Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly generative models like ChatGPT and Gemini, has become both a boon and a challenge in higher education. Students increasingly rely on AI for assignments, summaries, coding, and even emails, while faculty members grapple with maintaining originality, academic honesty, and critical thinking. With AI growing faster than existing regulatory or pedagogical frameworks, Indian institutions are experimenting with varied approaches, ranging from outright bans to integration into curricula. The choices made today will determine not just the future of learning but also India’s knowledge economy and workforce readiness.
The Changing Landscape of Education with AI
How widespread is AI usage among students and teachers
- IIT Delhi Survey (2024): Four out of five students admitted to using AI, often several times a week. One in ten subscribed to premium versions.
- Faculty usage: 77% of surveyed teachers used AI for summarising papers, creating slides, or drafting communication.
- Student motivations: Simplification of concepts, summarisation of material, mind maps, and scenario simulations.
- Concerns: Errors in math, flawed debugging, weak context handling.
The integrity dilemma in classrooms
- Blurred lines: Students question whether using AI counts as “cheating” or “time-saving.”
- Academic honesty: IIT Delhi’s committee recommended rewriting plagiarism policies to require disclosure of AI use.
- Critical thinking loss: Faculty fear students may accept AI answers as “Truth” without questioning them.
Institutional responses in India
- Policy innovations:
- IIT Delhi – integration of AI/ML in curricula, AI workshops, campus-wide licenses.
- IIIT Delhi – shifted evaluation to 90% exams, 10% assignments.
- IIM Ranchi – evaluation rubric for responsible AI integration.
- Shiv Nadar University – five-level “Gen AI Assessment Scale” from prohibition to responsible autonomy.
- Ashoka University – AI literacy courses, foundation modules, ethics of AI curriculum.
- Strict resistance: Some universities (Delhi University’s Dept. of Education) enforce “No AI” policies, insisting on handwritten assignments.
- Pedagogical experiments with AI
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- Classroom integration: AI tools are increasingly used to automate routine tasks like code generation, freeing classroom time for higher-order problem-solving.
- Assessment innovation: Institutions are shifting towards interactive methods such as AI-assisted viva voce, project-based evaluation, and scenario testing to ensure genuine understanding.
- Ethics in curriculum: Courses on “Ethics of AI” and AI literacy modules are being introduced to sensitise students towards responsible and transparent usage.
- Balanced usage: AI is deployed after core concepts are taught, ensuring students retain critical thinking and do not outsource judgment entirely.
Global responses and comparative perspectives
- USA: Princeton provides ChatGPT licenses; Oxford mandates disclosure but allows professors to decide; assignments redesigned to integrate AI.
- Australia: TEQSA guidelines legitimise AI but require mandatory disclosure; oral exams and viva voce are making a comeback.
- UK: Universities pilot TeacherMatic to ensure sector-wide learning models.
Conclusion
Generative AI has irreversibly entered the Indian classroom. The challenge is not whether to allow or ban it but how to regulate, integrate, and ethically harness it. From IITs’ committees to global universities’ adaptive models, the world is learning that AI can either weaken critical thinking or be a catalyst for higher-order learning. For India, the stakes are especially high: with its demographic dividend and growing tech economy, how students learn today will define the nation’s competitiveness tomorrow.
Value Addition
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Real-Time Usage of AI in Education
- Adaptive Learning Platforms : AI customises lesson plans, adjusting pace and difficulty based on student performance, ensuring personalised learning outcomes.
- Automated Assessment and Feedback : AI evaluates tests, essays, coding tasks, and provides instant feedback, saving teacher time and helping students improve faster.
- Language Translation and Accessibility : Real-time translation, speech-to-text, and text-to-speech tools remove linguistic barriers, supporting multilingual and differently-abled learners.
- AI-Powered Virtual Tutors : Chatbots and digital assistants are available 24×7 to clarify doubts, simulate problem-solving, and provide personalised tutoring.
- Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Checks : AI tools detect plagiarism and even AI-generated content, ensuring transparency and originality in student submissions.
- Immersive Learning with AI + AR/VR : Virtual labs and simulations powered by AI allow safe, hands-on learning in science, medicine, and engineering.
- Administrative Automation : AI automates attendance, timetabling, grading records, and performance monitoring, reducing non-teaching workload for faculty.
- Industry 4.0 Skill Development : AI-based coding assistants, real-time debugging, and project simulators prepare students for jobs in data science, robotics, and emerging tech.
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PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2023] Introduce the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI). How does AI help clinical diagnosis? Do you perceive any threat to privacy of the individual in the use of AI in the healthcare?
Linkage: AI’s growing role in education parallels its use in healthcare, where it aids efficiency but raises ethical and privacy concerns. Just as AI in clinical diagnosis demands accuracy, transparency, and accountability, AI in classrooms requires disclosure, integrity, and critical oversight. Both contexts highlight the larger governance challenge of balancing innovation with responsibility.
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Introduction
Heavy rains in August 2025 have wreaked havoc across North India, Himachal Pradesh cut off, Jammu and Kashmir reporting over 40 deaths, Punjab’s farmland submerged, and the Yamuna swelling in the capital. The floods highlight the increasing unpredictability of the southwest monsoon, where rainfall comes in concentrated bursts rather than spread across weeks. Beyond the immediate tragedy, this points to systemic governance challenges, unplanned infrastructure in fragile zones, inadequate early warning systems, and a reactive rather than preventive disaster management model.
Increasing unpredictability of the monsoon
- Erraticism of rainfall: Concentrated bursts replace evenly spread rains, overwhelming slopes, rivers, and cities.
- Amplified erosion: Short, intense rain accelerates slope destabilisation in Himalayas.
- Recurring phenomenon: Evidence now suggests such rainfall patterns are no longer exceptional but likely regular.
Fragility of Himalayan ecosystems and their weakening
- Deforestation and clearance: Forest cover removal and road-widening continue unchecked.
- Slope destabilisation: Lack of slope-safe engineering increases landslide risks.
- Shrinking catchments: Reduced buffering capacity heightens chances of slope failure and siltation downstream.
Insufficiency in disaster preparedness
- Early warning gaps: Despite better forecasts, reliable ground-level alerts are absent.
- Relief over resilience: Agencies mobilise post-damage; pre-positioned supplies and community drills are missing.
- Reactive model: Each disaster treated as unforeseeable, ignoring repeated expert warnings.
Policy choices aggravating vulnerabilities
- Strategic projects: Roads and urban expansion pursued in unstable landscapes.
- Poor compensatory afforestation: Quality of replanted forests does not match original ecological value.
- Climate-resilient infrastructure lag: Development focus prioritises speed over sustainability.
Shifts required in disaster governance
- Shift to preventive strategies: Focus on reducing vulnerabilities before disasters occur.
- Systematic preparedness: Regular drills, community participation, and pre-emptive relief stocks.
- Balanced growth: Infrastructure that respects ecological fragility and integrates climate resilience.
Conclusion
The 2025 floods across North India are not isolated accidents but part of a pattern of climate-driven extreme weather. Treating each calamity as “unprecedented” delays learning and perpetuates cycles of loss. Building resilience means moving beyond post-disaster relief to preventive strategies: sustainable infrastructure, landslide mitigation, community drills, and early-warning systems. Unless governance shifts from reaction to anticipation, monsoon seasons will continue to leave trails of destruction.
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2019] Disaster preparedness is the first step in any disaster management process. Explain how hazard zonation mapping will help disaster mitigation in the case of landslides.
Linkage: The 2025 North India floods highlight how slope destabilisation and unchecked construction in Himalayan States amplify landslide risks. Hazard zonation mapping could have guided slope-safe engineering, restricted high-risk land use, and improved early warning. Thus, it directly connects preparedness to mitigation, aligning with the UPSC 2019 question.
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Introduction
India’s health care is at a defining juncture, balancing between privilege and universal right. The system must simultaneously expand access for millions who remain underserved while ensuring affordability in an era of rising costs. This requires a systemic framework, strengthening insurance, leveraging efficiency, embedding prevention, accelerating digital health adoption, and ensuring regulatory trust. If successful, India can set a global benchmark for inclusive, financially viable, and aspirational health care.
India’s Health Care at an Inflection Point
- Dual challenge: Expanding access to underserved populations while making care affordable amid rising costs.
- Low insurance penetration: Only 15–18% of Indians are insured compared to global standards.
- Huge opportunity: Premium-to-GDP ratio at 3.7% vs global 7%, indicating scope for rapid growth.
- Global benchmark potential: India has already demonstrated how high-quality care at scale is possible, an MRI machine in India handles multiple times the scans compared to Western systems.
Insurance as the Foundation of Affordability
- Pooling risk: Even modest premiums (₹5,000–₹20,000 for individuals) can cover several lakhs of treatment.
- Current gap: India’s gross written premiums stood at $15 billion in 2024, projected to grow at 20% CAGR till 2030.
- Ayushman Bharat success: Covers 500 million people with ₹5 lakh per family; led to a 90% rise in timely cancer treatments.
- Challenge: Expanding private hospital participation requires fair reimbursements and transparency.
Prevention as the Strongest Cost-Saver
- Outpatient costs crisis: Punjab study showed even insured families faced catastrophic expenses for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) outpatient care.
- Redesign needed: Insurance must include outpatient + diagnostics.
- People’s role: Preventive mindset across schools, employers, and communities is essential.
- Economic benefit: Every rupee invested in healthier lifestyles saves multiples in treatment costs.
Digital Health and AI for Democratising Access
- Early adoption: India pioneered telemedicine and now uses AI for sepsis detection, diagnostic triage, remote consultations.
- Bridging gaps: Specialists in metros can guide treatments in remote villages hundreds of km away.
- Continuity of care: The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission aims for universal health records accessible nationwide.
Regulation and Trust as the Missing Links
- Cost pressures: Insurers may hike premiums 10–15% due to pollution-related illnesses.
- Trust deficit: Without confidence in fair claims and grievance redressal, households avoid insurance.
- Government push: Finance Ministry has urged Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to strengthen claims settlement and consumer protection.
- Capital skew: In 2023, health sector drew $5.5 billion in private equity and venture capital investment (PE/VC investment), but mostly in metros, tier-2 and 3 remain underserved.
Conclusion
India’s health care future will be shaped by its ability to marry efficiency with equity, technology with trust, and prevention with cure. Insurance must evolve to cover everyday health needs, providers must expand beyond metros, and digital tools must bridge rural-urban divides. With bold public-private partnerships and strong regulation, India can make health care not a privilege but a fundamental right and a global model for inclusive growth.
PYQ Relevance
[ UPSC 2015] Public health system has limitations in providing universal health coverage. Do you think that the private sector could help in bridging the gap? What other viable alternatives would you suggest?
Linkage: The article shows that while India’s public health system has expanded through PM-JAY, universal coverage is still limited by low insurance penetration (15–18%) and uneven rural access, reflecting the very limitations highlighted in the PYQ. It also stresses that private sector participation, anchored in fair reimbursements and transparent processes, is essential to bridge the gap, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Further, it suggests viable alternatives such as preventive health campaigns, digital health innovations, and public-private partnerships to make health care inclusive and affordable.
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PYQ Linkage
[UPSC 2016] Examine the main provisions of the National Child Policy and throw light on the status of its implementation.
Linkage: The National Child Policy envisions ensuring survival, development, protection, and participation of every child. Initiatives like Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi, Aadharshila, and Navchetna operationalise this by transforming Anganwadis into learning hubs and focusing on early stimulation. This reflects concrete implementation of policy goals through structured ECCE and parental involvement. |
Mentor’s Comment
India’s vision of Viksit Bharat depends on nurturing its youngest citizens. By placing Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) at the core of policy, Anganwadi centres are being reimagined as the first classrooms, not just nutrition hubs. This editorial highlights the significance of play-based learning, the reforms underway, and their impact on social, economic, and human capital development.
