CIVIL SERVICES (MAINS), 2025 NOTES ON INDIAN POLITY, CoI, Acts etc. (for G S Papers) Set No. 8 { 23.7.2025 }

CIVIL SERVICES (MAINS), 2025 

NOTES ON INDIAN POLITY, CoI, Acts etc. (for G S 

Papers) Set No. 8 { 23.7.2025 } 

For Study purpose only 

1)UCC 

1)Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on 27 1 2025 officially rolled out the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for all residents of the State, except the Scheduled Tribes and natives who have migrated out of the State. 2)With this, Uttarakhand has become the first Indian State to implement the UCC post-Independence. 

3)The UCC Bill, passed by the State Assembly last February, bans practices such as

halala, iddat, and talaq (customs related to marriage and divorce in Muslim Personal Law). It also ensures that women are given equal rights in matters related to property and inheritance. 

4)The UCC mandates online registration of marriages, divorce and live-in relationships. A government portal has been formed for the purpose. People can access records, register complaints and also upload their will on the portal. Mr. Dhami also registered his marriage on the portal. 

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1)The Uttarakhand Cabinet  approved the rules for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Paving the way for the implementation of the code, he said the government would issue a Gazette notification for the legislation by January-end. (2025)

2)The UCC, passed by the Assembly in February 2024, has kept tribal people out of its ambit and provisioned a complete ban on practices such as halala, iddat, and talaq (customs related to marriage and divorce in Muslim Personal Law). It ensures that women are given equal rights in matters related to property and inheritance rights. 

3)The code makes it mandatory to register marriage and divorce, failing which the couple concerned will be deprived of the benefits of all government facilities. It has stringent provisions for failure to register live-in relationships. The children born out of a live-in relationship will be considered a legitimate child of the couple. 

4)For the implementation of UCC, the State government has set up an online portal for registration of marriage, divorce, rights of inheritance, live-in relationship, and termination of live-in relationship. This will help every citizen to register and access his data and application status on the mobile phone or at home, a government communique said. 

5)To make the registration facility simple and easy for the citizens, the Common Service Centres have been authorised by the State to take up the registration. 

6)“In hilly/remote areas where Internet facilities are not available, the agents of CSC will go door-to-door and provide the above facilities to the citizens,” a government official said. To make the registration simple and smooth, the option of registration

through Aadhaar has also been given and tracking can be done through e-mail and SMS. 

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2) FHI

1)Mineral-rich Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Goa, and Jharkhand have emerged as top-performing ‘achievers’ among the States listed in NITI Aayog’s first Fiscal Health Index (FHI) report . 

2)The report titled “Fiscal Health Index 2025” ranked States for 2022-23, covering 18 major States that drive the Indian economy in terms of their contribution to India’s GDP, demography, total public expenditure, revenues, and overall fiscal stability. 

3)According to the report, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Kerala were the worst-performing States in the Fiscal Health Index (FHI), each facing significant fiscal challenges, and listed under “aspirational” category. 

4)The report aims to evolve an understanding of the fiscal health of States and it has listed Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka under the “front-runners” category. Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Haryana were classified as performers. 

5)As per the report, released by 16th Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya, Odisha excelled in fiscal health, with the highest overall index score of 67.8 

6)According to the report, Odisha, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh scored the highest average FHI score for 2014-15 to 2021-22 period. The data used

to calculate the Fiscal Health Index were sourced from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

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3)Governor’s role 

1)Various commissions have examined the Governor’s role as Chancellor and proposed reforms. The Rajamannar Committee (1969-71) on Centre-State relations, appointed by the Government of Tamil Nadu, argued that the Governor’s statutory functions are included within the meaning of ‘functions’ under Article 163(1). So, the Governor should perform his statutory functions as Chancellor also on the advice of the State government. However, the Supreme Court has not upheld this interpretation. 

2)The Sarkaria Commission (1983-88) on Centre-State relations, recognised that the Governor’s role as Chancellor is statutory, not constitutional, and must be defined by State laws. It recommended that Governors consult with Chief Ministers while retaining independent judgment in university matters. 3)The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000-02), headed by Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, advocated for political neutrality, a clearer definition of the Chancellor’s functions, a supportive rather than authoritative role, and greater university autonomy. 

4)The M.M.Punchhi Commission (2007-10) on Centre-State relations recommended that the Governor focus on constitutional responsibilities, avoiding statutory roles like that of Chancellor to preserve the dignity of the office. It suggested that States appoint eminent academics or experts as Chancellors to ensure academic independence and prevent conflicts. 

Constitutionally, a Governor’s powers are divided into two categories : 

1): those exercised as Governor, where he is bound to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers as per Article 163(1) 

2)those conferred by statutes, such as the role of Chancellor of State universities, where he can act at his discretion, independent of ministerial advice, unless the statute mandates otherwise. 

3)The Supreme Court has upheld this distinction. This has enabled Governors to bypass ministerial advice in critical university matters like appointing Vice-Chancellors, nominating members to university bodies, and approving subordinate legislation, particularly in Opposition-ruled States. 

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4)

US Citizenship - Birth right 

1)On the one hand, the attempted reading down of the 14th Amendment has already been challenged in court by 22 States, and is likely to fail, according to legal experts. A federal judge in Seattle, Washington, has already described Mr. Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship as “blatantly unconstitutional” and issued a temporary restraining order to block it for at least two weeks while awaiting further briefings on the overall legal challenge. 

2)However, the immigration raids that Mr. Trump promised vociferously during his campaign have begun in earnest. With over 21 actions issued towards overhauling the immigration system, and “mass deportations” and arrests promised, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement has already deported 1,000 individuals and detained 5,000 in the State of Texas, in some cases flying them out on military aircraft with the cooperation of the Department of Defense. 

3)Mr. Trump has said on several occasions that he is in favour of legal migration even if he intends to close the U.S. border to undocumented migrants. While the 

President and his billionaire supporter Elon Musk have often spoken out in favour of temporary work visas for skilled migrants, including the H-1B visa, which applicants from India are most frequently granted, some members of the more conservative wing of the Republican Party have opposed any expansion in the H-1B quotas and have argued for bringing back jobs for American workers. 

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5) 

1)In 2010, India enacted the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act. This Act was fuelled in Parliament by those who had lost the attempt to block the deal and their anti-foreigner rhetoric, including invocation of the infamous Bhopal/Union Carbide tragedy. 

2)The result was India departing from international civil nuclear liability norms and

placing major liability obligations not on the operators of a civil nuclear facility but on the suppliers. 

3) Neither of the major U.S. suppliers — GE and Westinghouse — was willing to assume these liability risks, and neither the U.S. nor India was willing at that time to step in to ameliorate these liability concerns. 

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6) 

1)Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on January 3, 2025, released the draft rules for implementing the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 — 16 months after the law was notified in August 2023. 

2)The Union government is currently soliciting feedback on the draft rules through a fiduciary framework that effectively precludes both public disclosure and the submission of counter-comments. 

3) “The draft rules, coupled with the existing legislation, are inadequate for establishing a comprehensive data privacy framework... Moreover, the government should consider submitting the rules to a parliamentary standing committee for scrutiny 

4)The draft rules introduce a data localisation mandate that extends beyond the original scope of the legislation. Data localisation refers to measures that restrict the flow of data within a jurisdiction’s borders. While the DPDP Act permits the government to limit personal data transfers, it confines such restrictions to specific notified countries. 

5)Section 36 of the DPDP Act, read in conjunction with Rule 22, empowers the Union government, through the designated authorised person, to demand “any” information from a data fiduciary or intermediary (entities processing personal data) in the interest of India’s sovereignty, integrity, or national security. Experts have cautioned that such sweeping discretionary powers are susceptible to misuse, potentially enabling surveillance or the suppression of dissent. 

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7) 

1)Draft regulation by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on the selection and appointment of vice chancellors of universities has evoked protests by non-Bharatiya Janata Party-headed State governments. 

2)Their main objection against this regulation is that it constitutes a violation of the federal principles enshrined in the Constitution of India. The State governments concerned have demanded its withdrawal. 

3)The UGC has sought to amend Regulation 2010 that relates to the selection and appointment of vice chancellors by widening the area of selection. 

4) Under the existing regulations, a vice chancellor can be selected only from among academicians who have a minimum experience of 10 years as professor. 

5)Through this amendment, the UGC declares that professionals with 10-plus years of experience in industry, public administration or public policy, shall also be considered. 

6)The draft regulation raises serious constitutional issues which need to be examined by separating the political context of protest and a possible political reaction from the UGC or the party in power. 

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8)

 four Labour Codes : 

1)The Government has formulated four Labour Codes, namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and published these Codes in the Official Gazette for general information.

2)As a step towards implementation of the four Labour Codes, the Central and a number of State Governments have pre-published the draft Rules, inviting comments of all stakeholders. 3)The four Labour Codes envisage strengthening the protection available to workers, including unorganized workers in terms of statutory minimum wage, social security and healthcare of workers. 

3)Some of the important provisions are as follows:- 

● A statutory right for minimum wages and timely payment of wages has been made available to all workers to support sustainable growth and inclusive development. 

● To avoid multiple interpretations and litigations, uniform definition of ‘wages’ across all the four Labour Codes has been provided that is simple, coherent and easy to enforce. 

● Provision for annual health check-up and medical facilities has also been made which enhances labour productivity and increases life expectancy. ● Statutory provision has been made for the first time to issue appointment letter to every employee of the establishment which leads to formalized contract of employment that increases job security and enables a worker to claim statutory benefits such as minimum wages, social security etc . 

● Provision of Re-skilling Fund for skill development of workers. 

● The gig worker and the platform worker have been defined for the purpose of formulating schemes to provide social security benefits. Social security schemes can be formulated from the contribution of aggregators and the other sources can include funds from the Central and State Governments. 

● The Central Government may extend benefits to unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers and the members of their families through Employees’ State Insurance Corporation or Employees’ Provident Fund Organization. 

● A worker engaged under Fixed Term Employment (FTE) is entitled for all the benefits which are available to permanent employees and has also been made eligible for gratuity if he renders service for a period of one year. 

● Every worker is entitled to annual leave with wages after working for 180 days in comparison to 240 days at present. Provision for encashment of leave on demand by a worker while in service at the end of calendar year. 

● Applicability of Employees' Provident Fund has been extended to 

all industries as against scheduled industries at present.

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9) 

Gelephy city , Bhutan : 

1)Gelephu city last December, situated to the south of Bhutan and bordering Assam 

2)Pitching the upcoming Gelephu Mindfulness City as the biggest “cooperative project” in Bhutan, its Prime Minister, Tshering Tobgay, said that he was grateful for India’s support for the 2,500-sq. km “Zero Carbon” city being developed. 

