private participation currently supplements rather than substitutes for ISRO’s launch role.

    Conclusion

    The exchange reflects a genuine disagreement over sequencing rather than over the direction of India’s space policy: both sides accept that private participation is expanding, and the dispute is over whether that expansion is currently coming at ISRO’s institutional expense. Whether the resignations flagged by the Opposition reflect a broader retention problem, or are within the range any large scientific organisation experiences, will only be clear from data the government has yet to place before Parliament.

    Back2Basics: Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe)

    1. An autonomous, single-window agency under the Department of Space, established to authorise, promote, and regulate private-sector space activities in India.
    2. Created as part of the 2020 space-sector reforms that opened satellite building, launch vehicle development, and space-based services to private Indian companies.
    3. Functions separately from ISRO, which retains its own research, development, and launch mandate, so the two operate as parallel rather than competing structures.
    4. Reviews and clears private-sector proposals for satellite launches, ground infrastructure, and related space activities.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2026] Consider the following statements about involvement of private entities in India’s space programme:
    1. IN-SPACe is an autonomous agency formed to facilitate participation of private entities.
    2. Agnikul Cosmos launched the world’s first flight using 3D-printed rocket engine.
    3. Skyroot Aerospace has developed liquid fuel for GSLV.
    (a) 1 only
    (b) 2 and 3 only
    (c) 1 and 2 only
    (d) 1, 2 and 3
    ANSWER: C”