Introduction
Nation-building begins where learning begins, in Anganwadis and playschools where children first explore and imagine. Since 85% of brain development occurs before six, India has prioritised structured, play-based learning. Initiatives like the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi, Aadharshila curriculum, and Navchetna framework mark a decisive shift: education is no longer seen as starting at school, but from birth itself.
Why in the News?
Play-based learning has become a national policy priority under the present government. Anganwadi workers are being trained in ECCE, and centres are evolving into early learning hubs. This marks a historic policy turn, shifting focus from higher education to the earliest years of life, where investments yield the highest returns. Evidence shows ECCE can raise IQ levels by up to 19 points and deliver 13–18% returns (Heckman), making it one of the most impactful reforms in recent times.
Reimagining Anganwadis as Learning Hubs
- Anganwadis as First Schools: Transition from nutrition centres to vibrant learning hubs.
- Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi: A flagship initiative introducing structured ECCE and play-based learning.
- Training of Workers: First-ever systematic training of Anganwadi workers in ECCE methods.
- Budgetary Support: Enhanced allocations for teaching-learning materials.
- Community Trust: Parents now view Anganwadis as the foundation of their child’s education.
Scientific Evidence Supporting ECCE
- Brain Development: NEP 2020 highlights 85% of brain growth occurs before six years.
- CMC Vellore Study: Children exposed to 18–24 months of ECCE gained up to 19 IQ points by age five, and 5–9 points by age nine.
- Global Research: Nobel Laureate James Heckman shows 13–18% returns on early childhood investments.
Ensuring Holistic Development in Early Childhood
- Aadharshila Curriculum: National ECCE framework for children aged 3–6 years.
- 5+1 Weekly Plan: Balance of free play, structured learning, creativity, motor skills, social interaction, and values.
- Focus Beyond Cognitive Skills: Emotional, social, and physical development equally emphasised.
- Outdoor Play & Emotional Bonds: Ensuring resilience, socialisation, and value-building.
Birth-to-Three: The Neglected but Crucial Stage
- Navchetna Framework: National framework for Early Childhood Stimulation.
- Parental Involvement: Empowering caregivers with play-based activities at home.
- Equity Focus: State as equaliser for low-income families lacking resources.
Play-Based Learning as a Tool for Nation-Building
- Human Capital Formation: Better prepared children ensure stronger productivity.
- Social Inclusion: ECCE bridges gaps between privileged and underprivileged children.
- Nation’s Future: Early learning reduces dropout rates and improves long-term educational outcomes.
Conclusion
If India is to realise its vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, it must begin where life begins. By making play a policy, and not merely leisure, India is reshaping its future workforce and citizens. Anganwadis as learning hubs, structured ECCE, and parental engagement are steps that will yield dividends not just in GDP growth, but in nurturing empathetic, curious, and resilient human beings. Play is no longer child’s play, it is nation-building.
Value Addition
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Anganwadis
- Scale and Reach: Over 13.9 lakh Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) functioning under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), covering nearly every village/urban ward.
- Holistic Role: Provide nutrition, health check-ups, immunisation, pre-school non-formal education, and referral services — making them the convergence point for child and maternal welfare.
- Policy Integration: Central to schemes like Poshan Abhiyaan, Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi, and the Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0.
- Early Childhood Development: With Aadharshila curriculum and Navchetna framework, AWCs are being repositioned as first schools ensuring ECCE and holistic growth.
- Empowerment of Women: Run largely by women workers (anganwadi sevikas), providing local employment, social recognition, and female leadership at the grassroots.
- Challenges: Issues of infrastructure gaps, irregular honorarium, workload burden, training deficits, and low community awareness remain barriers.
- Global Alignment: Echoes UNICEF and UNESCO emphasis on early childhood care as foundational to human capital and demographic dividend.
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Introduction
The blocking of Sci-Hub in India marks a turning point in the battle between corporate publishers and the principle of open knowledge. At the heart of the issue lies the paradox of publicly funded research locked behind exorbitant paywalls. The government’s One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) scheme, with an allocation of ₹6,000 crore, aims to democratize access to 13,000 journals for research institutions. Yet, concerns remain about its cost-effectiveness, inclusivity, and long-term sustainability.
Why is this issue in the news?
- The Delhi High Court’s verdict against Sci-Hub is a landmark moment because:
- For the first time in India, the judiciary has formally sided with publishers in the long-drawn copyright battle.
- It stands in sharp contrast with the reality that research is funded by public money but monetized by private publishers with 30%+ profit margins.
- The problem is enormous: lakhs of rupees per journal subscription make access unaffordable for many institutions, forcing dependence on Sci-Hub earlier.
- The government’s ONOS initiative is the first large-scale attempt to address structural inequities in knowledge access, but doubts persist about its ability to replace shadow libraries.
The Distinctive Nature of Scientific Publishing
- No royalties for authors: Researchers and peer reviewers are unpaid, unlike musicians or filmmakers.
- Publicly funded research: Much of Indian science is taxpayer-funded, yet access is privatized.
- Exorbitant subscriptions: Institutions pay lakhs for a single journal. Publishers justify costs via “quality control” but enjoy 30%+ profit margins, raising concerns of rent-seeking.
The Global Controversy Around Sci-Hub
- Copyright infringement: Courts in the U.S., Europe, and now India have ruled against Sci-Hub.
- Essential access tool: For countless researchers, Sci-Hub was the only means to access knowledge, especially outside elite universities.
- Contempt charges: Alexandra Elbakyan allegedly violated court orders by running Sci-Net, a mirror service.
- Declining relevance: Technical unreliability and growing open-access alternatives are reducing its utility.
The Vision of One Nation, One Subscription
- Government-led subscription: Outlay of ₹6,000 crore (2023–2026) for bulk access to 13,000 journals.
- Phase I focus: All public institutions; Phase II may include private ones.
- Equal access: Seeks to eliminate inequities between elite and smaller research centres.
- Limitations: Independent researchers and those at private centres remain excluded until Phase II.
ONOS in the Context of Global Open-Access Movements
- Global open-access movement: Over half of papers are already open access through preprints and repositories.
- U.S. policy (2026): All federally funded research must be open.
- EU Horizon Europe: Similar open-access mandate.
- India’s challenge: At a time when the world moves toward open access, ONOS risks becoming an expensive detour.
Structural Flaws in Scholarly Publishing
- Dependence on foreign publishers: ONOS continues India’s reliance on Western journals.
- Copyright transfer: Indian researchers must still give away rights to their work.
- Pay-to-publish dilemma: Funds freed at institutions may shift to open-access journals, but may ignore institutional repositories.
- Need for rights retention: Policies like Harvard/MIT (mandatory deposit in repositories) could empower Indian researchers.
Conclusion
The Sci-Hub ban highlights the persistent inequities in access to scientific knowledge. While ONOS is a step forward, it risks being a band-aid solution unless paired with deeper reforms: indigenous publishing capacity, national repositories, and copyright retention policies. India must not merely manage the symptoms of an exploitative system but must cure the disease by reclaiming knowledge as a public good.
Value Addition
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Knowledge as a Public Good
- Publicly funded research must be accessible to all because it is financed by taxpayers.
- Blocking access (through high subscription fees or court orders) creates an elitist knowledge economy.
- UN and UNESCO treat knowledge access as a pillar of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 9: Innovation).
Economic Dimension
- Global publishers enjoy 30%+ profit margins, while Indian institutions pay lakhs per journal subscription, draining public funds.
- ONOS at ₹6,000 crore (2023–2026) represents bulk negotiation power by the state, saving scattered institutional expenditure.
- Issue of dependency on foreign publishers persists, highlighting the need for indigenous publishing ecosystems.
Global Comparisons
- U.S. (2026 mandate): All federally funded research must be openly accessible.
- EU’s Horizon Europe: Immediate open access to publications funded under the programme.
- Plan S (Europe, 2018): Publicly funded research must be published in open-access journals.
- India risks being out of sync if it over-invests in subscriptions while others move to free access models.
Technology and Governance
- ONOS = India’s experiment in e-governance for knowledge.
- Needs to integrate institutional repositories, preprint servers, and rights retention policies (like Harvard/MIT) to empower researchers.
- Can be linked with the Digital India mission, showing tech-driven democratization of services.
Ethical Dimension
- Applied Ethics of Technology: Corporate profits vs. collective social welfare.
- Moral dilemma: Should intellectual property rights override public access to life-saving or path-breaking research?
- Covid-19 demonstrated that open-access collaboration saved lives by accelerating vaccine and drug development.
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PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2024] ‘’What is the present world scenario of Intellectual Property Rights? Although India is second in the world to file patents, still only a few have been commercialized. Explain the reasons behind this less commercialization.”
Linkage: The Sci-Hub ban and ONOS scheme reflect how IPR in scientific publishing creates barriers to access despite research being publicly funded. Globally, publishers extract high profits through restrictive copyright, mirroring the broader challenge of IPR becoming a tool of rent-seeking rather than innovation. India’s weak indigenous publishing ecosystem and overdependence on foreign journals parallel the problem of low commercialization of patents—both highlight the gap between innovation output and practical accessibility/utility.
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Introduction
Online real-money gaming is no longer an innocent form of entertainment. With mechanics borrowed from gambling, variable rewards, high engagement loops, and rapid gratification, these games are engineered to create dependency. For India’s youth, this shift has manifested in addiction, financial losses, academic decline, and severe mental health crises. The government’s ban may seem like a safeguard, but the issue is deeper: India’s children deserve not just a firewall, but also psychological care, awareness, and structured support.
Online Gaming Addiction as a Pressing Concern
- Gambling-like mechanisms: Real-money games mirror casino psychology, using reward loops to sustain engagement.
- Rising cases of harm: Children have drained family bank accounts, hidden debts, and even attempted suicide due to gaming stress.
- Mental health crisis: Anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation among adolescents point to an urgent public health issue.
The Fallout of Gaming Addiction on Families
- Toxic home environments: Addiction leads to secrecy, conflict, and breakdown of trust.
- Academic decline: Falling grades and inability to concentrate fuel further parental distress.
- Financial stress: Unexpected credit card bills or loans worsen family relations.
The Limits of Gaming Bans
- Immediate relief: Bans reduce household conflicts and financial shocks.
- Partial bans & age-gating: Allowing adults while protecting minors can delay addiction onset.
- Psychological displacement: Without therapy, children may shift to pornography, substance abuse, or compulsive social media use.
Towards a Comprehensive Strategy Against Gaming Addiction
- School-based interventions: Routine mental health screenings and workshops on digital addiction.
- Parental guidance: Training parents to spot early warning signs and encourage healthy digital habits.
- Child-friendly counselling: Access to therapy services designed for adolescents.
- Awareness campaigns: Multi-stakeholder efforts targeting students, caregivers, and teachers.
Gaming Addiction as a Behavioural Health Challenge
- Beyond discipline: Punishment or restriction alone worsens secrecy and aggression.
- Long-term healing: A behavioural approach can repair family rifts and promote healthy tech use.
- Balanced future: Children should grow up with resilience, not dependency, in digital spaces.
Way Forward: Towards a Balanced Approach
- Public Health Lens: Treat gaming addiction as a behavioural health issue with school screenings, awareness drives, and accessible counselling.
- Smart Regulation: Use age-gating, spending caps, and parental consent instead of blanket bans.
- Global Lessons:
- China: Strict weekly limits → relief but drove youth to unregulated platforms.