3)Mr. Tobgay was speaking at the first “Global Conference of the International Cooperative Alliance”, inaugurated by Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi. 

4)In his comments, Mr. Modi referred to Mr. Tobgay as his “younger brother”, while Mr. Tobgay, speaking in Hindi for parts of his speech, referred to Mr. Modi as his “elder brother” and “mentor”, and thanked him for his “guidance and support in the development of this unique city”. 

5)Nearly 3,000 delegates, including 1,000 representatives from 100 countries, attended the five-day event being held in Delhi, hosted by Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah. 

6)Mr. Modi said India today had more than eight lakh cooperatives formed in every part of the country, and it was necessary to create big global financial institutions that would finance cooperatives all over the world.

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10)

 Protected Area Regime (PAR) : 

1)Union Home Ministry has reimposed the Protected Area Regime (PAR) in Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram to monitor the movement of foreigners amid “growing security concerns arising out of influx from neighbouring countries”, the Manipur government said 18.12.2024 

2)From now on, foreigners visiting the three northeastern States would have to seek prior permission and special permits from the government. The relaxation has been withdrawn after a gap of 14 years. 

3)According to Ministry guidelines, a foreigner is not encouraged to visit protected areas unless there are “extraordinary reasons to justify a visit”. 

4) The Ministry wrote to the Chief Secretaries of Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland regarding the changed norms for the PAR under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958. The letter said the relaxation provided to Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland under the PAR had been “withdrawn with immediate effect” and henceforth, the entire areas of these States would again fall under the PAR. The relaxation was given earlier to promote tourism.

5)The PAR was initially relaxed for a year in 2010 in the three States bordering Myanmar and subsequently the duration of the order was extended for five years. The latest PAR order was issued on December 16, 2022 and was valid till December 2027, an official said. 

5)The Manipur government said in a press statement that the PAR had been reimposed in the three States. “With this reimposition, the movement of foreigners visiting Manipur will be closely monitored, and they are required to obtain the necessary Protected Area Permits (PAP) in accordance with the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958,” it said. 

6)The State government urged national and local media houses to refrain from giving publicity to such press releases from unauthorised organisations or individuals. It also appealed to the “Central government and its agencies to disregard such claims from unverified organisations”. 

7)The new group comprising members of the Kuki-Zo community had warned the then Chief Minister not to travel by road via the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi to inaugurate a festival in Senapati district, a Naga-dominated area

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11)

1) The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17, 2024, mandates a fixed five-year term for the Lok Sabha, with State Legislature elections aligned to this cycle. 

2)If the Lok Sabha or any State Assembly is dissolved before completing its full term, mid-term elections will be held only for the remainder of the five-year term. 

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12)

1) Six of Tamil Nadu’s State universities were without a Vice Chancellor (VC). Some of these posts have been vacant from a few months to over a year. 

2)This impasse is due to a disagreement between the Governor and the State government regarding the composition of the search committee for selecting VCs. 

3)The Governor (as ex-officio Chancellor of State universities under the University Acts) insists on including a nominee of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in the search committee as per Regulation 7.3 of the UGC Regulations, 2018. Conversely, the State government insists on adhering to the respective State University Acts, which generally require the search committee to consist of one nominee each from the Chancellor, the syndicate, and the senate. It opposes UGC involvement due to concerns over erosion of State autonomy in university governance. 

4)Article 254(1) of the Constitution addresses conflicts between central and State laws. It states that if a State law is repugnant to a central law on matters in the Concurrent List, the central law will prevail, and the conflicting part of the State law will be void. The plain wording of Article 254(1) indicates that it applies only to plenary laws enacted by Parliament and State legislatures, and not to delegated legislation. The Supreme Court has consistently upheld this interpretation in several landmark judgments. 

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13)

1)Donald J. Trump took oath in January, 2025 for a second term as the United States President, and announced a raft of executive decisions, saying the “golden age” of America had just begun. 

2)In a fiery inaugural address, the 47th U.S. President described January 20 as the “liberation day” and declared that “America’s decline is over” as changes will come “very quickly”. 

3)“America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth, inspiring the awe and admiration from the entire world,” he said. 

4)Mr. Trump has stormed back to the White House with a promise to aggressively reset U.S.The new U.S. President listed a series of actions he would roll out immediately including declaring a national emergency at the Mexico border, 

renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, and taking back the Panama Canal. “After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional restriction of expression, I will also sign an executive order to stop all censorship and bring back free speech to America,” he said. 

5)He issued a series of executive orders targeting diversity programmes and gender identity policies. 

6)Mr. Trump further said “as of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”

policies in a range of domains including immigration, tariffs and energy. 

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14)

International Migrants (IM) : 

1)Addressing labour market shortages in host nations and contributing remittances to home countries, International Migrants (IM) continue to make contributions to world economic growth, the fourth edition of ‘Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers’, released by the International Labour Organization (ILO), said.

 In 2022, IMs made up 4.7% (167.7 million) of the global labour force, defined as both employed and unemployed (but available for work); over 30 million more than in 2013. 

2) An estimated 155.6 million were employed and 12.1 million unemployed. The share of IM men in the total employment for males globally was estimated at 4.7% and that of IM women at 4.4%. However, between 2019-2022, the rate of growth dipped annually to less than 1%, influenced among other factors by the pandemic. addressing labour market shortages in host nations and contributing remittances to home countries, International Migrants (IM) continue to make contributions to world economic growth, the fourth edition of ‘Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers’, released by the International Labour Organization (ILO), said. 

3)In 2022, IMs made up 4.7% (167.7 million) of the global labour force, defined as both employed and unemployed (but available for work); over 30 million more than in 2013. An estimated 155.6 million were employed and 12.1 million unemployed. The share of IM men in the total employment for males globally was estimated at 4.7% and that of IM women at 4.4%. However, between 2019-2022, the rate of growth dipped annually to less than 1%, influenced among other factors by the pandemic.

4)A higher proportion of IM males were employed — 61.3% out of a total of 102.7 million. Conversely, only 38.7% female IMs were employed out of a total of 64.9 million in 2022. All the same, the number of women IMs has steadily risen ever since the ILO began compiling global estimates in 2015. 

5)One explanation for the smaller proportion of women in the global labour force is their lower representation in the total population of IMs. 

6)At 74.9% (125.6 million), prime-age adult IM workers — those aged between 25 and 54 years, both men and women — constituted the largest majority of IM workers in the labour force in 2022. Less than one out of 10 IMs were below 25. Way behind the above category, at 9.3% were young IM workers, aged between 15-24 years, numbering 15.5 million, in the global labour force. IMs aged between 55-64 years were 12.5% and those above 65 at 3.4%. 

7)The largest proportion of IMs, 68.4%, were concentrated in the services sector, even higher than non-migrants. Women IMs held the dominant share in this arena at 80.7%, as against 60.8% among their male counterparts. The corresponding figures for non-migrant women and men in the services industry were 59.4% and 46.3% respectively. Significantly, the dominance of IMs in this sector has remained consistent over the decade, upwards of 67% between 2013-2022. In industry, the proportion of IMs was 24.3% and that of non-migrants 24.2%. In agriculture, IMs accounted for 7.4%, whereas non-migrants were at a significantly higher share of 24.3%. 

8)The share of IM workers in northern, southern and western Europe in the year 2022 was at 23.3%, increasing by less than one percentage point after 2013. 

9) In Northern America on the other hand, the share of IMs in the labour force in 2022 was at 22.6%, a more than one percentage point decrease over the same decade. 

10)The Arab states accounted for 13.3% of IM workers in 2022, down three percentage points over 2013. A combination of ageing populations, growing demand in the care economy and greater economic opportunities means that high income countries will continue to remain attractive destinations for the bulk of IMs.

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15)

1)In the early 90s, the U.S. enacted the Immigration Act of 1990 to increase the number and diversity of immigrants coming into the country and to adapt to the changing economic and social needs of a globalising world. 

2)The legislation significantly revised and expanded the H-1B visa programme.

3)Apart from mandating employers to file an application with the labour department that hiring H-1B workers will not adversely affect wages and working conditions of U.S. workers, the law established an annual cap of 65,000 new H-1B visas for each fiscal year. 

4)These changes led to a substantial increase in the number of H-1B visas issued and made the programme more accessible to U.S. employers seeking high-skilled foreign workers. This, in turn, contributed to the programme’s role in attracting skilled workers at a time when American companies were facing intensifying global competition, especially from Japan in high-tech and manufacturing sectors. 

5)Silicon Valley was emerging as a global tech hub, creating unprecedented demand for scientists, technology professionals, engineers, and mathematicians (STEM workers). Traditional industries in other parts of the country were also undergoing rapid computerisation, requiring STEM talent that wasn’t readily available in the domestic workforce. 

6)The cap on H-1B visas were hiked to 1,95,000 during the dot-com boom before returning to the base cap. Then, in 2004, an additional 20,000 slots were added for advanced degree holders from U.S. universities. 

7)Since 1990 to 2019, roughly 4.5 million H-1B visas were issued, and in the fiscal year of 2023, 72% of approved H-1B petitions were for beneficiaries born in India, and 65% of all approved H-1B petitions were for workers in computer-related occupations. 

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16)

1)Monday, January 13,2025 marked the first day of 45-day long Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, listed by UNESCO as the largest peaceful religious congregation of pilgrims on earth, where devotees walk miles to take a dip at ‘Sangam’, the convergence of the holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. 

2)The fair is visited by Hindu ascetics, saints, ash-smeared Naga Sadhus,

skeleton-donning Aghoris and other pilgrims. 

3)It was expected to have a footfall of 450 million this year, nearly twice the population of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous State. 

4)Kumbh, derived from a Sanskrit word which means a pitcher, is rotationally held every three years at the four riverside cities of Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik. Its schedule is based on the planetary alignments, mainly of that of Sun and Jupiter. The Ardh (half) Kumbh is held every six years at Haridwar and Prayagraj while the Purna (complete) Kumbh takes place in all four cities, every 12 years. The Maha Kumbh happens after 12 Purna Kumbhs in Prayagraj, once in 144 years and is considered the most auspicious. 

5)The mythological beliefs say that drops of Amrit (essence of immortality) were spilled at these sites from an urn which came out during the Samudra Mantha (churning of the ocean) done by the gods and demons. 

6)The central ritual of the fair remains bathing in icy cold waters of the sacred rivers where millions immerse themselves with the belief that the act will cleanse them of their sins and liberate them from the cycle of birth and death and will attain spiritual liberation.

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17)

Short-sellers : 

1)Nate Anderson, ‘activist’ short-seller and founder of Hindenburg Research, has decided to disband the U.S.-based investment research group known for its investigative reports on publicly listed companies. 