- UK/EU: Regulate loot boxes as gambling → targeted, flexible control.
- South Korea: Late-night gaming ban + rehab centres → balance of restriction and support.
- India’s Path: A middle way combining safeguards with education and digital literacy, avoiding both overregulation and laissez-faire neglect.
Conclusion
India’s youth deserve more than prohibitionist measures. A firewall can block access, but not heal emotional wounds. True protection lies in combining thoughtful regulation with robust mental health programmes, counselling, and awareness. Only then can families find balance and children grow with a healthier relationship to technology.
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2023] “Child cuddling is now being replaced by mobile phones. Discuss its impact on the socialization of children.”
Linkage: Online real-money gaming, like mobile phones, is replacing natural child–parent interaction with addictive digital engagement. This weakens socialization, fuels secrecy and conflict within families, and erodes trust. Both highlight how technology-driven dependence disrupts healthy emotional development in children.
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Introduction
The National Cooperative Policy, 2025 has triggered a sharp Centre–State tussle, with Kerala at the forefront of resistance. Beyond a policy dispute, it reflects deeper tensions around cooperative federalism, involving constitutional authority, political stakes, and nearly ₹3 lakh crore in deposits, making the issue both high-stakes and nationally significant.
The Current Tussle between Centre and Kerala
- Policy provokes backlash: Kerala describes the National Cooperative Policy as “unconstitutional”, asserting that it violates the State’s exclusive authority over cooperatives.
- Political dimension: The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government accuses the BJP of attempting to capture Kerala’s cooperative network for political consolidation.
- Financial stakes: Kerala’s cooperatives manage deposits worth ₹2.94 lakh crore, making them critical financial entities in the State’s economy.
The Contentious Nature of the National Cooperative Policy
- Federalism at stake: Cooperative societies are a State List subject, yet the Centre is asserting influence, reviving concerns first raised during the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023.
- Kerala’s historical legacy: Cooperative institutions date back to early 20th century Travancore, Cochin, and Malabar, and evolved through the Kerala Cooperative Societies Act, 1969, making them central to socio-economic life.
- Grassroots importance: Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) serve as the credit backbone of Kerala’s rural economy.
Kerala’s Political and Institutional Response
- Political opposition: State Cooperation Minister V.N. Vasavan termed the policy “harmful to cooperatives.”
- Organised resistance: The Kerala Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society association passed a resolution against the policy.
- Workers’ unions’ concerns: The Kerala Cooperative Employees Union (KCEU) alleged that the Centre seeks to hand over the cooperative sector to corporates.
Existing Challenges in the Cooperative Sector
- Credibility crisis: Several cooperative banks face embezzlement scandals and non-refund of depositors’ money.
- Case in point: The Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank scam in Thrissur dented public confidence and put the State government on the defensive.
- State reforms: In 2023, Kerala amended its Cooperative Societies Act to plug loopholes and strengthen safeguards.
Structural Reforms in Kerala’s Cooperative System
- Bank consolidation: Merging of district cooperative banks into the Kerala State Cooperative Bank (Kerala Bank) reduced the traditional three-tier credit structure into a two-tier system.
- Policy rationale: Streamlining was aimed at improving efficiency and financial stability in the sector.
Future Trajectory of Kerala’s Cooperatives
- New crossroads: Accelerated urbanisation, youth aspirations, and sectoral shifts in energy, shipping, technology, and health present opportunities for cooperative diversification.
- Future trajectory: The ability of cooperatives to adapt and modernise will shape Kerala’s economic resilience in the coming decades.
Conclusion
Kerala’s cooperative movement, historically a pillar of rural credit and grassroots empowerment, stands at a critical juncture. The National Cooperative Policy, 2025, while framed in the language of reform, has exposed fault lines in India’s federal structure and deepened Centre–State tensions. For Kerala, the challenge lies in balancing its rich cooperative legacy with the demands of modernisation and transparency. For the Union, respecting constitutional boundaries while ensuring financial discipline will be key to sustaining trust in the cooperative model.
Value Addition
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Overview of the National Cooperative Policy 2025
The National Cooperative Policy, 2025—officially unveiled on July 24, 2025 —replaces the 2002 framework with a visionary 20-year roadmap (2025–2045) centered on “Sahkar se
Policy Goals:
- Tripling cooperative sector’s GDP contribution by 2034 through expanded outreach and growth-boosting measures
- Establish one cooperative unit in every village, and set up 5 model cooperative villages per tehsil, with active creation of 2 lakh new multipurpose PACS by 2026
- Bring 50 crore more people into the fold, increasing cooperative membership and societal participation
Core Pillars of the Policy: Outlined across six strategic pillars designed to transform cooperatives:
- Strengthening Foundations
- Promoting Vibrancy
- Preparing Cooperatives for the Future (e.g., digitalisation)
- Enhancing Inclusivity & Reach
- Expanding into Emerging Sectors
- Engaging the Younger Generation
Institutional and Structural Measures:
- Legal & governance revamp: Updated model bye‐laws, regular review mechanisms (every 10 years), and cluster-based monitoring systems for accountability and responsiveness
- Tribhuvan Cooperative University: A first-of-its-kind cooperative education hub aimed at professionalising the sector and reducing nepotism
- National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL): To enhance global market integration for cooperatives, especially in staples like wheat and rice
- Leveraging existing schemes: Integration with programs like DIDF, PMMSY, NPDD to establish infrastructure and functional PACS
Sectoral Diversification & Modernisation:
- New sectors for cooperatives: Including green energy, insurance, tourism, taxi services (“Sahkar Taxi”), Jan Aushadhi Kendras, LPG outlets, CSCs, and more
- Model Cooperative Villages: Combining dairy, fisheries, floriculture, agri-services, and focused inclusion of women and tribal groups as excellence center
Why It Matters:
- Policy Revitalisation: First major overhaul in 23 years, indicating the renewed importance given to cooperatives by the government
- Aligning with National Vision: Anchored in the larger goal of Viksit Bharat 2047, positioning cooperatives as engines of inclusive, rural-led development
- Digital and Professional Transformation: Emphasises tech adoption, capacity building, and modern governance—crucial in restoring public trust and efficiency
- Inclusivity at Core: Explicit focus on increasing participation of women, Dalits, Adivasis, and youth—building on the ethos of cooperative empowerment
- Decentralized Growth Strategy: Village and tehsil-level expansion ensures economic decentralisation and rural integration—a critical tool for grassroots development
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PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2014] “In the villages itself no form of credit organisation will be suitable except the cooperative society.” – All India Rural Credit Survey. Discuss this statement in the background of agricultural finance in India. What constraints and challenges do financial institutions supplying agricultural finance face? How can technology be used to better reach and serve rural clients?”
Linkage: The 2014 question emphasised cooperatives as the most suitable form of rural credit, highlighting their role in agricultural finance. The Kerala–Centre tussle over the 2025 policy shows how this very grassroots credit system, with PACS and cooperative banks at its core, remains vital yet contested. Thus, the article provides a contemporary case study of both the potential and challenges of cooperatives in India’s agricultural and financial landscape.
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Introduction
In a democracy, the judiciary acts as the guardian of fundamental rights, ensuring that executive and legislative actions remain within constitutional limits. However, recent judicial pronouncements urging the executive to tighten controls over online speech raise a worrying question: Is the Court inadvertently enabling state encroachment into constitutionally guaranteed freedoms? This concern is sharpened by the backdrop of the IT Rules, 2021, which already tilt power heavily towards the government in regulating digital speech.
Expanding Powers of the Executive over Free Speech
- Judicial Instructions: The Supreme Court recently directed the Union government to frame guidelines on regulating online speech.
- Problematic Precedent: Instead of protecting rights, the Court’s instructions risk empowering the executive to expand censorship powers under vague grounds like “misuse of freedom of speech.”
Digital Speech: Between Regulation and Censorship
- IT Rules, 2021: These rules already allow the government to flag and order removal of online content, with penalties for intermediaries.
- 2023 Amendment: Expanded scope to hold social media companies accountable for user-generated content, giving the state wide-ranging discretionary powers.
- Challenge Pending in SC: These rules are already under constitutional challenge, making further expansion questionable.
The Risk of False Righteousness
- Distasteful vs. Criminal: While hate speech and incitement to violence are already criminalised, regulating distasteful humour or dissenting opinions risks expanding censorship beyond constitutional boundaries.
- Chilling Effect: Citizens begin to self-censor, fearing repercussions for expressing views.
- Suppression of Creative Expression: Film producers, directors, and journalists face FIRs and restrictions, stifling art, reporting, and debate necessary for a vibrant democracy.
Judiciary’s Institutional Role under Question
- Protector of Rights: The Court is constitutionally mandated to check executive overreach.
- Risk of Overstepping: By urging executive rulemaking, the judiciary risks acting like an unquestioned lord in a feudal setup rather than a rights-protecting institution.
- Misplaced Priorities: Instead of fortifying existing protections against hate speech, the Court seems to encourage executive expansion into grey zones.
Broader Democratic Implications
- Weaponisation of Laws: Governments have a record of using regulations to target political opponents and inconvenient voices.
- Threat to Democratic Discourse: An atmosphere of censorship undermines deliberation, dissent, and innovation—all vital for a progressive society.
- Global Comparison: Mature democracies often rely on civil remedies and self-regulation, rather than empowering the state to police thought and humour.
Conclusion
The judiciary’s role is not to expand executive power but to ensure constitutional freedoms are protected. Hate speech and incitement to violence are already criminalised; expanding censorship to regulate humour, dissent, or artistic expression risks creating an atmosphere of fear and conformity. The Supreme Court must remember its constitutional role as the sentinel on the qui vive—guarding liberty, not enabling its curtailment.
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2014] Discuss Section 66A of the IT Act, with reference to its alleged violation of Article 19 of the Constitution.
Linkage: The present debate on the Supreme Court urging the executive to frame guidelines for regulating social media echoes the concerns raised in Section 66A of the IT Act, where vague terms led to misuse against free expression. Just like 66A, expanding executive powers risks creating a chilling effect on speech beyond Article 19(2)’s reasonable restrictions. Both highlight the judiciary’s responsibility to act as a protector of rights, not an enabler of censorship.
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Introduction
The intertwining of crime and politics is not new in India, but the recent figures are deeply concerning. An analysis of elected representatives reveals that 31% of MPs and 29% of MLAs across India have declared serious criminal charges against them. More strikingly, in the Lok Sabha, this share has more than doubled from 14% in 2009 to 31% in 2024. Such data points underscore a disturbing trend where democratic institutions are increasingly being captured by individuals with questionable integrity.
The Scale of Criminalisation in Indian Politics
- MPs with serious charges: 31% in 2024, compared to 14% in 2009.
- MLAs with serious charges: 29% nationwide, amounting to more than 1,200 legislators.
- Definition of serious crimes: Offences with punishments of 5+ years, or non-bailable in nature.
State-wise Picture of the Crisis
- Telangana: Highest share of MPs with serious cases (71%).
- Bihar: Second-highest share of MPs (48%).
- Uttar Pradesh: Highest absolute number of MPs (34) and MLAs (154 or 38%).
- Andhra Pradesh: Highest share of MLAs with serious cases (56%), followed by Telangana (50%).
Political Party-Wise Trends
- BJP: Largest absolute number—63 MPs (26%) and 436 MLAs (26%).
- Congress: 32 MPs (32%) and 194 MLAs (30%).
- RJD: 100% of its 4 MPs, and 62% of MLAs face serious cases.
- TDP: 61% of MLAs facing serious charges.
Criminalisation of politics as a Democratic Crisis
- Undermines Rule of Law: Representatives sworn to make laws are themselves accused of violating them.
- Erodes Public Trust: Citizens lose faith in democratic institutions.
- Policy Capture Risk: Legislators with criminal backgrounds may promote laws benefiting vested interests.
- Vicious Cycle: Money, muscle power, and electoral compulsions perpetuate the entry of tainted candidates.
Constitutional and Legal Context
- Representation of People’s Act, 1951: Currently disqualifies convicted representatives but not those with pending cases.
Judicial Interventions:
- Lily Thomas vs Union of India (2013): Immediate disqualification upon conviction.
- Public Interest Foundation vs Union of India (2018): Urged political parties to disclose candidate criminal records widely.
Conclusion
The latest data underscores that criminalisation in politics is not just persisting but worsening, with more than one in four lawmakers facing serious charges. Unless systemic reforms, ranging from fast-track courts to stricter disqualification laws, are implemented, India risks democratic backsliding. For a healthy democracy, the moral legitimacy of legislatures must be restored.
Value Addition
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Issues with Criminalisation in Politics
- Erosion of Democratic Legitimacy: Lawmakers accused of breaking the law undermine the moral authority of Parliament/Assemblies.
- Weakening of Rule of Law: Offenders often manipulate investigations, delay trials, and escape accountability.
- Policy Capture & Corruption: Legislators may pass laws or influence contracts to protect vested interests.
- Distortion of Electoral Choices: Voters are forced to choose between tainted candidates, limiting free and fair choice.
- Loss of Public Trust: Citizens lose faith in governance when crime and politics merge.
- Security Threats: Nexus of politics and crime leads to rise in muscle power, intimidation, and weakens internal security.
Why do Parties Field Candidates With Criminal Background?
- Money Power: Candidates with criminal networks bring enormous funds to finance expensive elections.
- Muscle Power: They help in mobilising voters, intimidating opponents, and managing booths in certain constituencies.
- Winnability Factor: Studies show voters often overlook criminal charges if the candidate is influential, caste-backed, or delivers local patronage.
- Weak Legal Framework: Only convicted representatives are barred; those with pending cases can contest. With trials dragging on for years, many continue to fight elections.
- Vote-Bank Politics: Parties use “strongmen” with community backing to secure caste/religion-based votes.
Way Forward with Committee Reports, Judgments & Reforms
Committee Recommendations
- Vohra Committee (1993): Flagged deep nexus between crime, politics, and bureaucracy.
- Law Commission 170th Report (1999): Recommended disqualification of candidates once charges are framed in heinous offences.
- Law Commission 244th Report (2014): Suggested immediate disqualification in cases with charges punishable by 5 years or more, and where charges are framed by a court.
- Election Commission of India (ECI) Recommendations: Ban on candidates facing heinous charges; fast-track courts to decide political cases within a year.
Judicial Interventions
- Lily Thomas vs Union of India (2013): MPs/MLAs disqualified immediately upon conviction (earlier they could continue for 3 months pending appeal).
- Public Interest Foundation vs Union of India (2018): Directed political parties to publicise candidate criminal records widely (website, media, papers).
Suggested Reforms
- Fast-track Courts: To ensure cases against politicians are resolved within strict timelines.
- Stricter Disqualification Norms: Disqualify candidates at the stage of framing of charges (with safeguards against false cases).
- Political Party Accountability: Legal provisions to penalise parties giving tickets to tainted candidates.
- State Funding of Elections: Reduce dependence on money/muscle power.
- Voter Awareness: Encourage citizens to reject candidates with serious charges through awareness campaigns.
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PYQ Relevance
[UPSC GS II] There is a need for simplification of procedure for disqualification of persons found guilty of corrupt practices under the Representation of Peoples Act.” Comment
Linkage: The issue of disqualification under the Representation of People’s Act (RPA), 1951 is central to tackling criminalisation of politics. Recent data showing over 30% MPs/MLAs facing serious criminal charges highlights the inadequacy of current provisions that act only after conviction. Simplifying and strengthening disqualification procedures, as urged by committees and the Supreme Court, is vital to restore public trust in democracy.
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Introduction
The framers of the Indian Constitution rejected the British model of absolute parliamentary sovereignty and instead vested sovereignty in the Constitution. Parliament was given the power to make laws, but within constitutional limits. Judicial review was meant to be a sparing power, used exceptionally when laws violated constitutional principles. However, what was once exceptional has increasingly become the norm. With vague drafting, bypassing of procedures, and lack of constitutional guidance, Indian law-making has frequently ended up in litigation. This trend not only undermines democratic trust but also burdens the judiciary and disrupts policy implementation.
Why is this issue in the news?
The controversy around the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which was challenged in the Supreme Court within days of its enactment, highlights a disturbing pattern. Shockingly, the challengers included MPs themselves, indicating a lack of confidence in their own law-making. The Law Ministry has admitted that 35 central legislations and constitutional amendments were under challenge before the Supreme Court between 2016 and 2022. This points to a systemic crisis in legislative drafting and scrutiny.
The constitutional design of law-making
- No absolute sovereignty: Unlike Britain, Parliament in India operates within constitutional limits; no law can derogate from the Constitution.
- Judicial review as exception: The power to strike down laws was meant to be sparing, not routine.
- Current practice: Courts are increasingly forced into the role of a “parallel legislator” due to Parliament’s failures in precision and scrutiny.
Why do laws end up in litigation
- Constitutional scrutiny: Laws may violate constitutional guarantees or principles (e.g., Transgender Persons Act, 2019 vis-à-vis Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita).
- Political theatre: Legal challenges are sometimes used as political tactics by opposition parties or even MPs.
- Flawed drafting: Vague definitions, incoherent clauses, poor harmonisation with existing laws, and internal contradictions.
Where does the system break down
- Bypassing procedure: Bills introduced without notice; committees sidelined.
- Rushed debates: Clause-by-clause discussion often ignored.
- Poor consultation: Stakeholders and experts not adequately consulted.
- Dense legalese: MPs unable to engage with overly technical drafting, reducing their role to party-line voting.
The human cost of poor drafting
- Economic loss: Unclear or contradictory laws disrupt industries and businesses.
- Social injustice: Unequal punishments (e.g., transgender vs. women sexual abuse provisions).
- Democratic deficit: MPs are unable to represent citizens effectively when legislation is incomprehensible.
The case for a stronger Attorney-General (AG) role
- Article 88 of the Constitution: AG has the right to participate in Parliament’s proceedings but rarely invoked.
- Preventive review: AG can identify constitutional infirmities during debate itself.
- Non-partisan guidance: AG’s counsel would enable lawmakers to vote more responsibly.
- Better statutes: Well-drafted laws prevent substitution of legislative intent by judicial interpretation.
Conclusion
India’s constitutional democracy rests on the balance of powers between Parliament and the judiciary. When Parliament abdicates its responsibility of precise and constitutional law-making, the courts inevitably step in, eroding this balance. Institutionalising preventive constitutional review within Parliament, particularly through a proactive role for the Attorney-General, can ensure that legislation serves people effectively without routinely ending up in litigation. A robust democracy demands laws that are clear, just, and constitutionally sound before they leave the House.
Value Addition
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What procedural lapses in Parliament lead to flawed laws?
- Bypassing Committees: Less than 25% of Bills (2019–2023) were sent to Parliamentary Standing Committees, compared to 60–70% in earlier decades. This reduces scrutiny and expert input.
- Rushed Legislation: Important laws such as the Farm Acts (2020) and the Aadhaar Bill (2016) were passed as Money Bills to bypass Rajya Sabha, undermining debate.
- Poor Stakeholder Consultation: Unlike developed democracies, draft bills in India are rarely put out for public comments. (E.g., Data Protection Bill, 2019, was tabled without thorough consultation)
- Clause-by-Clause Neglect: Debates are cut short; MPs often do not engage with technical legal provisions due to lack of time and expertise.
- Opaque Drafting Process: Drafting happens primarily within ministries with little parliamentary/legal vetting before introduction.
- ARC 2nd Report (Ethics in Governance): Calls for greater pre-legislative scrutiny and institutional strengthening of committees.
How does flawed drafting affect democracy and society?
- Judicial Overreach: Poorly worded statutes lead to constant constitutional challenges (e.g., NJAC Act struck down in 2015, Transgender Rights Act 2019 contradictions). The Judiciary ends up legislating by interpretation.
- Erosion of Parliamentary Sovereignty: Frequent judicial invalidation makes Parliament look ineffective, undermining public trust.
- Democratic Deficit: Laws in dense legalese alienate both MPs and citizens, reducing informed participation.
- Economic Uncertainty: Unclear laws discourage investment (e.g., retrospective taxation case leading to Vodafone arbitration).
- Social Injustice: Disparities in sentencing/punishment (e.g., lower penalties for abuse of transgender persons than for women) perpetuate inequality.
- Law Commission Report (2008, 210th Report): Identified vague language and excessive delegation as reasons why laws face repeated judicial strikes.
Comparative Perspective
- UK: Parliamentary sovereignty model; no judicial review of primary legislation, but House of Lords Committees scrutinise bills heavily pre-enactment.
- USA: Strong judicial review, but bills are subject to Congressional hearings and exhaustive committee scrutiny with expert testimonies before passage.
- Germany: Has a robust Bundesrat (Upper House) system where laws undergo constitutional and legal vetting before final passage.
- India: Hybrid system; has judicial review, but Parliamentary scrutiny is weak. Unlike the US/UK, pre-legislative consultation is not institutionalised.
Way Forward
- Mandatory Committee Review: Make it compulsory for all non-Money Bills to be referred to standing/select committees.
- Pre-legislative Consultation Policy (2014): Institutionalise it across all ministries with draft bills published in public domain.
- Strengthening Legislative Research Services: Provide MPs with non-partisan legal/technical assistance (as in US Congressional Research Service).
- Empowering the Attorney-General: Invoke Article 88 to ensure AG flags constitutional issues during debates.
- Clarity & Accessibility: Draft laws in plain language versions for MPs and citizens, alongside legal text.
- Judicial-Parliamentary Dialogue: Structured interactions between constitutional benches and parliamentary committees to ensure harmony.
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PYQ Relevance
[UPSC GS II] Individual Parliamentarian’s role as the national lawmaker is on a decline, which in turn, has adversely impacted the quality of debates and their outcome. Discuss.
Linkage: The decline in the individual role of MPs as lawmakers, noted in the PYQ (2019), directly links to the article’s theme of flawed law-making. Dense legalese, party whip culture, and bypassed scrutiny reduce MPs’ capacity for meaningful debate. This weakens legislative quality and pushes more laws into judicial review.
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Introduction
Modern warfare is no longer about firepower alone; it is equally about deception. As precision-guided missiles, drones, and AI-enabled targeting systems grow deadlier, militaries are turning to decoy technologies to confuse radars, mislead missiles, and protect valuable assets. India’s reported use of the AI-enabled X-Guard decoy during Operation Sindoor shows how deception has become a central element of national security strategy.
The Growing Relevance of Deception in Modern Warfare:
- Evolving threat environment: Precision-guided munitions, drones, and AI-enabled targeting systems make military platforms highly vulnerable.
- Strategic asset: Decoys create confusion, waste enemy munitions, and buy crucial time for retaliation.
- Game-changing event: Operation Sindoor showcased India’s successful use of an AI-enabled decoy, termed by experts as “the best instance of spoofing and deception ever seen.”
Inside the X-Guard Fibre-Optic Towed Decoy
- Lightweight & reusable: At just 30 kg, retractable and deployable in flight.
- Radar mimicry: Replicates the Rafale’s Radar Cross Section (RCS), doppler velocity, and spectral signature across multiple bands.