2) In a note shared on the Hindenburg website, he addressed the speculation on what triggered the move. 

3)“The plan has been to wind up after we finished the pipeline of ideas we were working on. And as of the last Ponzi cases we just completed and are sharing with regulators, that day is today.”

4)Short-sellers are a rare breed in general, and in what has been a bullish market for the past several years, even more so. Mr. Anderson, with a small team of 11 people, built Hindenburg into a reputed research group that has caused over 100 individuals, including billionaires, to be civilly or criminally charged, and wiped out billions of dollars in companies’ market values. 

5)Short-selling involves borrowing the shares of a given company and selling them in the expectation that its price would fall, and when its price duly fell, buying them back at the lower price, and pocketing the difference as profit. The magnitude of the losses if the shorted share prices rose instead of tanking, are potentially unlimited. 

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18) 

Blood money : 

1)Blood money’, or ‘diya’, finds footing in the Islamic Sharia law, and is followed in countries that incorporate these laws in their legislation. Under the rule of ‘diya’, a select quantity of a valuable asset, primarily monetary, has to be paid by the perpetrator of the crime to the victim, or the victim’s family if the latter has died. 

2)The custom is practised predominantly in cases involving unintentional murder and culpable homicide. It is also invoked in murder cases wherein the victim’s kin chooses not to retaliate through ‘qisas’ (a way of retribution under the Sharia). The end-goal, as the law says, is not to put a price tag on human life, but to alleviate the

plight and suffering of the affected family and their potential loss of income. However, it is to be noted that even if the concerned parties reconcile through ‘blood money’, the community and the state will retain the right to impose a deterrent punishment,including penalties. 

3)In its contemporary applications, ‘blood money’ is upheld in several Islamic countries with factors such as gender, religion and nationality of the victim coming into play. Islamic scholar-researcher Mohammad Hashim Kamali outlines several cases in his book Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: A Fresh Interpretation. In Saudi Arabia, for instance, the traffic regulations specifically mandate payment of ‘blood money’ to heirs of the victims who die in road accidents. In addition, the perpetrator shall be liable to a prison term. The statutory legislation and the Sharia work hand in hand in such cases. While the police determine the guilty parties, a Sharia court fixes the amount of ‘blood money’ to be paid. As for accidents in workplaces, the rates are fixed by a special committee. In 2022, talks had surfaced that Saudi Arabia was on the course to amend its ‘blood money’ laws, proposing equal monetary payments for men, women, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. However, efforts towards this are yet to come to fruition. 

4)In Iran too, a country where the practice is rigorously upheld, ‘blood money’ varies with respect to religion and gender. A woman’s compensation is fixed at half of that of a man’s. In 2019, the country’s Supreme Court upheld a law that sought equalisation of ‘blood money’. However, the country is yet to see its full-fledged implementation. India’s neighbour Pakistan, too, provides a place for ‘diya’ and ‘qisas’. Through the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 1991, these provisions were brought into mainstream law. In Yemen, the country in question, the consensus for compensation can be arrived at by the parties, and there might be a judicial oversight over the fairness of the compensation.

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19)

Kummi dance: 

1)On the hot afternoon of December 29,2024 more than 300 women at Kesampatti village in Melur taluk in Madurai district, stand in a circle. 

2)Most of them are daily wage labourers or farm workers and are of different ages. 

3)Clad in colourful sarees, the women clap their hands, sing, and dance in a synchronised fashion. This is kummi, a folk dance that is performed in parts of Tamil Nadu. 

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20)

WPI : 

1)The Centre on 2.1.2025 announced the formation of an expert panel to revise the constituents of the country’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in light of the structural changes in the economy that have occurred between 2011-12, the current base year for the critical price gauge, and 2022-23 that would be the new base year. 

2)The working group, to be steered by NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand, would also examine the composition of, and the methodology for compilation of a new Producers’ Price Index or PPI, approved by a technical advisory panel on Statistics of Prices and Cost of Living. 

3)For the PPI, the panel has been asked to suggest further improvements in the compilation and presentation formats that are under consideration, and, more importantly, recommend a roadmap for India to switch over from using WPI to the PPI. At a broader level, it may also suggest any other improvements for enhancing the reliability of the two indices. 

4)The group has been asked to submit its final report to the Office of the Economic Adviser in the Commerce and Industry Ministry within 18 months, effectively giving it a June 30, 2026 deadline. 

As per the terms of reference of the 18-member panel that also includes some private sector economists, the group is expected to review price collection system and suggest changes for improvement and decide on WPI and PPI computation methodology. 

5)“The Chairman of the Working Group may co-opt experts/ representatives of other agencies, as may be considered necessary,” the Ministry said. Apart from Mr. Chand, the panel includes eight officials from the Ministries of Statistics, Finance, Petroleum 

and Natural Gas, Agriculture, and Consumer Affairs. A RBI representative and the CEO of the GST Network have also been roped in. 

6)From the private sector, Crisil chief economist Dharmakirti Joshi, Bank of America Merill Lynch economist Indranil Sengupta, and Kotak Mahindra Asset Management MD Nilesh Shah have been named as members of the working group. PM’s EAC member Shamika Ravi and economist Surjit Bhalla are the non-official members.

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21)

 Dissent: 

1)Dissent is an important facet of a true democracy. 

2)While this is true for citizens in the republic, or parliamentarians in the legislature, it is also true for judges of a constitutional court. India and the U.S. are two strong democracies with opinionated judiciaries. 

3)Though dissents in the Indian Supreme Court (SC) are as powerful as the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS), their reasons differ. The dissents of SCOTUS are largely based on the political inclination of judges, who are direct appointees of the President, confirmed by the Senate. Justice Stephen Breyer, for instance, an appointee by the Democrats, has shown himself to be pro-affirmative action, pro-abortion and against capital punishment. His dissent in Glossip versus Gross (2015) held that capital punishment violated the Eighth Amendment of the Bill of Rights, which prevented inhumane and degrading punishment. Justice Samuel Alito, on the other hand, a Republican appointee, is both anti-abortion and anti-gay rights. His dissent in Obergefell versus Hodges (2015) reasoned that the Constitution did not address the right to marry of same-sex couples and therefore, the courts could not grant it. 

4)Unlike the U.S., Indian judges are not appointees of the ruling party and are selected through a collegium of senior judges. Their decisions do not have a similar political undertone and may or may not associate with the view of the ruling party that was in power when they were appointed. 

5)In the case of ADM Jabalpur (1976), four out of five judges held that the enforcement of fundamental rights, including Article 21, remained suspended during the national emergency under Article 359. The majority judgment was the politically sound one at the time. Justice H.R. Khanna, however, withstood the political pressure of the time, dissented and reasoned that if Article 21 remained suspended, there would be no recourse to deprivation of life and liberty, albeit in emergency. His resolve to keep ‘rights’ intact amidst a turbulent India, strengthened his voice on the

Bench and also became the law later by a constitutional amendment to Article 359. 

6)Another example of this could be found in the P.V. Narasimha Rao (1998) case, where the question was if accepting bribes for voting in Parliament was covered under parliamentary privilege, and whether it enjoyed immunity from prosecution. The majority said yes, but Justices S.C. Agarwal and A.S. Anand dissented. The majority view reflected the political atmosphere at the time and was favourable to the ruling Congress party. However, the dissent endured and later became the view of the court in Sita Soren (2023), where the SC overruled such an expanded view of immunity. 

7)Dissent is an important facet of a true democracy. While this is true for citizens in the republic, or parliamentarians in the legislature, it is also true for judges of a constitutional court. India and the U.S. are two strong democracies with opinionated judiciaries. 

8)A dissent could also reflect a different social understanding or implication of a legal issue. In Shayara Bano (2017), the SC dealt with the constitutionality of the ‘triple talaq’ as a form of divorce among the Sunnis in Islam. Justices J.S. Khehar and Abdul Nazeer dissented with the majority, which struck down triple talaq for violating the rights of life of Muslim women. The two judges reasoned that the triple talaq was an integral part of the Sunni personal law and not violative of constitutional rights. Further, it was not for the courts to determine its constitutionality, since it is only the legislature that can intervene in socially unacceptable practices in different religions. 

9)The decision in Aishat Shifa (2022) also displayed a discordant understanding of religion. This case did not have a dissent but had two separate opinions. The question was whether the State could prohibit Muslim girls from wearing a hijab to school by enforcing a universal dress code. Justice Hemant Gupta was of the view that secularism permitted the State to do so since religion was a private affair, which had no space in classrooms of a State-run school. Justice Dhulia, on the other hand, disagreed and considered ‘diversity’, ‘plurality’ and ‘tolerance’ as values underpinning the Constitution. This disagreement stemmed from different understandings of secularism. 

10)A dissent could also be plainly intellectual, like that of Justice B.V. Nagarathna in Lalta Prasad Vaish (2024), the industrial alcohol case. Here nine judges of the SC determined whether States have the legislative competence to tax ‘industrial alcohol’, or does only the Centre have the authority. Disagreeing with eight judges, Justice Nagarathna said that States could not tax industrial alcohol. The disagreement was on the interpretation of the term ‘intoxicating liquor’ under Entry 8 of List 2 in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. The majority believed that this legislative entry was broad enough to include liquor unfit for human consumption, and therefore industrial alcohol. States could therefore tax it. This reasoning did not

sit well with Justice Nagarathna, who opined that industrial alcohol is used for manufacturing purposes and cannot be subsumed within ‘intoxicating liquor’, which is liquor for human consumption. The difference of opinion was solely on the interpretation of the text of the Constitution —an intellectual one. 

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22)

DMA : 

1)Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024, raises serious concerns. Instead of filling in the gaps in the Disaster Management Act (DMA), 2005, the Bill has removed scope for participatory governance, accountability, and efficiency from the Act.

2)The Bill uses top-down guarded terminology such as ‘monitor’ and ‘guidelines’. Instead, terms such as ‘supervision’ and ‘direction’ could have established greater trust and bonding with communities and local governments. 

3)Second, even though the Bill defines a ‘hazard’, ‘resilience’, and ‘vulnerability’, these definitions are mere mechanical words or inconsequential without acknowledging the substantive roles of local communities, panchayats, wards and NGOs in disaster management. 

4)Whether during Cyclone Aila in 2009 in the Sundarbans, the Kedarnath glacial lake outburst flood of 2013, or the floods in Kerala in 2018, villagers and fisherfolk began rescuing people before the National Disaster Response Force or Coast Guards could reach the victims. 

5)The DMA had made some mandatory requirements for better enforcement of disaster management provisions by various departments and ministries under the Government of India. Section 35(2b) and Section 35(2d) that ensured integration and preparedness in the plans have been dropped in the Bill. At another place, the SEC no longer has to do basic homework for preparedness; sub clauses (2a) and (2b) of Section 22 are deleted in the Bill. There is little in terms of good governance in the Bill as most of its measurable indices for performance assessment of officials in the field are fuzzy or inaccurately mentioned. 