- 360-degree jamming: Works seamlessly with the Rafale’s SPECTRA suite to form a layered defensive shield.
- Operational success: Reports suggest Pakistan’s J-10C fighters misidentified decoys as actual aircraft, wasting advanced PL-15E missiles.
Global landscape of comparable decoy systems:
- BriteCloud (Leonardo UL): Used on Eurofighter Typhoons, Gripen-Es, and some F-16s.
- AN/ALE-50/55 series (Raytheon/BAE Systems): Deployed on U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.
- Adaptability to UAVs: Modified for platforms like Israeli Herons and U.S. MQ-9 Reapers.
Battlefield deception on Land Forces:
- Inflatable & heat-emitting decoys: Simulate tanks, artillery, and missile batteries to divert strikes.
- Ukraine’s wooden & 3D-printed fakes: Exhaust Russian drone and missile stocks.
- Russia’s Inflatech decoys: Create entire armoured formations in minutes.
- Indian Army initiative (2025): Issued a request for decoys mimicking T-90 tanks, including thermal and acoustic signatures.
Naval countermeasures and Decoy strategies
- Layered naval countermeasures: Chaff, acoustic decoys, and offboard active deception protect against missiles and submarines.
- Nulka decoy (Australia–U.S.): Self-propelled system mimicking large ship radar signatures to mislead missile guidance.
Conclusion
Deception, once limited to camouflage and dummy equipment, has evolved into a sophisticated digital-age shield. Airborne fibre-optic decoys, inflatable ground tanks, and naval missile deflectors now define modern survivability. India’s reported use of the X-Guard highlights its adaptation to the evolving battlefield. For a relatively low investment, such systems deliver high-impact protection, proving that in the wars of tomorrow, deception may be as decisive as destruction.
PYQ Relevance
“How is S-400 air defence system technically superior to any other system presently available in the world?”
Linkage: This question shows UPSC’s focus on defence technology and comparative capability analysis. The same lens applies to India’s deployment of AI-enabled decoys like the X-Guard FOTD, which enhance survivability against advanced missile systems. Both highlight the importance of evaluating cutting-edge military technology for national security.
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Introduction
Independence Day speeches are often symbolic, but in 2025 the Prime Minister shifted focus to frontier technologies, semiconductors, clean energy, AI, quantum computing, and defence indigenisation. Unlike earlier years, this vision was paired with the acknowledgment that bureaucratic inertia and regulatory red tape remain India’s toughest hurdles. The central challenge is whether India’s governance structures can keep pace with its technological ambitions.
Significance of the 2025 Speech by the Prime Minister
- Future focus: Strong emphasis on frontier areas like semiconductors, EVs, and jet engines.
- Symbolic push: The PM asked if fighter jet engines should not be Indian-made.
- Bold promise: India will shed dependency in two decades.
- Data milestone: India is the largest per capita data consumer (32 GB), ahead of China and the US.
India’s current position in technology and self-reliance
- Strength in mid-tech: Success in fintech, data access, and digitisation
- Emerging hubs: Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram drive high-tech growth.
- Import dependency: India depends heavily on imports in semiconductors, defence hardware, AI hardware, and clean energy technologies.
- Global presence: Firms like Nvidia and IBM rely on India’s talent pool, but domestic ecosystems remain thin.
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Bureaucratic Challenges that obstruct deep-tech ambition
- Colonial bureaucratic legacy: The Westminster model prioritised control over innovation and accountability.
- Rigid steel frame: The “steel frame” of the civil services designed to ensure subservience to colonial administrators remains rigid even a century after the Public Service Commission’s creation in 1926.
- Unrealised reforms: The Veerappa Moily Committee (2005) suggested domain experts and ethics codes-still pending.
- Lateral entry limits: Attempts at inducting experts face systemic resistance.
Why are regulatory and judicial reforms critical?
- Persistent red tape: The Deregulation Commission (2025) was set up to identify redundant compliance norms, but structural bottlenecks persist.
- Judicial backlog: Slow dispute resolution and investment climate, affectshigh-tech sectors.
- Comparative lessons:
- US & China: Despite different models, both empower political leadership over bureaucracy to push national interests.
- UK: Even Britain debates its bureaucratic model, Dominic Cummings under Boris Johnson pushed for external competition and greater ministerial control.
How does this link to Viksit Bharat@2047?
- Ambition vs. architecture: India’s goal of becoming a deep-tech powerhouse is contingent not just on financial investment but on restructuring governance.
- Symbolic timing: The UPSC centenary in 2026 is a historic chance for overhaul.
- Future-readiness: Without structural reform, Atmanirbhar Bharat may remain aspirational.
Conclusion
India’s ambition to lead in deep-tech must be matched with institutional reform. The PM’s 2025 speech acknowledged that Atmanirbharta is as much about fixing bureaucratic bottlenecks as building jet engines or quantum labs. The centenary of UPSC offers an opportune moment to align India’s governance with its 2047 goals.
| Value Addition |
| Committees on Civil Service Reforms
1. Santhanam Committee (1964)
- Focus: Preventive corruption measures.
- Key suggestion: Creation of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
2. Kothari Committee (1976)
- Focus: Recruitment and exam structure of Civil Services.
- Key suggestion: Recommended 3-stage exam (Prelims, Mains, Interview), which is still followed today.
3. Satish Chandra Committee (1989)
- Focus: Review of recruitment and selection.
- Key suggestion: Increased emphasis on aptitude and ethics in recruitment.
4. Hota Committee (2004)
- Focus: Ethics, transparency, and performance.
- Key suggestion: Right to Information, performance-linked incentives, citizen charters.
5. Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) – Veerappa Moily (2005–2009)
Most comprehensive civil service reform report (15 volumes). Key suggestions:
- Lateral entry of domain experts.
- Code of Ethics & Code of Conduct.
- Citizen-centric administration
- Performance-based appraisal system.
- Training in e-governance and modern management practices
6. Punchhi Commission (2010) – on Centre-State relations
- Relevant link: Stressed need for civil service neutrality in federal governance.
7. Baswan Committee (2016)
- Focus: UPSC exam age and attempts.
- Key suggestion: Reduce maximum age for UPSC CSE (though not implemented).
8. Current initiatives
- Lateral entry into Joint Secretary and Director-level posts.
- Mission Karmayogi (2020): National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB) to train officers with competency-based framework.
- Deregulation Commission (2025): Identifying and scrapping redundant compliances.
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Mapping Microthemes
- GS Paper-II: Civil Service Reform, Regulation, Judiciary
- GS Paper -III: Tech missions, Defence Indigenisation, Atmanirbhar Bharat
- GS Paper -IV: Accountability, Ethics in governance
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2016] Civil Services “Traditional bureaucratic structure and culture have hampered the process of socio-economic development in India.” Comment.
Linkage: PM Modi’s Independence Day 2025 address highlighted that despite India’s technological advances, the colonial-era bureaucratic “steel frame” continues to obstruct innovation, investment, and governance reforms. The traditional bureaucratic structure—designed for control rather than development—remains a bottleneck in achieving Atmanirbhar Bharat. Thus, the speech directly echoes the UPSC 2016 theme that outdated bureaucratic culture hampers socio-economic transformation.
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Introduction
Canada has decided to drop retaliatory tariffs and mirror the U.S. exemptions on goods covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). This represents a success in preserving tariff-free trade for over 85% of Canada-U.S. commerce. But sector-specific tariffs like the 50% duties on steel and aluminium continue to hurt Canadian industries. The development is crucial, given Canada’s heavy reliance on the U.S. market, with more than 75% of its exports heading south.
Significance of the News
- Tariff Alignment: Canada has chosen to align its tariff exemptions with those of the U.S., signaling a conciliatory move in contrast with earlier retaliatory tariffs.
- First-time Reset: For the first time since retaliatory duties were announced, Canada is rolling them back to match U.S. exemptions under USMCA, a notable policy reversal.
- Trade Dependence: With over 75% of Canadian exports going to the U.S., the stakes are extremely high, making tariff negotiations critical for economic stability.
- Striking Data: 85% of Canada-U.S. trade is still tariff-free, reflecting both success in negotiations and risks if the pact weakens.
What is USMCA?
- USMCA Pact: Signed in 2020, it replaced NAFTA and provides preferential treatment for Canadian and Mexican goods entering the U.S.
- Carve-out Mechanism: Goods shielded under the agreement are protected from punitive tariffs, preserving market access.
- Upcoming Review : The pact is up for review in 2026, adding urgency to Canada’s attempt to preserve smooth trade relations.
How does Canada benefit from this carve-out?
- Preferential Access: Canadian goods remain shielded from most punitive duties.
- Export Stability: With 75% of exports going to the U.S., the pact secures critical market access.
- Low Tariff Burden: U.S. average tariffs on Canadian goods remain among the lowest globally.
What are the challenges despite tariff exemptions?
- 232 Tariffs: The U.S. has imposed sector-specific duties, including 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium, straining Canadian industries.
- Renegotiation Risk: U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has hinted at reopening USMCA talks, creating uncertainty.
- Dependence Dilemma: Canada retains some retaliatory tariffs, but its heavy reliance on U.S. markets weakens bargaining power.
Why is this crucial for North American trade stability
- Export Dependence: More than 75% of Canada’s exports and 80% of Mexico’s exports head to the U.S., underlining their vulnerability.
- Regional Integration: The USMCA has reestablished tariff-free trade for the majority of goods, preventing economic disruption in North America.
- Geopolitical Context: At a time of growing global protectionism, North America’s internal trade pact provides a stabilising force, but also exposes Canada and Mexico to unilateral U.S. decisions.
Conclusion
Canada’s decision to align its tariffs with U.S. exemptions under USMCA reflects both pragmatism and vulnerability. While the pact secures tariff-free trade for the majority of goods, sector-specific tariffs and the looming threat of renegotiation highlight the fragile foundation of North American trade integration. For Canada, the challenge lies in balancing sovereignty with economic dependence, a dilemma increasingly relevant in today’s protectionist world.
Value Addition
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United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA)
Key Features (vs. NAFTA)
- Rules of Origin – Higher thresholds for auto production (75% North American content vs. 62.5% under NAFTA).
- Labour Provisions – Stronger labour standards; Mexico required to reform labour laws.
- Digital Trade – New rules on data flows, e-commerce, and IP rights absent in NAFTA.
- Sunset Clause – Agreement reviewed every 6 years; expires after 16 years unless renewed.
- Agriculture – U.S. gained greater access to Canadian dairy market.
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PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2018] How would the recent phenomena of protectionism and currency manipulations in world trade affect macroeconomic stability of India?
Linkage: The USMCA episode shows how U.S. protectionism through sectoral tariffs (like 50% on steel/aluminium) can destabilize even close trade partners like Canada. Such measures reflect the larger global trend of tariff wars and currency leverage, which disrupt supply chains and investment flows. For India, this highlights risks to macroeconomic stability via trade deficits, inflationary pressures, and exchange rate volatility.
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Introduction
The India-China equation has once again come into focus with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to India. Coming at a time when Donald Trump’s unpredictable moves are reshaping US–China relations and India faces pressure over its Russian oil purchases, the visit is being viewed as a tactical outreach by Beijing. For the first time since the Galwan clash, both sides agreed on a 10-point understanding, from reopening border trade points to restarting stalled dialogues. Yet, beneath the gestures of cooperation, deep mistrust lingers: unresolved tensions in Ladakh, Beijing’s quiet backing of Pakistan, and economic vulnerabilities that India cannot ignore. The central question remains, is this the start of a cautious reset, or will rivalry continue to define the relationship?
Current State of India-China Relationship
- A Cautious Thaw: Signs of easing after years of strain post-2020 Galwan clashes. The visit of Chinese Foreign Minister and the expected Modi–Xi meeting at the SCO summit reflect cautious engagement.
- Unfinished Border Business:
- Unfinished disengagement: Restrictions continue on Indian troop patrolling and herdsmen grazing in Ladakh buffer zones.
- De-escalation talks: Both sides have now agreed to discuss principles and modalities of de-escalation, but with little progress so far.
- Historical baggage: From the 1962 war to Doklam and Galwan, border issues repeatedly resurface as the defining irritant.
- Persistent Trust Deficit: India remains wary of China’s military links with Pakistan, dam projects on the Brahmaputra, and use of economic dependencies such as rare-earths and critical technologies as leverage.
China–Pakistan Axis and India’s Security Concerns
- Operation Sindoor 2025: China provided Pakistan with real-time ISR, command-and-control integration, and advanced weaponry.
- Extended theatre: While not directly engaging militarily, China’s operational support widened the conflict spectrum.
- Strategic consequences: India now faces a two-front dynamic made more acute by China’s active involvement.
Trade Dependence Shaping Geopolitical Weakness
- Weaponisation of dependencies: China has denied India supplies of rare-earth magnets, fertilisers, tunnel-boring machines.
- Industrial impact: Foxconn withdrew hundreds of Chinese technicians under pressure from Beijing.
- Hydropower concerns: A massive dam, thrice the size of Three Gorges, threatens India’s lower riparian interests.
Can tactical outreach substitute for structural resolution?
- Wang Yi’s visit: Led to a 10-point understanding including resumption of flights, border trade, and talks on border issues.
- Tactical gestures: China seeks to ease tensions but has not offered substantive concessions on India’s concerns.
- India’s position: PM Modi emphasised the need for “stable, predictable and constructive” relations, but only grounded in realism.
Why outright conflict remains unlikely
- Geographical constraints: The Himalayas pose immense logistical challenges for a sustained full-scale war.
- China’s strategic calculus: Since 1979, Beijing has avoided wars to focus on economic growth.
- Cost of conflict: War with India risks derailing China’s “great power” ambitions vis-à-vis the US.
The limits of aligning with China against the US
- US factor: Trump’s inconsistent China policy has unsettled India’s geopolitical calculations.
- Chinese spin: Beijing portrayed India as siding with it against “unilateral bullying” (implicitly the US).
- MEA clarification: India reaffirmed no change in its One-China policy stance, signalling caution.
Way Forward
- Strengthen Border Posture: Accelerate infrastructure and surveillance along LAC to counter tactical surprises.
- Diversify Dependencies: Invest in domestic capacity for critical minerals, semiconductors, and rare earths.
- Engage but Verify: Continue talks on de-escalation and economic ties, but measure outcomes, not promises.
- Diplomatic Balancing: Maintain strategic autonomy while leveraging QUAD, SCO, BRICS without being trapped in binaries.
- Water Security Mechanisms: Push for institutionalised basin-sharing frameworks on Brahmaputra with multilateral backing.
Conclusion
The India-China relationship sits at a crossroads. While tactical outreach such as Wang Yi’s visit creates openings for engagement, the structural drivers of mistrust remain too deep for a true reset. India cannot overlook the challenges of border tensions, economic weaponisation, and China-Pakistan collusion. At the same time, the high costs of conflict and shared economic interests provide space for pragmatic management. The way forward lies in carefully calibrated diplomacy, neither falling into the trap of confrontation nor harbouring illusions of a reset.
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2017] ‘China is using its economic relations and positive trade surplus as a tool to develop potential military power status in Asia’, In the light of this statement, discuss its impact on India as her neighbour.
Linkage: China’s growing economic leverage over Pakistan, seen in CPEC and debt dependence, is increasingly shaping a strategic-military partnership. This aligns with the UPSC 2017 theme of economic tools being converted into hard power. For India, this intensifies security challenges on both borders and limits regional strategic space. |
Mapping microthemes
- GS Paper II (IR): India-China relations, India-US-China triangle, border disputes, strategic autonomy.
- GS Paper III (Security): Two-front challenge, defence preparedness, technology denial regimes.
- GS Paper IV (Ethics): Diplomacy, realpolitik vs idealism in foreign policy.
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Introduction
The Supreme Court recently questioned whether it should remain passive when Governors indefinitely withhold assent to Bills, stalling elected legislatures. This issue, highlighted by Tamil Nadu’s Bills pending for four years, raises fundamental questions about judicial review, federalism, and democratic accountability.
Why in the News
Tamil Nadu’s unprecedented case of Bills pending for years has brought the Governor’s discretionary powers under sharp scrutiny. The Supreme Court’s April 8 judgment imposing time limits on Governors is now contested by the Union as judicial overreach, sparking a crucial debate on separation of powers.
Why does the role of Governors come under scrutiny
- Governor’s Inaction: Governors, appointed by the Union, are integral to State legislatures, yet their indefinite withholding of Bills undermines State autonomy.
- Tamil Nadu Example: Crucial Bills remained pending for nearly four years without reasons being communicated, sparking judicial concern.
- Democratic Will Thwarted: Prolonged silence from Governors makes elected legislatures ineffective.
How has the Supreme Court responded
- CJI’s Question: Should the Court suspend its role as custodian of the Constitution while Governors block Bills indefinitely?
- Judicial Review Precedent: The Court has struck down even constitutional amendments (e.g., 42nd Amendment) that sought to limit judicial review.
- Concern of Vacuum: Justice P.S. Narasimha highlighted the risk of Bills hanging in limbo without timelines.
What is the Union Government’s stand
- Encroachment Argument: Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta argued the Court’s April 8 order intruded into law-making, undermining Governors and the President.
- Political Resolution: Inaction, according to the Union, should be resolved politically, not judicially.
- Governor’s Unique Role: Unlike statutory authorities, Governors hold sui generis constitutional status, not bound by timelines.
Why is the tussle between judiciary and executive significant
- Separation of Powers: Union argues judiciary must not micro-manage executive discretion.
- Checks and Balances: CJI asserted that unchecked gubernatorial delay undermines democracy, and the Court cannot abdicate review.
- Democratic Accountability: Legislators face people every five years; Governors do not. Hence judicial review is necessary.
What are the implications for federalism
- Centre–State Tensions: Delays fuel mistrust between States and the Union.
- Judicial Intervention: Without court oversight, States may face legislative logjams.
- Limited Litigation: Union argues only “two or three States” have complained, but the principle has pan-India significance.
Way Forward: A structured framework for assent is necessary to prevent legislative paralysis. The Supreme Court’s suggested timelines strike a balance between constitutional discretion and democratic accountability. Moving ahead, three steps are essential:
- Codifying Timelines: Parliament may consider amending the law or issuing guidelines to institutionalise clear deadlines.
- Ensuring Accountability: Governors must act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, barring exceptional constitutional reasons.
- Judicial Oversight as Safeguard: Courts should step in only when gubernatorial inaction undermines constitutional morality, keeping political disputes largely within the legislative sphere.
Conclusion
Unchecked gubernatorial inaction risks turning elected assemblies powerless. While the Union calls for political remedies, the Court stresses its duty as constitutional guardian. The outcome will redefine the balance between State autonomy, judicial review, and the Governor’s role in India’s federal framework.
Value Addition
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Timeline for Governor’s action on bills
While the Constitution of India doesn’t explicitly state a timeline, the Supreme Court has addressed the issue of delays in Governor’s assent, particularly in the context of recent conflicts between Governors and state governments.
Based on a recent Supreme Court ruling (April 2025) and subsequent discussions, here’s a breakdown of the suggested timelines for the Governor’s actions on a Bill under Article 200 of the Constitution:
- Granting Assent, Withholding Assent (with advice of Council of Ministers), or Reserving for President’s Consideration: The Governor must act on the bill within a maximum of one month.
- Withholding Assent (against advice of Council of Ministers): The Governor should return the bill to the legislature with reasons for reconsideration within three months.
- Reserving for President’s Consideration (against advice of Council of Ministers): The Governor must reserve the bill within three months.
- Reconsideration by the Legislature: If the Governor returns a non-Money Bill for reconsideration, the legislature must reconsider it, and if it’s passed again (with or without amendments), the Governor is then bound to give assent within one month.
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PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2022] Discuss the essential conditions for exercise of the legislative powers by the Governor. Discuss the legality of re-promulgation of ordinances by the Governor without placing them before the Legislature.
Linkage: This issue links directly with the 2022 UPSC question as both highlight the constitutional checks on the Governor’s legislative powers. The re-promulgation of ordinances without legislative approval undermines democratic accountability. Hence, examining Governor’s ordinance powers is central to debates on federalism and executive overreach.
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Introduction
The recognition of gender identity in India rests on strong legal foundations, the NALSA v. Union of India (2014) judgment and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. Yet, lived realities remain different, as shown in the Manipur High Court order directing fresh academic certificates for Dr. Beoncy Laishram. What should have been a routine correction instead became a legal battle, exposing the gap between law and practice.
Why is this issue in the news?
The Manipur High Court directed the State to issue fresh academic certificates to Dr. Beoncy Laishram, a transgender doctor, after her university refused to update her records citing procedural hurdles. This is significant because it highlights how basic rights, already guaranteed by law, are still denied in practice. The case reflects a larger systemic problem where bureaucratic rigidity overrides constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 and 21, forcing transpersons into prolonged legal battles to claim what is already legally theirs.
Bureaucratic Inertia vs. Transgender Justice
- Administrative inertia: Officials often defer to rigid procedural rules rather than the spirit of the law.
- Sequential corrections: Universities and boards insisted that records must be corrected starting from the earliest certificate, creating cascading hurdles.
- Binary mindset: Authorities still stick to birth-assigned gender over self-identity.
The NALSA Judgement Mandate on Self-Identification
- Right to self-identify: In NALSA v. Union of India (2014), the Supreme Court recognised transgender persons’ right to self-identify their gender.
- Welfare entitlements: Declared them socially and educationally backward, eligible for reservations and welfare schemes.
- Constitutional backing: Linked to Articles 14 (equality before law) and 21 (right to life and dignity), making recognition a constitutional obligation.
Statutory Guarantees under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019
- Statutory obligation: Authorities are legally required to recognise self-identified gender and update official records.
- Codification of self-identification: Law translated the NALSA principle into binding statutory practice.
- Gap in implementation: Despite clarity in law, officials often refuse compliance unless compelled by courts.
The Precedent of Dr. Laishram’s Case (A Landmark for Institutional Accountability)
- Individual justice: The order ensures her academic and professional records reflect her affirmed identity.
- Precedential value: Signals to other institutions that procedural rigidity cannot override constitutional rights.
- Systemic spotlight: Reveals how transpersons are forced into legal struggles for routine matters, expending time and resources disproportionately.
Reforms for Bridging Law and Reality
- Institutional reform: Simplify procedures and enforce compliance through clear administrative circulars.
- Cultural change: Bureaucracy must embrace gender as lived reality, not paperwork.
- Awareness and sensitivity training: Officials must be sensitised to constitutional principles and human dignity.
Conclusion
The Manipur High Court’s ruling is a milestone, but it also highlights how rights guaranteed in law often falter in practice. True empowerment will come only when institutions operationalise constitutional principles with sensitivity, ensuring that gender identity is recognised as a matter of dignity, not just paperwork.
Value Addition
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Key Features of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019
- Definition of Transgender Person: Includes trans-men, trans-women, persons with intersex variations, genderqueer, and persons with socio-cultural identities (like hijra, aravani, jogta).
- Right to Self-Perceived Gender Identity: Allows individuals to identify as male, female, or transgender.