6)The Bill also suffers from speciesism. The thousands of animals which die after every disaster are not even mentioned. The District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA) seem to have little responsibility in implementing the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, brought out by the same government. This gap fails the Rules as well as the preparedness for a disaster. 

7)The Bill suggests an Urban Disaster Management Authority (UDMA) under Section of 41A. What brought the need for this additional authority? It is unclear. The Municipal Corporation is the highest revenue generator for any city as it controls land, buildings, builders, and property taxation. But in what way can a Municipal Corporation improve disaster management if it encourages urban flooding by allowing encroachments over aquifers, water bodies, city forests, river beds and markets?

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23)

pre-marital relationships : 

1)In various decisions, the Supreme Court has recognised individuals’ right to enter pre-marital relationships. 

2)In Shafin Jahan vs Asokan K.M. (2020), the court held that Article 21 of the Constitution includes the right of individuals to choose their partners ‘whether within or outside marriage’. Similarly, in Navtej Singh Johar vs Union of India (2018), the court recognised the right of all individuals to physical, emotional, mental, and sexual companionship. 

3)Other decisions of the apex court have affirmed that the rights to privacy, dignity, and autonomy — emanating from Article 21 — mean that people have the freedom to engage in consensual, intimate, or sexual relationships and to cohabit with their partners if they choose. At their core, these decisions acknowledge the freedom to conduct oneself in a manner of one’s choosing. 

4) For many unmarried couples, accessing hotel services is one way to exercise these rights. Individuals in pre-marital relationships apart, persons of different genders who are friends, colleagues, or cousins may also travel together and require hotel services. 

5)Under the constitutional scheme, fundamental rights enshrined in Part III of the Constitution are ordinarily enforceable against the State and its instrumentalities, not against non-State actors. In other words, citizens may seek constitutional remedies from courts when the State infringes upon their fundamental rights but not when a

private party hinders their exercise. This is because constitutional rights are generally thought to apply “vertically” (i.e., against the State) and not “horizontally” (i.e., between private individuals or entities). 

6)However, the Constitution contains three express provisions which depart from the traditional “vertical” model of rights: Article 15(2) stipulates that no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, or any of them, be prevented from accessing shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment or using wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads, and places of public resort funded by the State or dedicated to public use; Article 17 forbids the practice of untouchability; and Article 23 prohibits human trafficking and forced labour. In Kaushal Kishor vs State of Uttar Pradesh (2023), the Supreme Court travelled beyond this schema of horizontal rights by holding that the right under Article 21 could be enforced even against private parties. 

7)While Article 15(2) would prevent OYO from denying its services to customers based on caste, religion, or the other grounds listed, it may not readily constitute a bar against discrimination on the ground of marital status. Separately, the effect of the decision in the Kaushal Kishor case remains to be seen — commentators have criticised it for being unclear, and in the absence of coherent and consistent jurisprudence on this subject, it is uncertain whether unmarried individuals can enforce their rights under Article 21 against OYO. 

8)Apart from constitutional rights and remedies, statutes may provide a model for the exercise of fundamental rights in transactions between private parties. While some enactments confer certain rights on women irrespective of marital status, the time may have come for lawmakers to enact an anti-discrimination law which protects individuals (regardless of their gender) against discrimination based on marital status, in the private sphere. 

9)The full and free exercise of our rights as citizens depends not only on State (in) action but on private actors — be it as a member of the public, a family unit, a business undertaking, or a corporation — creating the conditions for their exercise. This applies not only in the context of individuals in pre-marital relationships who may seek commercial services but also more broadly, say, to people who may wish to rent homes, who apply for employment in private establishments, or who make offers to purchase land – but are denied access on the basis of their marital status, caste, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other attributes. 

10)The tyranny of the majority is often nowhere as evident as in the private sphere. An act may not meet with social approval but the Constitution guarantees our right to do it anyway. The law — regardless of the form it takes — must protect this right. Which of the following is correct ? 

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24)

ow births Kerala State : 

1)The Kerala State has hit a low of 3,93,231 births from an average of 5-5.5 lakh annually earlier, show the latest data of the Economics and Statistics Department of the State. It is this dip in the denominator that is pushing the MMR up and not necessarily an actual spike in maternal deaths. 

2)The Health Department puts live births in the State between 3.4 lakh and 3.9 lakh currently. The full Vital Statistics Report (VSR) for 2023 was expected by January-end. 

3)The decline in fertility levels and changing demographics, many fear, are having an irrevocable impact on the State’s social fabric, and have been at the heart of many policy-level discussions in Kerala, especially in the past three years. 

4)From an average of 5.5 lakh annual births since the 1980s, the graph went below the five-lakh mark for the first time in 2016, when 4,96,262 live births were recorded. Since 2018, the figure has been plummeting steadily, never going above the five-lakh mark again. The last published VSR (2021) recorded the total number of live births as 4,19,767. 

5)“As part of the Sustainable Development Goals, Kerala was targeting an MMR of 20 by 2030. However, that looks quite unlikely now, given that birth rates are falling steeply. We reckon the State’s MMR in 2024-25 has already climbed to 32,” says V.P. Paily, a senior consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 

6)“It would now be a herculean task to hold the MMR at 20. Because, while we have successfully addressed all major medical causes of maternal mortality, the issues that are impacting the State’s MMR now are not something essentially within our control. We are seeing the impact of demographic changes like low fertility rates, immigration and changing societal attitudes towards marriage and childbirth in Kerala much earlier than we thought we would,” Dr. Paily says. 

7)“It has been three decades since the birth rate began falling in Kerala and the steep fall in the number of children born now is part of a larger trend. But the problem is that once the fertility rate comes down, the graph rarely goes up because demographic transition is hard to reverse,” says S. Irudaya Rajan, Chairman of the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD). 

8)Kerala led the demographic transition in the South, attaining the replacement level fertility rate of 2.1 in 1987-88. Replacement level fertility is the average number of children a woman needs to have to replace herself and her generation, so that the population is stable.

9)The State’s total fertility rate (TFR) went below the replacement level in 1991 and remained stagnant at 1.8-1.7 for years, before touching 1.5 in 2020. The current TFR of Kerala (2021 VSR) is 1.46. This means that a couple of reproductive age in Kerala mostly have only one child and sometimes none. It is possible that the TFR will drop to 1.35 once the latest data on live births are accounted for. 

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25) draft DPDP Rules: 

1)On January 3, 2025, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released the much-anticipated Draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules — a key moment in India’s journey to regulate digital personal data. This step follows the passage of the DPDP Act, 2023, bringing India closer to operationalising its framework for safeguarding personal data. 

2)The draft rules represent a departure from the earlier and controversial Personal Data Protection Bill, which many deemed was overly restrictive and even hostile to industry interests. The Bill underwent extensive framing, reframing and consultations over nearly a decade, only to be rescinded when committees and government stakeholders wisely decided it was untenable. 

3)In contrast, the positive response to the DPDP Act and its accompanying rules, reflected in conversations with businesses and in media coverage, stems from the less prescriptive, principles-based approach of the draft rules. 

4)Unlike the earlier rush to regulate under the so-called “Brussels Effect”, where global digital rulemaking mirrored the European Union (EU)’s interventionist regulatory ethos, India has taken a more pragmatic stance. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), once hailed as a gold standard by privacy experts, now faces criticism for unintended consequences — favouring well-resourced corporations, stifling smaller enterprises, and failing to significantly enhance public trust in the Internet. India’s measured approach thus far offers a refreshing alternative to Europe’s interventionist policies. 

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27)

Hybrid mutual funds :

When we think of mutual funds (MFs), we think of equity funds. There are also hybrid funds with their own utility. These funds can add to tax efficiency. To recap, taxation of equity funds, for a holding period of more than one year, is 12.5% plus surcharge and cess. For a holding period of less than one year, it is 20% plus surcharge and cess. For debt funds, it is your marginal slab rate, irrespective of the holding period. For most investors, it is 30% plus surcharge and cess. Hybrid funds with allocation of more than 65% of portfolio to equity, are equity funds for tax purposes. In the process, the debt component of the fund also gets taxed at a lower rate i.e. 12.5%. . 

Hhybrid fund categories defined by Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI).;- 

1) Aggressive Hybrid funds. These funds are mandated to have allocation to equity in the range of 65 to 80% of the portfolio. It is compulsory to have this allocation to equity, hence, this category is just one notch 

below equity funds. The allocation to debt, 20-35 % of portfolio, leads to lower volatility than pure-play equity funds. Equity allocation being more than 65%of portfolio, taxation is that of equity. 

2) Balanced Hybrid funds with equity allocation 40-60%. As per rules, an Asset Management Company (AMC) can have either Aggressive or Balanced Hybrid fund not both. Given a fund with over 65% allocation to equity is taxed as equity and investors prefer equity taxation, AMCs have not initiated Balanced Hybrid funds. 

SEBI defines Dynamic Asset Allocation or Balanced Advantage Funds (BAFs) as ‘investment in equity/ debt that is managed dynamically’. 

There has to be an usual or unhedged exposure to equity, and a hedged exposure to equity adding up to minimum 65% of portfolio. The balance portfolio is in debt. The industry practice is the usual equity component is maintained in the range of 20-40%, and so is the hedged portion. 

Though Equity Savings Funds are equity funds from a tax perspective, the equity (unhedged) portion in the range of 20- 40%, resembles fixed income or debt-oriented funds. 

3)Arbitrage Funds earn returns from the price differential between equity stocks in cash market and stock futures market, for 65% of the portfolio. 

4)Multi Asset Funds (MAFs) are those with exposure to a minimum of three asset categories and minimum 10% in each category. Here as well, most AMCs run portfolios with equity exposure of over 65% to be eligible for equity taxation. The balance is invested in debt and gold, or some other asset class.

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28) 

linking of EPIC and Aadhar : 

1)After the Supreme Court’s final order in Puttaswamy in September 2018, that upheld the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act, the EC sought amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (RP Act, 1950). 

2)The Parliament amended the RP Act, 1950 and The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 in December 2021 to enable the linking of EPIC with Aadhaar. It provided the format in which Aadhaar information may be submitted to the electoral registration officer by a new voter at the time of fresh registration (Form 6: to establish identity) or an existing voter already included in the electoral roll (Form 6B: for the purpose of authentication). 

3)Any other listed document may be submitted only if the voter is unable to furnish their Aadhaar number because they do not have one. However, in order to keep these amendments voluntary in nature, the word ‘may’ have been used in the amendments. Further, the amendment also specifies that no application for inclusion of name in the electoral roll shall be denied and no entries shall be deleted due to the inability of an individual to furnish or intimate the Aadhaar number due to ‘sufficient cause.’ 