- Prohibition of Discrimination: No discrimination in education, employment, healthcare, housing, access to services, or public places.
- Recognition and Certificates: Provides for a certificate of identity issued by the District Magistrate, recognising a person as “transgender.”
- Welfare Measures: Mandates governments to frame welfare schemes for education, healthcare, vocational training, and social security.
- Offences and Penalties: Criminalises denial of services, removal from household, physical/sexual abuse; punishable with imprisonment (6 months–2 years) and fine.
- National Council for Transgender Persons (NCT): Advisory body to monitor implementation, headed by Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment.
Criticisms
- Certification process: Seen as bureaucratic and violating the spirit of self-identification under NALSA (2014)
- No reservation policy: Act does not clearly guarantee reservations in jobs/education despite Supreme Court directions.
- Weak enforcement: Implementation depends heavily on state-level rules; lack of accountability mechanisms.
International Value Addition
- Argentina’s Gender Identity Law (2012): Considered the most progressive globally; allows self-declared gender without medical/psychological proof.
- Nepal (2007): One of the first Asian countries to legally recognise a “third gender” category.
- Yogyakarta Principles: International guidelines on sexual orientation and gender identity as human rights.
Reports & Data
- National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Report, 2017 – Found that over 92% of transpersons are denied basic rights like jobs, healthcare, education.
- Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020 – Prescribed simple process for self-identification, but implementation is patchy.
Governance & Ethics Lens
- Administrative Sensitisation: Training needed to reduce “file-based rigidity” and promote human dignity.
- Constitutional Morality vs. Social Morality: Governance must align with constitutional principles rather than prevailing biases.
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Mapping Microthemes
- GS Paper I: Social empowerment, issues faced by vulnerable sections.
- GS Paper II: Constitutional provisions (Articles 14, 21), governance issues, judicial interventions.
- GS Paper IV: Ethics in governance, dignity, empathy, sensitivity in administration.
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2017] Does the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 ensure effective mechanisms for empowerment and inclusion of the intended beneficiaries in the society? Discuss.
Linkage: Just as UPSC asked in 2017 about whether the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 ensures real empowerment, a similar question can be framed on the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. Both laws highlight that while statutory recognition exists, bureaucratic inertia and weak implementation dilute inclusion, making judicial intervention critical for the intended beneficiaries. |
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India is entering a new era of space exploration with lunar success, Gaganyaan, and the proposed Bharat Antariksh Station. Yet, one critical element is missing, a national space law. While India has ratified global treaties like the Outer Space Treaty (1967), it lacks a domestic legal framework to regulate private participation, ensure liability, and attract investment. As space activities expand beyond government agencies to startups and private players, the absence of clear laws poses risks to accountability, innovation, and global competitiveness.
The Urgency of a National Space Law
- Major milestone vs. missing law: India’s scientific achievements are unmatched, but the legal architecture remains absent, risking accountability gaps.
- Private participation: With startups entering, lack of clarity on licensing, FDI rules, liability, and insurance creates operational hurdles.
- International responsibility: Under the Outer Space Treaty, India is responsible for both governmental and private activities, yet it lacks the domestic framework to enforce compliance.
- Global contrast: Countries like the U.S., Japan, and Luxembourg already have national legislation that provides legal certainty and attracts investment.
Principles of the Outer Space Treaty
- Foundational principles: Space is the province of all mankind, prohibiting national appropriation and militarisation.
- State responsibility: Nations are responsible for activities in space, whether by state or private entities.
- Liability framework: Countries bear liability for damages caused by their space objects.
- Not self-executing: According to UNOOSA, national laws are essential to translate treaty principles into enforceable domestic regulations.
India’s Incremental Approach to Space Legislation
- Methodical strategy: India is incremental and cautious, ensuring technical regulations precede overarching law.
- Catalogue of Indian Standards: A framework to ensure safety of space operations.
- Indian Space Policy (ISP), 2023: Encourages non-governmental participation in space activities.
- IN-SPACe Norms, Guidelines and Procedures (NPG): Provide procedures for authorisation of space activities.
- Pending gap: The broader Space Activities Law that incorporates treaty obligations is still not enacted.
Industry Concerns and Operational Challenges
- Statutory authority gap: IN-SPACe lacks formal legal backing, leaving decisions open to procedural challenges.
- Licensing and delays: Companies face multiple ministry clearances, creating uncertainty.
- FDI rules: Industry demands clarity, such as 100% automatic FDI in satellite components to attract capital.
- Liability and insurance: While India is internationally liable, companies need affordable third-party insurance to cover risks.
- Intellectual property protection: Current frameworks risk talent and tech migration to IP-friendly nations.
- Space debris management: Absence of mandatory accident investigations and debris laws increases operational risks.
The Importance of Affordable Insurance for Space Startups
- High-value assets: Satellites and payloads involve massive investments; startups cannot absorb losses alone.
- Global liability: India bears responsibility internationally, so private players must secure third-party insurance.
- Investor confidence: Insurance frameworks encourage investors, reducing risk aversion.
- Innovation support: Affordable insurance ensures startups can experiment and grow, without fear of crippling liability.
Conclusion
India’s space programme has made historic strides, but without a comprehensive national space law, its progress risks being undermined by regulatory gaps. A forward-looking framework ensuring clarity, liability management, insurance, IP protection, and statutory backing for IN-SPACe is essential to balance innovation with responsibility. The future of India’s space leadership will depend as much on strong laws as on strong rockets.
Value Addition
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- UNOOSA Insight: National laws act as the domestic enabler of international obligations. Without them, treaty principles remain unenforceable.
- Comparative Perspective:
- United States: Commercial Space Launch Act allows private launches with liability coverage.
- Luxembourg: Pioneered space mining rights to attract global investors.
- Japan: Provides licensing, insurance, and debris mitigation guidelines.
- Governance Lens: Reflects the larger theme of state capacity to regulate frontier technologies, similar to how data protection laws govern digital economies.
- Economic Angle: A robust legal framework will strengthen India’s space economy, valued at nearly $9.6 billion (2020) and projected to grow to $13 billion by 2025.
- Investor Confidence: Insurance frameworks, clear FDI rules, and IP protection create a trustworthy ecosystem for global investors.
- Security Dimension: Dual-use nature of space technologies necessitates clarity in export controls and defence linkages.
- Ethical Dimension: Covers responsibility towards space debris management and sustainability of outer space as a global commons.
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Mapping Microthemes
- GS Paper II (Governance, International Relations):
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- Outer Space Treaty (1967) – India’s obligations and global responsibility
- Role of UNOOSA – multilateral governance of outer space
- Need for National Legislation – predictability, legal clarity, statutory backing for IN-SPACe
- GS Paper III (Science & Technology, Economy, Security):
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- Growth of India’s Space Economy – Chandrayaan-3, Gaganyaan, startups, private players
- Insurance and Liability – affordability for startups, international responsibility for damages
- Intellectual Property Rights – preventing brain drain, encouraging innovation
- Space Debris Management – sustainability and accident investigation procedures
- Dual-Use Technology Challenge – balancing civilian and defence aspects
- GS Paper IV (Ethics & Governance):
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- Accountability in Outer Space – who bears liability for damage?
- Ethics of Space Exploration – sustainability, “province of mankind” principle
- Equitable Access – preventing monopolisation of space resources by few nations
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2016] Discuss India’s achievements in the field of Space Science and Technology. How the application of this technology has helped India in its socio-economic development?
Linkage: While India’s space achievements like Chandrayaan-3 and Gaganyaan highlight scientific progress, the absence of a national space law shows a governance gap. A legal framework is crucial to translate these achievements into sustainable socio-economic gains through private participation, investment, and accountability. |
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Why in the News?
On August 12, 2025, The Wire’s editors Siddharth Varadarajan and Karan Thapar were summoned by the Assam Police under Section 152 of the BNS, even as the Supreme Court had that very day issued protection while examining the constitutional validity of the new sedition law. This open defiance of judicial authority and the use of procedurally defective summons marks a serious blow to press freedom. What makes this moment significant is that the law being challenged is wider and harsher than colonial sedition provisions, despite India claiming to have moved away from such colonial baggage.
Introduction
The sedition debate in India has returned in a new form. While Section 124A IPC was suspended in 2022, the government introduced Section 152 of the BNS, which critics say is “sedition by another name.” The law widens state powers and lowers the threshold for prosecution, making legitimate criticism vulnerable to criminalisation. Recent cases against journalists show how easily this provision can be misused.
Section 152 and Its Differences from the Old Sedition Law
- Expanded scope: Goes beyond “disaffection” against government, criminalising acts deemed to endanger sovereignty, unity, and integrity.
- Lower bar for prosecution: Words like “knowingly” dilute intent requirements; mere criticism can be dragged into criminality.
- Colonial continuity: Despite being marketed as decolonisation, Section 152 retains the same suppressive essence as 124A IPC.
The Wire Case and Procedural Violations
- Summons despite SC protection: Assam Police issued notices on the very day of SC’s order, reflecting executive defiance.
- Lack of transparency: Summons omitted FIR dates, details of offence, and copies of FIR, violating BNSS safeguards.
- Political overtones: Linked to The Wire’s report on Operation Sindoor, raising concerns of vendetta-driven policing.
Threats to Press Freedom
- Chilling effect: Journalists may self-censor for fear of harassment.
- Vague definitions: Broad terms like “unity” and “sovereignty” give unchecked power to authorities.
- Targeting dissent: Questioning government policy risks being equated with undermining national integrity.
Judicial Response and Challenges
- Supreme Court scrutiny: SC is examining the constitutional validity of Section 152.
- Precedent of 2022: Earlier suspension of sedition cases showed judicial recognition of misuse.
- Executive overreach: Assam Police’s defiance underlines the need for stronger judicial safeguards and guidelines.
Broader Democratic Implications
- Freedom of expression at stake: Democracy thrives on criticism; silencing it weakens accountability.
- Comparative perspective: UK repealed sedition in 2009; US limits it only to violent overthrow.
- Governance paradox: Instead of transparency, India risks sliding into a majoritarian security state.
Way Forward
- Clear legislative safeguards: Narrow the scope of Section 152 with precise definitions of terms like “unity” and “sovereignty” to prevent misuse.
- Judicial guidelines: The Supreme Court can lay down binding principles (on the lines of Kedar Nath Singh and Shreya Singhal) that limit sedition to cases of direct incitement to violence or armed rebellion
- Independent oversight: A judicial or quasi-judicial body should vet sedition cases before FIR registration, reducing frivolous prosecutions.
- Strengthening press freedom: Institutional mechanisms like a Media Commission or independent ombudsman can address grievances without criminalisation.
- Comparative best practices: India can draw from the UK model of repeal and the US model of narrow application, balancing national security with democratic freedoms.
- Civic education: Promoting awareness among citizens, journalists, and law enforcement about constitutional morality and reasonable restrictions can ensure a culture of restraint and accountability.
Conclusion
Section 152 represents the persistence of colonial-style suppression under a new name. Unless the judiciary firmly strikes it down or introduces robust safeguards, it will continue to erode press freedom and democratic dissent, pillars without which India’s constitutional promise cannot stand strong.
Value Addition
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Constitutional Angle
- Article 19(1)(a): Freedom of speech.
- Article 19(2): Reasonable restrictions (sovereignty, unity, public order, etc.).
- Basic Structure Doctrine: Democracy, liberty, and rule of law as inviolable.
Judicial Precedents
- Kedar Nath Singh vs State of Bihar (1962): Sedition valid only when incitement to violence/public disorder is proven.