4)Such individuals may furnish alternate documents like PAN card, Driving Licence, Passport, Bank passbook etc. 

5)While the above amendments were challenged in the Supreme Court, the EC in September 2023 informed the court that submission of the Aadhaar number is not mandatory. It added that it is looking into issuing appropriate clarificatory changes in the forms introduced for this purpose. However, it may be noted that Form 6 and 6B have not been amended till date and they continue to seek the same details as before from the applicants.

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29)

Greenland : 

On January 1,2025 the King of Denmark unveiled a new coat of arms after more than 50 years. It features the polar bear and the ram (symbolising Greenland and the Faroe Islands, respectively) more prominently than before. Amid calls for independence in Greenland and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s aggressive push to buy/annex the island, the Royal House seems to be underscoring the Danish realm’s unity. 

2)Greenland, the world's largest island with a population of 57,000, is an autonomous territory controlled by Denmark. This effectively means that while it has a Parliament which deals with domestic affairs such as business taxes, immigration, and mining, most of its foreign, monetary and military policy are dictated by Denmark. 

3)The Arctic island was colonised by the Danes in the 18th century and has been associated with Europe, though geographically it is part of the North American continent and closer to the U.S. than Copenhagen. 

4)During the Second World War, the U.S. briefly occupied the region and defended it when Denmark was under siege by Nazi Germany. 

5)Noting the region’s geopolitical importance, the U.S. in 1946, after the War, had offered to buy it from Denmark. Denmark rejected the offer and ever since Greenland has been a part of the Danish realm with home rule granted to the island in 1979. The U.S. runs and operates an air base on the island. However, of late, calls for complete independence from Denmark have been rising in the island. 

6)Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Egede in his New Year address talked about taking the “next step” and removing the “shackles of colonialism”.

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30) 

1)In his first term in office, Mr. Trump had floated the idea of buying Greenland. However, this time it seems the President-elect is serious. “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” he said in December,2024 

2)Following such a declaration, Donald Trump Jr., Mr. Trump’s son, visited Greenland this year as a “private individual”. Both Greenland and Danish Prime Ministers have shut down such threats and plans. Mr. Egede has categorically stated that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders”. 

3)Mr. Trump seems unfazed. Speaking to the press , Mr. Trump said he won’t rule out military or economic coercion to annex/buy the island. 

4)The island is surrounded by the Atlantic on one side and the Arctic waters on the other. Due to climate change and global warming, glaciers and ice sheets in the Arctic Sea are melting, leading to potentially new shipping routes, which could greatly enhance trade. Moreover, Russia and China have already agreed to develop new trading routes in the Arctic waters as relations with the West sour and tensions in West Asia loom large. 

5) In November,2024 both countries developed a subcommittee for cooperation on the northern sea route, which spans 5,600 km from the Barents Sea near Scandinavia to the Bering Strait near Alaska. With the threat of Russia-China cooperation in the region, annexing Greenland could give the U.S. significant control over the area, letting it decide who gets to run and operate in these strategic waters. 

6)The island is also rich in minerals. As per a 2025 survey, 25 of 34 critical raw materials, which are used in EVs and batteries, were found in Greenland. The melting of almost 28,000 square km of Greenland’s ice sheets makes drilling for

oil, gas and other critical raw materials easier. Currently, China is the world’s largest exporter and producer of critical minerals. Buying Greenland could make the U.S. compete with China for that status. 

7)Mr. Trump has also issued calls to buy/annex the Panama Canal and Canada. While all of them have been touted as necessary for the U.S.’s economic and national security, the U.S. is breaking the first and fundamental rule of the UN Charter: recognising the sovereignty of nations. With respect to Greenland, the U.S. is going against the NATO agreement as well. 

8)Similarly, the Arctic waters are a global common under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The incoming U.S. President’s policies are bringing to the forefront the true anarchical nature of international politics. 

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31)

1)The first big news from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the New Year seems to have an in-built element of surprise in it. On January 7,2025 V. Narayanan, a rocket and spacecraft propulsion expert, who heads the ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, was named successor to S. Somanath, the current chairman of the space agency. 

2)The face of ISRO since January 2022, Mr. Somanath is highly regarded, cutting a dynamic and impressive figure, especially with the younger ISRO hands. Insider-speak is that many within the organisation were expecting his term to be extended. Comparisons with his predecessor will be par for the course when Mr. Narayanan, who joined the ISRO 40 years ago, eases into the top spot on January 14,2025 

3)The change of guard is happening at a critical moment for ISRO, now guided by the Space Vision 2047. On the one hand, a series of high-profile missions are in the works; the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, the Chandrayaan-4 lunar mission, the development of the Bharatiya Antariksha Station — India's own space station — and landing an Indian on the moon by 2040, to name a few. 

4)On the other, the Indian space sector is in a state of flux, with the Space Policy, 2023 opening it up to private players. 

5)Ever since the first U.S.-made Nike-Apache sounding rocket lifted off from Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram, in November 1963, the Indian space programme has largely remained a jealously-guarded government concern. 

6)To his credit, Mr. Narayanan is someone who knows the ins and outs of the ISRO,

having joined the space agency's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram in 1984, where he worked on solid propulsion. He moved to the LPSC in 1989 to work on cryogenic propulsion, and has remained there since, initially playing his part, and in subsequent years taking the lead role, in the propulsion aspects of ISRO missions. 

7)As LPSC Director, Mr. Narayanan was leading the development of propulsion systems for the Gaganyaan programme when he was named the next Secretary, Department of Space, and Chairman, Space Commission, for a period of two years. 

8)In many ways, his is the quintessential hard-won-success tale, the kind that parents in post-Independence India loved to inspire their children with. 

9)Hailing from a humble background at Melakattuvilai, a village in Kanniyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, young Narayanan attended a nearby Tamil-medium school. Teachers announcing Neil Armstrong's successful 1969 moon landing is part of his childhood memories. He subsequently obtained his M.Tech. in cryogenic engineering in 1989 with a first rank from the IIT, Kharagpur. He took his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering in 2001. 

10)At the ISRO, he has contributed to major missions and projects, including the Chandrayaan series and the successful development of the cryogenic upper stage for the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). 

11)The LPSC website describes him as “one of the few cryogenic members who have worked in this area from the beginning, carrying out fundamental research, theoretical and experimental studies and contributing to the successful development and testing of cryogenic sub systems”. 

12)One of the tried-and-tested hands of the space agency, Mr. Narayanan comes across as affable and polite. Within the ISRO community, he is viewed as hard-working and tenacious, as someone who gets things done. That his long career has largely been confined to LPSC is seen as a disadvantage, given the fast-evolving, multispeciality nature of present-day space-tech. 

13)To his advantage, Mr. Narayanan has experience on his side. In the changing, competition-driven global space ecosystem, ISRO has the added responsibility of hand-holding Indian space-tech startups and driving industry participation. As its next Chairman, Mr. Narayanan faces the task of steering the space agency through challenging and happening times. 

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32)

SEED Scheme and Idate Commission report(2017) : 

1)With the Centre’s SEED scheme for denotified tribes only now taking off, caste certificates being denied to them in 29 States, and the Idate Commission’s 2017 report in cold storage, anger among the denotified tribes (DNT), semi-nomadic tribes (SNT), and nomadic tribes (NT) is growing across States such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Gujarat. 

2)This anger is now also frustrating members of the Union government’s Development and Welfare Board for DNTs, SNTs, and NTs (DWBDNC), who are making fresh attempts to push for the implementation of the Idate panel recommendations, which include a permanent commission, proper classification, and a detailed caste census. 

3)Bharatbhai Babubhai Patni, DWBDNC member, said that the government can no longer shut out voices calling for the Idate Commission’s recommendations to be implemented. “A Schedule must be put out listing out all the DNTs. Alongside the issuing of SC/ST/OBC certificates, there must be directions to issue joint certificates like SC-DNT, ST-DNT, OBC-DNT.”

4)The government had constituted the National Commission for DNTs/NTs/SNTs in 2015 under the chairmanship of Bhiku Ramji Idate, which had put out its final report in 2017, calling for the government to expedite the final classification of these communities, count their population by including a caste census column in the 2021 

census, and provide a sub-quota for them under SC/ST/OBC quotas in public education and employment. 

5) The Idate commission had concluded there were a total of 1,526 DNT, NT, and SNT communities across the country, of which 269 were not yet categorised. 

6)The SEED scheme (Scheme for the Economic Empowerment of DNT/NT/SNT communities) was meant to be the Centre’s flagship scheme for these communities. 

7)Launched in February 2022, the scheme offered assistance for livelihood, education, healthcare, and housing. But it took over two years for the scheme to take off.egorised as SC, ST, or OBC.

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33)

rupee decline : 

1)The rupee declined 18 paise to breach the 86-mark against the U.S. dollar for the first time (in January, 2025) as it failed to resist pressure from a stronger American currency and huge outflow of foreign funds. The local unit settled at 86.04 against the U.S. currency. 

2)Surging crude oil prices overseas and negative sentiment in domestic equity markets also weighed on the Indian currency, forex traders said. 

3)Also, dollar strengthened on increased demand amid the anticipation of restrictive trade measures by the new U.S. administration after Donald Trump takes over as President on January 20,2025 

4)At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 85.88, hit an intra-day peak of 85.85 before breaching the 86-mark to settle at the lowest-ever level of 86.04. 

5)Anuj Choudhary, research analyst, Mirae Asset Sharekhan, said the rupee hit record low as domestic markets continued to slip and FIIs outflows sustained. Strong U.S. dollar and crude oil price surge also pressured the rupee. 

6)“Weak tone in the domestic markets, a strong greenback and persistent FII outflows may continue to put downside pressure on the rupee,” he said

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1)The current bout of rupee depreciation is seen as driven primarily by the exit of foreign investors from India, which has put pressure on the Rupee. 

2)Global investors have been shuffling their investments across countries as central banks recalibrate their monetary policies to varying degrees. High inflation in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic led to monetary tightening by central banks which is now being reversed as inflation comes more under control. This has pushed investors to withdraw money from markets like India and invest in more advanced markets. 

3)Meanwhile, the longer term trend of the rupee’s depreciation against the dollar is attributed to higher inflation in India than in the U.S. due to the Reserve Bank of India’s looser monetary policy compared to the U.S. Federal Reserve. 

4)India’s traditional demand for high-value imports such as crude oil and gold (which boosts demand for the dollar and weakens the rupee) to keep its economy going and its inability to boost exports (which can help boost demand for the rupee) have also contributed to the lackluster performance of the rupee. The RBI has been using its dollar reserves to prop up the value of the rupee by artificially increasing the supply of dollars in the foreign exchange market, and thus the dollar demand for rupees. 

5)As a result, the value of India’s foreign exchange reserves dropped to an eight-month low of $640 billion as of the last week of December,2024 from over $700 billion in September,2024 

6)Analysts believe the rupee’s depreciation would have been far worse if not for the RBI’s intervention to support the rupee against the dollar. 

7)The RBI’s traditional stance has been to manage the rupee’s exchange value in such a way as to allow for a gradual depreciation in its value without too much volatility that could disrupt the economy. 

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34)

scripts of the Indus Valley Civilisation : 

1)January 5,2025 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced a $1-million prize for experts or organisations in the event of their success in deciphering the scripts of the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC). 

2)He made the announcement at the inauguration of an international conference to mark the centenary of the IVC discovery, which was disclosed through an article published in September 1924 by the then Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) John Marshall. 

3)That the Chief Minister of a southern State in the country had made such an announcement was due to the possible Dravidian connection with the IVC. Notwithstanding the political dimension of the Dravidian concept, historians, archaeologists and linguistic scholars have been debating over the Dravidian hypothesis ever since the publication of Marshall’s article. 

4)The IVC, also called the Harappan Civilisation, spanned 2,000 sites across 1.5 million sq. km. in the territories of modern-day India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan during the Bronze Age (3000-1500 BCE). 

5)It had a wider geographical area than the combined areas of its contemporary civilisations — Egyptian and Mesopotamian. 

6)Talking of the IVC’s importance, Pakistan’s veteran archaeologist Ahmad Hasan Dani, in the December 1973 issue of UNESCO Courier, observed that the Valley lies across “ancient migration routes from central and western Asia to India.” 

7)The IVC introduced urban life for the first time in the valley when similar civilisations had developed on the banks of the Nile and the Tigris-Euphrates valleys.

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35)

1)Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar’s retirement in February,2025 brought back into focus before the Supreme Court on the need to fast- track a decision on the legality of a new law dealing with the appointment of Election Commissioners which gives the Union government a dominant role. 

2)Justice Surya Kant, heading a three-judge Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and K.V. Viswanathan, highlighted that the test regarding the validity of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023 would hinge on whether the court’s authority to pronounce binding decisions under Article 141 of the Constitution could be circumvented or diluted by a law. “The real test here is between the court’s opinion and exercise of legislative powers,” he said. 

3)The petitions in question raised the pivotal legal question whether Parliament possessed the authority to promulgate a Gazette notification or ordinance to nullify or amend a Constitution Bench judgment. 

4)The petitioners, including the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms and activist Jaya Thakur, have said that the law was introduced in December 2023 to dilute a Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court in the Anoop Baranwal case on March 2, 2023. 

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36)

1)Total enrolment of students in schools across India studying from grade 1-12, dropped by over a crore in 2023-24 as compared to 2018-19. 

2)After a gap of two years, the Ministry of Education (MoE) released the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) for 2022-23, 2023-24 on December 30, 2024. 

3)Since 2012-13, when the MoE started maintaining UDISE+ data, it was believed that the total number of students studying in India were 26.3 crore. Till November 22, 2022 when the 2021-22 data was released, the number hovered around 26 crore, until last month, when the 2022-23 data reflected enrolment at 25.18 crore, which has further fallen to 24.8 crore in 2023-24 (a drop of 6% or 1.22 crore students) as compared to earlier years. 

4)Jammu and Kashmir experienced the most decline in total schools, with a decline of 4,509 schools, while in Assam 4,229 schools reduced, and in Uttar Pradesh 2,967. Other affected States are Madhya Pradesh (2,170) and Maharashtra (1,368). “With the shutting down of schools, parents seek re-admission of their children to another nearby school. It is not an automatic transfer. Students drop out during this process, where parents are not comfortable seeking re-admission because of longer distances,” said Prof. Mehta. 

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37)

1)G. Z. Christophe and Himanshu. ‘Caste and Socio-economic Inequality in Bihar:

A Disaggregated Analysis of the 2023 Census’ 

2)In India, caste has been extensively studied, both historically and academically, to understand its impact on society, and the socio-economic challenges faced by various communities. Scholars have examined caste dynamics from different perspectives. 

3)While colonial authorities conducted studies on caste for ease of administration, post-independence, caste became central to affirmative action policies aimed at addressing inequalities. Despite the breadth of research, the lack of comprehensive and uniform caste data remains a significant gap, highlighting the need for a caste-based Census to better address caste-based disparities. 

4)The three broad administrative categories devised for affirmative action — Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) — group a multitude of diverse caste groups under generalised classifications. While people from the SC are those, who have historically faced untouchability, people from the ST are recognised for their social and economic backwardness, and social and economic disadvantages characterise people from OBC. Communities outside these categories are classified as the General Category. 

5)In this context — where concerns persist that certain castes may dominate and monopolise benefits, that additional castes may need inclusion, or that aid fails to reach those who genuinely require it due to lack of reliable data, and how broad administrative categories fail to show the complexities of caste and tribe disparities — the importance of a caste-based Census becomes undeniable. 

6)Addressing these issues, the authors, Christophe Z Guilmoto and Himanshu, through their article “Caste and Socio-economic Inequality in Bihar: A Disaggregated Analysis of the 2023 Census”, undertake an in-depth examination of Bihar’s 2023 caste Census. This initiative by the State, similar to recent efforts undertaken by Karnataka and other regions, shows the increasing need for more detailed data on caste. 

7)A caste Census is vital for backward-caste politics, as it enables accurate identification of OBCs, many of whom lack verifiable data for inclusion. It also supports demands to reassess the Supreme Court’s 27% reservation cap, reflecting their demographic share. Finally, it prevents misuse of benefits by revealing intra-community disparities, fostering a more equitable system.

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38)

1)Section 51 (A) (a) of the Constitution of India dealing with fundamental duties, says, “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag and the national anthem.”

2) When the President reaches his seat on the dais, a band installed in the lobby of the central hall to the right of the President, plays the National Anthem. 

3)The President then reads the printed address, in Hindi or English, followed by a reading of the address in another version if necessary, by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. 

4)After the conclusion of the address, the President rises in his seat, followed by the members and visitors in the galleries, when the National Anthem is played again. The President, thereafter, leaves the central hall in a procession. 

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39)

1)The ambitious plan to build a mega-hydropower dam across the Brahmaputra at the Great Bend region of the Medog county in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) in China, has been in the drawing boards of Chinese hydrocracy for decades.

2)The clearest signalling to this effect happened in 2020 when this project was included in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan. Its approval was granted on December 25, 2024. India, Bhutan and Bangladesh will have serious downstream implications of this 60 GW hyper-dam built upstream by China. 

3)The Brahmaputra is a transboundary Himalayan river basin spanning four riparian countries. China is the uppermost riparian nation with the river system originating in the TAR, where it is known as the Yarlung Zangbo (or Tsangpo). India and Bhutan are lower riparian nations in relation to China and middle riparian countries in relation to Bangladesh. It is from Bangladesh, which is the lowermost riparian nation, that the river drains into the Bay of Bengal. All riparian countries have major water infrastructure projects planned in the river basin, such as hydropower dams, embankments meant for river control, irrigation dams and barrages

=============================================== 

40)

1)Union government amended the Rules of the Right to Education Act, 2009 in December 2024 to allow schools to detain students in Classes 5 and 8 if they are unable to meet the promotion criteria after a year-end examination. 2)Students will be given a second chance re-examination after two months of extra teaching. 

3)This rollback of the RTE Act’s vision of a no-detention policy was initially brought through an amendment of the law in 2019, following which 18 States and UTs have reinstated the option to detain students; the 2024 amendment now extends the option to Central government-run schools too. 

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41) PM-JANMAN : 

1)Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) is aimed towards the vision of Antyodaya to empower the last person at the last mile. 

2)The initiative for the socio-economic welfare of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), PM-JANMAN, with a budget of approximately Rs 24,000 crores focuses on 11 critical interventions 

3)It is through 9 Ministries and is aimed to improve socio-economic conditions of the PVTGs by saturating PVTG households and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and nutrition, electricity, road and telecom connectivity, and sustainable livelihood opportunities. 

1)There are 75 PVTGs across 18 States & UTs who are living in 22,544 villages (220 districts) with a population of around 28 lakhs.

2)These tribes stay in scattered, remote & inaccessible habitations, often in forest areas and hence a mission is planned to saturate PVTG families and habitations with basic facilities such as road and telecom connectivity, electricity, safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and nutrition and sustainable livelihood opportunities. 

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41)

1)Cellular Jail is in the league of facilities built during the reign of the erstwhile British Empire, 

2)Similar there are World Heritage Sites, of Robben Island, South Africa, and Australian Convict Sites. 

3)In other global comparisons, there is Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, USA 

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42)

1)The Cellular Jail prison complex was constructed between 1896 and 1906 in Port Blair by deploying prisoners as labourers. 

2)Port Blair, named after Archibald Blair of the British East India Company, was itself a penal colony on Great Andaman, established in 1789. 

3)Bowing either to the general and popular demand of Indians or their constant agitation or because of its political wisdom, the British Government declared general amnesty for the political prisoners in the Andamans in 1920. 

4)Thereafter, the Cellular Jail was closed, and all the remaining political prisoners were taken back to the mainland by 1921

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43)

1)Like most of the royal families of Tulunadu, who followed the matriarchal (Aliyakattu) system, a branch of the Chautas ruled from Ullala 

2)Portuguese and Italian records provide information about two queens who ruled Ullala from the mid-16th century to the early 17th century, clearly identifying them as mother and daughter. 

3)The elder Abbakka reigned from 1554 to 1588, during which she fiercely opposed Portuguese political and trade maneuvers. 

4)There were constant conflicts between the elder Abbakka and the Portuguese regarding politics and business transactions. She fought three important battles in 1556, 1558 and 1567. 

5)In the war of 1567, Abbakka displayed extraordinary power but was ultimately defeated by the Portuguese 

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44)

Chirala - Perala Movement :: 

1)It was led by Duggirala Gopala Krishnaiah (born 1889), 

2)He chose to mortgage his property to go to the University of Edinburgh to earn a postgraduate degree in Economics. 

3)With his well-organised ‘Ramadandu’ (meaning Army of Rama), he played a prominent role in organising the Indian National Congress annual session at Bezawada in 1921.

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45)

Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 :: 

1)“The main objective of the Act is to decriminalise minor offences that do not involve any harm to the public interest or national security and replace them with civil penalties or administrative actions. 

2)Minor, technical, and procedural defaults no longer attract severe criminal consequences, reducing the burden on the justice system and putting adjudication of serious offences on the priority. 