- Shreya Singhal vs Union of India (2015): Vague terms in laws (like IT Act Section 66A) struck down for chilling free speech.
- SC Order 2022: Suspended all 124A cases, acknowledging misuse.
Reports & Perspectives
- Law Commission of India (2018): Recommended clearer safeguards; questioned necessity of sedition.
- Global practices: UK repealed sedition; US restricts it narrowly.
- BNSS debate: Marketed as decolonisation but seen as repackaging colonial control.
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Mapping Microthemes
- GS Paper II: Freedom of speech, judiciary, Centre-State federalism
- GS Paper III: Internal security vs. dissent.
- GS Paper IV: Misuse of power, ethics in public life, constitutional morality.
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2014] What do you understand by the concept “freedom of speech and expression”? Does it cover hate speech also? Why do the films in India stand on a slightly different plane from other forms of expression? Discuss.
Linkage: The 2014 question on freedom of speech, hate speech, and films mirrors today’s debate on Section 152. Just as films face stricter scrutiny due to mass impact, the new sedition law risks wrongly placing legitimate criticism and dissent in the same bracket as hate speech or violent incitement. This makes the boundary of free expression a central issue in both contexts. |
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Introduction
In the 1960s, India was reeling under the threat of famine, dependent on food aid like PL-480 imports from the U.S. It was during this crisis that M.S. Swaminathan, in collaboration with Norman Borlaug and with strong political support from leaders like Lal Bahadur Shastri and C. Subramaniam, spearheaded the Green Revolution. By introducing high-yielding dwarf wheat varieties, India moved from “ship-to-mouth” dependence to food self-sufficiency.
His story is not just about agricultural science, it is about leadership, political will, and atmanirbharta in its truest sense. Today, as India aspires for Viksit Bharat and faces the challenge of climate change, his legacy offers critical lessons.
M.S. Swaminathan in the news today:
- Centenary Year: 2025 marks 100 years since the birth of Swaminathan, celebrated with the release of a biography M.S. Swaminathan: The Man Who Fed India.
- Historical Significance: His leadership in the 1960s achieved food self-sufficiency, India’s most successful experiment in aatmanirbharta.
- Relevance Today: India now faces a new agricultural crisis due to climate change, water stress, and soil degradation, making Swaminathan’s lessons critical for the future.
- Striking Contrast: In the 1960s, India relied on foreign food aid; today, India is a food grain exporter, largely due to the foundation Swaminathan built.
Collaboration and scientific exchange in shaping the Green Revolution
- Cross-fertilisation of ideas: Swaminathan’s initial experiments with radiation-induced mutations failed. A Japanese scientist’s input on dwarf wheat and Norman Borlaug’s Mexican varieties changed the course.
- Networking with global scientists: Swaminathan leveraged his contacts to bring Borlaug’s seeds to India, overcoming bureaucratic hurdles.
- Lesson: Science thrives on openness, collaboration, and reduced bureaucracy, not isolation.
The role of political leadership in Swaminathan’s success
- Direct dialogue with scientists: C. Subramaniam (Agriculture Minister) listened directly to Swaminathan, bypassing bureaucratic resistance.
- Evidence-based decisions: Lal Bahadur Shastri personally visited fields to see the new wheat varieties before approving large-scale imports.
- Leadership support: Indira Gandhi carried forward the momentum after Shastri’s death, ensuring continuity.
- Lesson: Strong political will + scientific advice = transformative policy outcomes.
Challenges and criticisms of the Green Revolution
- Opposition from multiple fronts: Finance Ministry resisted spending ₹5 crore in forex; Planning Commission doubted the seeds; Left parties opposed U.S. connections (Rockefeller Foundation funding).
- Environmental fallout: Excessive water use, soil degradation, and fertilizer dependence became long-term challenges.
- Swaminathan’s foresight: He himself warned against unsustainable practices and advocated for “evergreen revolution”, productivity with sustainability.
Lessons from Swaminathan’s legacy for Viksit Bharat
- Science-Policy Linkages: Scientists must be given autonomy, direct access to policymakers and freedom from bureaucratic bottlenecks.
- R&D Investment: India spends 0.43% of agricultural GDP on R&D, half of China’s share; none of India’s agricultural institutes are in the world’s top 200, while China has eight in the top 10.
- Sustainability: A climate-resilient agriculture strategy is urgent to prevent food insecurity in the era of global warming.
- Atmanirbharta parallel: Just as Swaminathan made India self-sufficient in food, similar investments are needed in the digital economy, AI and green technologies.
Conclusion
M.S. Swaminathan’s work reminds us that nation-building rests on the fusion of science and statesmanship. His Green Revolution made India food-secure, but his vision of an “evergreen revolution”, where productivity meets sustainability, remains unfulfilled. To truly honour him, India must invest in agricultural research, empower scientists, and align policy with long-term sustainability. The man who fed India has left us with not just a legacy but also a roadmap for the future.
Value Addition
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Key Achievements
- Food Self-Sufficiency: India moved from being a food-deficit, aid-dependent country (“ship-to-mouth”) to self-sufficiency in food grains by the 1970s.
- Wheat Production Boom: From 12 million tonnes (1965), 23 million tonnes (1971), over 100 million tonnes (2020s).
- Avoided Famines: Helped avert large-scale famine during population boom (India’s population doubled between 1950–1980).
- Global Recognition: M.S. Swaminathan + Norman Borlaug collaboration hailed as a model of science-policy partnership.
Criticisms & Limitations
- Regional Imbalance: Benefits concentrated in Punjab, Haryana, Western UP; other states lagged behind.
- Mono-cropping: Focus on wheat and rice discouraged diversification → vulnerability in nutrition and soil health
- Environmental Degradation:
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- Over-extraction of groundwater → water table crisis in Punjab & Haryana.
- Excessive fertilizer/pesticide use → soil toxicity & health hazards.
- Inequality: Large farmers gained more due to access to credit, irrigation, inputs → widening rural inequality.
- Neglect of Coarse Grains & Pulses: Led to declining production of millets, crucial for nutrition and climate resilience.
Reports & Data
- NITI Aayog (2021): 89% of India’s groundwater used for irrigation → unsustainable.
- FAO Report (2019): Green Revolution improved calorie sufficiency but failed in ensuring nutrition security.
- ICAR Data: Only 0.43% of agricultural GDP is spent on R&D in India vs ~0.86% in China.
Concepts Introduced
- Evergreen Revolution (Swaminathan): Increasing productivity in perpetuity without ecological harm → focus on sustainability.
- Second Green Revolution: Emphasis on pulses, oilseeds, and eastern states under the National Food Security Mission (2007).
- Climate-Resilient Agriculture: Shift towards water-use efficiency, precision farming, and millets revival (2023: International Year of Millets).
Comparative Perspective
- China vs India: China diversified faster into horticulture, aquaculture, and biotech crops; India stayed wheat-rice centric.
- Mexico: Norman Borlaug’s work initially focused there, but India scaled it into a nationwide revolution.
- Africa: “Green Revolution for Africa” attempts underway, but limited success due to weak infrastructure.
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Mapping Microthemes for GS Papers
- GS Paper I: Post-independence consolidation, Nehruvian vision, famine & food security history.
- GS Paper II: Science-policy interface, role of political leadership, bureaucratic hurdles in governance.
- GS Paper III: Food security, Green Revolution, R&D in agriculture, climate change impact, sustainable agriculture.
- GS Paper IV: Leadership ethics, scientific integrity, foresight (Swaminathan warning about sustainability).
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2019] How was India benefited from the contributions of Sir M.Visvesvaraya and Dr. M. S. Swaminathan in the fields of water engineering and agricultural science respectively?
Linkage: Dr. M.S. Swaminathan’s pioneering role in the Green Revolution transformed India from a food-deficit nation into a self-sufficient one, ensuring food security and laying the foundation for agricultural atmanirbharta. |
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Introduction
Plastic pollution represents one of the gravest environmental crises of our times. Despite decades of regulation and bans, plastics remain ubiquitous, cheap, and nearly indestructible. Talks in Geneva involving 180 countries failed to secure an internationally binding legal agreement to limit plastic pollution, reflecting deep divisions over whether the treaty should target waste alone or include production.
Global Plastic Treaty Deadlock: Why It Matters
- Global deadlock: 180 countries failed to agree on a binding treaty on plastic pollution in Geneva, despite a UNEP-backed resolution already in place.
- First-time sharp focus on health: Unlike earlier discussions centred only on waste management, the health impact of plastics is now central.
- Scale of problem: Plastics contain more than 16,000 chemicals, with little knowledge on 10,000+ of them. A Nature study showed 4,000 chemicals of concern are present across major plastic types.
- Striking evidence: Microplastics detected in blood, breast milk, placenta, bone marrow, bringing urgency to the debate.
The Persistence and Ubiquity of Plastics
- Symbol of consumption economy: Cheap and versatile, plastics reflect today’s global consumption.
- Persistence and flexibility: Synthetic, fossil-fuel-derived polymers are non-biodegradable and endure for decades.
- Waste mismanagement: Cheap production, ubiquity, and limited recycling capacity turn plastics into the prime source of litter.
Plastics and Human Health: Emerging Evidence
- Chemicals of concern: Plastics use ethylene, propylene, styrene derivatives, along with bisphenols, phthalates, PCBs, PBDEs, and PFAS.
- Products of exposure: Found in food containers, bottles, teething toys, polyester, IV bags, cosmetics, paints, electronics, adhesives.
- Health links: Studies link plastic chemicals to thyroid dysfunction, hypertension, kidney/testicular cancer, gestational diabetes.
- Evidence base: Around 1,100 studies, involving 1.1 million individuals, compiled by Boston College & Minderoo Foundation dashboard.
- Nature of studies: Mostly associative; longitudinal studies (gold standard) are still underway.
The Microplastic Menace
- Definition: Plastics smaller than 5 mm, found in additives or broken-down products.
- Recent discoveries: Detected in human blood, breast milk, placenta, bone marrow.
- Health uncertainty: Exact impacts still under study, but linked to multiple disorders.
Policy Responses: Global and Indian Perspectives
- Global scene: Negotiations divided on waste vs production; developing countries demand funding support.
- India’s stance:
- Ban on single-use plastics in ~20 States
- Administrative push for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
- Views plastics as a waste management issue, not a health issue.
- Prefers health dimension to be dealt with at WHO, not in the plastics treaty.
Conclusion
The Geneva deadlock reflects not just a failure of diplomacy but the widening gap between scientific evidence and policy action. Plastics are no longer an invisible convenience; they are a pervasive health hazard. While India treats plastics as a waste issue, ignoring health risks leaves a blind spot in policy. A robust, binding treaty addressing both production and health impact is indispensable if the world is to prevent plastics from becoming the new tobacco of the 21st century.
PYQ Relavance
| [UPSC 2023] What is oil pollution? What are its impacts on the marine ecosystem? In what way is oil pollution particularly harmful for a country like India?
Linkage: Since UPSC has already asked about oil pollution (2023), it shows the exam’s focus on pollution and ecosystem impacts. Plastic pollution, like oil, originates from fossil fuels and has severe effects on marine life and human health. Hence, a direct question on plastic pollution and its health–environment nexus is highly probable. |
Practice Mains Question
Plastics are no longer merely a waste management problem but a serious health hazard. Critically examine the health risks associated with plastic use and evaluate India’s stance in global plastic treaty negotiations.
Mapping Microthemes
- GS-1: Impact of industrialisation and consumerism on environment.
- GS-2: International negotiations, India’s foreign policy stance in environmental treaties.
- GS-3: Pollution, waste management, health-environment nexus.
- GS-4: Ethics of sustainability, intergenerational justice, corporate responsibility.
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