3) Implementation of the Jan Vishwas Act essentially means that majority cases originating from 183 provisions across 42 Acts would no longer be adjudged by the courts.”

4)The Jan Vishwas Act, 2023, addresses a wide range of provisions across 42 Acts administered by 19 ministries. 

. 

5)The objective of the new law is to convert imprisonment for minor offences to a monetary penalty wherever possible and to rationalise the penalties depending on the gravity of the offences. It is to avoid dragging people to court premises for smaller or petty contraventions or unintended violations; instead, the bill provides for monetary penalties and adjudication by authorities other than formal criminal courts. Rationalisation of penalties also contemplates heavy monetary penalties for certain major offences, depending on the nature and gravity of contraventions. 

6)The novel idea was to incorporate provisions for increasing ten per cent of the minimum fines and penalties every five years once the Act becomes operational. This avoids amending the act again and again, facilitating a small increase in fines and penalties to match inflation and the devaluation of money. This also ensures fairness in awarding punishment depending on the gravity of the offence, based on the principle of proportionality. Removing imprisonment as a punishment for less serious offences would ease the burden on criminal courts 

7)Some of the important rationalised Acts with great implications for ease of doing business in the country include the Pharmacy Act of 1948, the Copyright Act of 1957, the Patents Act of 1970, the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, the Trade Marks Act of 1999, the Information Technology Act of 2000, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002, the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006, and the Legal Metrology Act of 2009 

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43)

1)The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 strives to strike a balance between the severity of the violation and the gravity of the prescribed punishment. Many offences, which are either minor or technical or procedural in nature and for which the punishment prescribed was disproportionate, have been decriminalised under the JV Act. 2)The industry believes that the JV Act is only the beginning and that many more statutes are on the horizon that will provide additional comfort to the industry. 

Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, marks a significant milestone in India’s

regulatory landscape. By decriminalising 183 provisions across 42 Acts administered by 19 ministries/departments, the Act strives to strike a delicate balance between regulatory enforcement and creating a favourable business environment. 

2)This ground-breaking move is poised to reshape the Ease of Doing Business in India. 

3)The Act simplifies the regulatory frameworks and reduces the burden on businesses, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which often face constraints in running day-to-day operations. They would be the primary beneficiaries of such changes, which would provide them with a more level playing field vis-à-vis their global counterparts. 

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44)

Jan Vishwas Act:: 

1)One of the most noteworthy aspects of the Act is its substantial modification of penalties. In a bold departure from the conventional approach, the Act replaces imprisonment with a system of higher fines/penalties for various offences. 

2)This strategic shift aims to create a more effective deterrent against violations, ensuring a stronger enforcement mechanism without disrupting businesses. 

3)By emphasising financial consequences over custodial sentences, the Act aligns with contemporary global trends in regulatory frameworks, emphasising the economic impact of non-compliance. 

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45) 

 Lal Kot :: 

1)The earliest fort in Delhi can be dated to the 11th century, when the Tomar ruler Anangpal built the fort called Lal Kot. Later, the fort was extended by Prithviraj Chauhan by throwing up massive ramparts around it, and this enlarged city is known as Qila Rai Pithora, the first of the so-called Seven Cities of Delhi. 

2)The ramparts of this fort are 5 to 6 m in thickness, and their extant height goes as high as 18 m. In some places, a moat runs on its outer sides. 

3)According to Timur, the rubble-built ramparts were pierced by 13 gates, out of which Hauz Rani, Barka, and Badaun gates are still extant. 

4)Ibn Batuta probably describes the Badaun gate as the main entrance to the city 

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46)Vellore Mutiny 

Vellore Mutiny :: 

1)Vellore Mutiny was a bloody affair with both the British and native sepoys fighting for justice. 

2) At Vellore Fort, the 1500 sepoys located in the garrison mutinied and killed over 200 of the 370 Europeans in the fort. 

3)On 10 July 1806, the Vellore mutiny was however rapidly smashed due to the quick response of Colonial Robert Gilesspee (1766 -1814). 

4)The basic reason for the mutiny was the implementation of General Order, introduced by General Agnew (the Agnew turbans), in which the new standing regulations were published. 

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47) Making of  Constitution of India : 

1)The making of the Indian Constitution was a transformative process that unfolded through a series of significant events, each contributing to the establishment of a robust democratic framework for the newly independent nation. 

2)The journey began with the Government of India Act 1935, which introduced a federal structure and laid the groundwork for constitutional governance in India, providing a blueprint that would influence subsequent discussions on the Constitution. 

3)Following World War II and the growing demand for independence, the British government initiated the Cabinet Mission Plan in 1946, leading to the formation of the Constituent Assembly. 

4)This assembly was tasked with drafting the Constitution and comprised representatives from various provinces and princely states, reflecting India’s diverse demographics. 5)The assembly’s first meeting took place on 9 December 1946, and was marked by fervent debates about the future governance of the nation 

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48) Objective Resolution on 13 December, 1946 :  Constitution of India :

1)A pivotal moment came with the adoption of the Objective Resolution on 13 December 1946.

2)This Resolution articulated the fundamental goals of the Constitution, emphasising justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity, which would serve as guiding principles throughout the drafting process. 

3)The Drafting Committee, chaired by Dr BR Ambedkar, was formed in 1947 to translate these ideals into a comprehensive legal framework. 

4)Over the next two years, the Committee and the Assembly engaged in extensive discussions on various aspects of governance, rights, and responsibilities. Issues such as the structure of government, the role of the judiciary, and the protection of minority rights were hotly debated, showcasing the assembly’s commitment to democratic principles and inclusivity. 

5)The Assembly meticulously crafted the Constitution, balancing the aspirations of a diverse population while addressing the historical injustices stemming from colonial rule

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49)

1)On 26 November 1949, the Constitution was adopted, marking a momentous occasion in India’s history. This date is celebrated annually as ‘Constitution Day’, reflecting the significance of this event in establishing India as a sovereign nation 

2) The Constitution officially came into effect on 26 January 1950, a date now commemorated as Republic Day, symbolising the transition from colonial rule to self-governance. 

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50)

1)Key features of the Constitution included Fundamental Rights, which guaranteed individual liberties and protections against discrimination, and Directive Principles of State Policy, aimed at guiding the state toward achieving social and economic justice. 2)These elements underscored the Constitution’s commitment to not only political democracy but also social equity. 

3)As the years progressed, the Constitution proved adaptable to changing socio-political dynamics. 

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1)The present Constitution has evolved from a century-long British Rule during which the British Parliament enacted a number of acts that provided a framework of government and administration to India. 

2)Our present Constitution has evolved from the acts. Of these acts, the Councils Act of 1909, the Government of India Act of 1919, and the Government of India Act of 1935 are three major milestones in India’s constitutional development during the British rule. 3)These acts provided a parliamentary form of government in British India. 4) Rule of law, federalism, and a strong central government were the other salient features of these acts. 

5)In fact, the Government of India Act,1935, served as the constitution of British India till our present constitution was adopted. Sixty five per cent of our constitution has been taken from this act alone. The British imprint on our Constitution is, thus, too prominent 

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51)

1)The First Amendment, passed in 1951, was a response to the need for greater clarity regarding freedoms and the rights of minority communities, demonstrating the living nature of the document. 

2)The Amendments had bearing on, inter alia, the fundamental rights, the Directive Principles of state policy, Fundamental Duties, lists in the Seventh Schedule, emergency provisions, state reorganisation, and other important areas such as language, elections and the Preamble

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52)

1)This came up in the landmark judgement of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973). This landmark case established the ‘Basic Structure’ doctrine, asserting that while Parliament can amend the constitution, it cannot alter its fundamental framework. 2)The Supreme Court ruled those fundamental rights, and the principles of democracy, separation of powers, and federalism form part of this basic structure 

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53)

1)Minerva Mills Ltd. v. Union of India (1980) reaffirmed the ‘Basic Structure’ doctrine, emphasising the balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles. 2)The Supreme Court ruled that amendments that violate this balance are unconstitutional, further reinforcing judicial review. 

3)Though there are different views on the validity of judicial reviews of amendments to the constitution.

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54)

1)Another landmark Judgement that merits mention is Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978). 

2) In this case, the Supreme Court expanded the interpretation of Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. 

3)The court held that the right to life is not just about existence but encompasses the right to live with dignity, leading to a broader understanding of fundamental rights that led to the inclusion of various rights that are now being read as an integral part of the right to life and liberty 

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55)

1)Articles 14, 19 and 21 often referred to as the golden triangle of the Constitution, have been a shield to provide relief to major and important sections of Indian society. 

2)In Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997), the Supreme Court laid down guidelines to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace, recognising that such harassment violates fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21. 

3)This judgement became a cornerstone for women’s rights and workplace safety in India. 4)Another important judgement upholding the rights of the women in Indian society is Shayara Bano v. Union of India (2017), wherein the Supreme Court declared the practice of instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddah) unconstitutional, affirming that it violates the fundamental rights of Muslim women and is against the principles of gender justice 

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56)

1)Gradually, the ambit of the jurisprudence around the right to life and liberty widened more. 

2) By including within it various rights, namely the right to privacy, the accused’s right to a speedy trial, the right to a fair trial, free legal aid, rights against torture, handcuffing, illegal detention, the right to an environment free from pollution; right to education and health. 

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57)

1)In order to embrace and respect diversity in our society and emphasise the importance of an inclusive and integral culture, the constitutional principles are regularly used as tools to uphold the dignity of long marginalised individuals. 

2) In the rulings of Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018), the Supreme Court decriminalised consensual homosexual acts by reading down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. 

3)The judgement emphasised that sexual orientation is an intrinsic aspect of human identity, upholding the right to equality and non-discrimination. The judgement was well received by a major section of the society, radically changing the stereotypical notions of the masses relating to the rights of the LGBTQ+. 

4) In the same vein, in another ruling pertaining to the law related to adultery, the Supreme Court in Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018) struck down the adultery law as unconstitutional, stating it discriminated against women and violated their rights to equality and dignity 

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58)

1)In the knowledge economy and today’s era of information, the law relating to privacy that has evolved from the paraphernalia of the constitutional principles has become a cogent foundation on which relevant contemporary laws are superstructured.

2) In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), the Supreme Court recognised the right to privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21. This judgement has significant implications for data protection and individual freedoms in the digital age

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59)

1)In the case of India, also a federal Constitution, the process of constitutional amendment is less rigid. 

2)So far, as many as 106 amendments have been carried out in our Constitution. After so many amendments, the Indian Constitution stands significantly altered from its original form. 

3)Acharya Kripalani had commented that after the 42nd Amendment, 1976, he could see only amendments and no original constitution 

4)Constitution is a living document that must reflect the changing socio-economic aspirations of the people whom it is meant to serve. With changing times and circumstances, the aspirations of the people also change, and these changes must be reflected in the constitution by amending it, or else it will cease to be a relevant document

and become outdated. Though the framers of our Constitution succeeded in writing a comprehensive document, they were aware of the need to change its provisions in the future and therefore provided for an amendment procedure (Art. 368) in the constitution itself. 

5)Amendment means changing one or more parts of the Constitution, and it can be done by adding a new provision, deleting an existing provision, or revising or modifying a provision

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There are three ways in which our Constitution can be amended: 

(1) By an ordinary law passed by Parliament by a simple majority. For example, admission of new states (Art. 2), creation of new states or altering their areas, boundaries or names (Art. 3), or changes made in the citizenship provisions (Art. 11). 

(2) By following a special procedure given in Art. 368 which requires an amendment bill to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament. Most of the amendments are carried out following this procedure. 

(3) By passing an Amendment Bill by Parliament by a two-thirds majority as well as its ratification by at least half of the states if the bill seeks to make changes in provisions that affect the federal provisions. For example, GST had to be ratified by half of the states also. 

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1)The notion of parliamentary sovereignty suggests that Parliament, in exercise of its constituent powers, has unlimited powers to amend any part of the constitution. 2)In fact, this was the stand taken by the Supreme Court in two cases: the Shankari Prasad case, 1951, and the Sajjan Singh case, 1964, acknowledging Parliament’s unfettered powers to amend any part of the Constitution that included even fundamental rights. 3)However, in the Golaknath case, 1967, the court ruled that Parliament has no constituent powers to amend fundamental rights because they occupy a sacrosanct position under the constitution. 

4)In response, Parliament passed the 24th Amendment Act in 1971 that overcame the Golaknath ruling. By adding new clauses to Art. 13 and Art. 368, it was clarified 

that Parliament can amend even fundamental rights.

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Kesavananda Bharati case, 1973, and the doctrine of basic structure: 1)Though the term ‘basic structure’ does not find any mention in our Constitution, it was invented by the Supreme Court in the famous Kesavananda Bharati case, 1973. 2) It means the core features of the constitution as pointed out by the court. 3)These core features, or basic features, as pointed out by the Court, are: • Supremacy of the Constitution • Republican and democratic form of government • Secularism • Separation of powers • Rule of law • Independence of the judiciary • Federal character of the polity 

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1)When the 24th Amendment was challenged before the court, it came out with the basic feature doctrine under which there are certain features of the Constitution that provide it a unique identity, and therefore, they cannot be destroyed by an amendment. 2)Although the Parliament has the authority to amend any part of the Constitution, it cannot make changes that compromise the Constitution’s fundamental framework or essential features. 

3) This hurdle was sought to be overcome by the 42nd Amendment, 1976, which allowed Parliament to amend any part of the Constitution and protected it from being challenged in any court on any ground. 

4)Then came the Minerva Mills Judgement, 1980 in which the Supreme Court nullified this, holding that it destroys the basic feature of the Constitution. 

5)This was the first application of the basic feature doctrine, which was later also applied in the IR Coelho case, 2007 in which Supreme Court held that a law 

placed in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution is not immune from judicial review and is subject to scrutiny under the ‘basic feature’ doctrine. 

6) More recently, this doctrine was applied to the 99th Amendment Act, 2014 which created a National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) for appointing judges of

higher courts. Later, the NJAC was declared null and void and the collegium system of appointment was restored in its place 

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1)The First Amendment Act, 1951: The main objects of this amendment were to place ‘reasonable restrictions’ on laws made on various grounds given in Art. 19 (security of the state, public order, morality, decency, etc.). 

2) It also abolished the zamindari system and inserted the 9th schedule to the Constitution which provides immunity from judicial review of certain laws, mostly dealing with land reforms 

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1)The Seventh Amendment Act, 1956: 

2)Its main object was to implement the reorganisation of states on a linguistic basis, as recommended by the Afzal Ali Committee. 

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1)The Forty Second Amendment Act, 1976: This is also known as the mini Constitution of India, as it carried out wide ranging and drastic changes in the Constitution during the emergency. 

2)It amended the Preamble and Directive Principles by adding Arts. 39A (free legal aid), 43A (participation of workers in management of industries), 48A (protection of environment and the wildlife), and insertion of Part IV A to the Constitution providing for fundamental 

duties.

3)Art. 74 was amended to make the President ‘bound by the advice of the council of ministers’. 

4)It also provided for tribunals by inserting Art. 323A and 323B in a new Part XIV A. 5)Most importantly, it added clauses (4) and (5) to Art. 368 which gave unfettered powers to Parliament to amend any provision of the Constitution. 

6) Passed during emergency, this amendment curtailed civil freedoms, powers of the judiciary, and diluted the fundamental rights 

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1)The most striking change was made in the Right to Property. So long as it remained a fundamental right, it became problematic for the government to acquire property for public purposes. This was solved once for all by deleting Art. 19(1)(f) and shifting Art. 300 to a new Art. 300A. 

2)Thus, today, the right to property is only a legal right and not a fundamental right which means the state can acquire property for a public purpose and one cannot seek remedy under Art. 32 by Supreme Court if one’s property is acquired. 

3)A person can, however, approach ordinary courts, as no one can be deprived of his property except by authority of law 

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The Fifty Second Amendment Act, 1985: 

1)The objects and reasons of this amendment were given in the act in these words: “The evil of political defections has been a matter of national concern. 

2)If it is not combated, it is likely to undermine the very foundations of our democracy.” 3)By this amendment, the Tenth Schedule was added to the constitution, which provides the grounds on which a member of a legislature shall be disqualified for an act of defection. 

4)This act has been further strengthened by the 91st Amendment, which has added more teeth to the 1985 anti-defection law. 

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The Sixty First Amendment Act, 1988: 

1)The purpose of this amendment was to lower the voting age from 21 years to 18 years to include India’s youth in the electoral exercise. 

2)The object of this act stated: “The lowering of the voting age would provide to the unrepresented youth of the country an opportunity to give vent to their feelings and help them become a part of the political process.” 

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The Seventy Third and Seventy Fourth Amendment Acts, 1992: 

1)These two amendments have constitutionalised the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) at both village and urban levels by adding Part IX (the Panchayats) and Part IXA (the Municipalities). 

2)Two new Schedules have been added, viz; the 11th and 12th Schedules, detailing the areas of work to be taken up by these local bodies. 

3) This has revolutionalised the concept of decentralised democracy by ensuring timely elections, representation of women and SC/STs, devolution of powers and financial resources, and creating a separate election commission and finance commission for every state 

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1)The Ninety Ninth Amendment Act, 2014: 

2)This act sought to replace the collegium system of appointment of Supreme Court and High Court judges by establishing a National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC).

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The Hundred First Amendment Act, 2016: 

1) This act brought the GST regime in existence under the ‘One Nation One Tax’ slogan. 2) It simplified the tax regime in one stroke and is hailed as a great step towards cooperative federalism. 

3) Both the union and the states pooled their sovereignty to agree to a common tax regime, i.e., GST. 

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The Hundred Sixth Amendment Act, 2023: 

1)This has finally paved the way for 33 per cent reservation for women in both Lok Sabha and state assemblies. 

2) This became possible after many hurdles faced in passing the bill for nearly two decades. This act, in a single stroke, has empowered Indian women and made our legislatures more representative in gender terms. 

3)However, it will come into force only after the next delimitation exercise so that the delimitation commission can decide which seats shall be reserved for women 

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 (Some of the important provisions of the Constitution of India prompting the goal of social justice are as follows:): 

1)‘We the People’: This line from the Indian Constitution’s Preamble captures the

transformative goal. ‘We the People’ creates a new identity that equalises opportunities and status for those whose identities were previously shaped by caste, religious, and ethnic systems. An ‘individual’ detached from the principles generated from the framework formed the basis of this identity. It has legal significance in addition to being a significant declaration of independence from colonial control. By decree of the Cabinet Mission Plan, the Constituent Assembly of India was established, responsible for drafting the Constitution for Independent India. ‘We the People’ is a significant departure from the 1947 Independence Act and the Cabinet Mission Plan’s legal restrictions. 

2)Universal Adult Franchise: In a hierarchical society, the establishment of the Universal Adult Franchise, which was founded on the tenets of ‘one person, one vote, one value,’ was revolutionary. According to Rajeev Bhargava, full citizenship in India is awarded based solely on the requirement of being an adult member, a concept known as the categorical principle of inclusion. 

3)Abolition of Untouchability: Untouchability is outlawed in all forms under Article 17 of the Indian Constitution. It aimed to break with the past by putting an end to the long-standing humiliation that some castes had to endure 

4)Right to Equality: According to academics like Martha Nussbaum, the Constitution of India explicitly recognises the idea of substantive equality by going beyond the idea of formal equality and stating that special protective laws that advance the interests of marginalised groups are not to be interpreted as unlawful discrimination 5)Directive Principles of State Policy: The Directive Principles of State Policy provide a more concise definition of social revolution. According to Austin (1972), the intention behind these concepts was to liberate the Indian masses—that is, to free them from social and natural constraint 

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1)While AI’s commercial applications are widely recognised, its role in law enforcement is gaining traction. 

2)The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 paves the way for the use of electronic evidence in criminal cases, acknowledging the power of AI in analysing digital data to aid investigations. 

3) AI can now play a central role in predictive policing, a method that uses algorithms to forecast potential criminal activity based on data analysis. 

1)The BNS 2023 grants law enforcement agencies broad powers to seize digital devices and access personal data for investigations. 

2)While this is essential for fighting crime in the digital age, it also raises serious concerns about privacy violations. 

3)Without proper oversight, these powers could be misused, leading to unlawful surveillance or the wrongful targeting of innocent individuals based on inaccurate AI predictions 

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The three new criminal laws, have been implemented since 1 July 2024 1)Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (earlier IPC, 1860) 

2)Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2024 (BNSS) (earlier Cr.P.C. 1973), 3)Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (earlier Indian Evidence Act, 1872) 

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1)The core philosophical distinction between the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is the difference between ‘Dand’ (punishment) and ‘Nyaya’ (justice). 

2)The BNS emphasises justice, while the IPC primarily focuses on punishment. 

3)This shift becomes clearer when considered alongside the changes in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA). 

4)The primary aim of these amendments is to ensure swift and fair justice. 

5) Another notable change is the shift from the name ‘India’ to ‘Bharat.’ In Bharat, the concept of Nyaya differs significantly from the idea of justice in the West. 

6)The Bharatiya philosophy prioritises protecting the nation and the weak from antinational and anarchist forces. 

7)Matsya Nyaya illustrates the importance of justice in protecting the small fish from the

powerful, symbolising the protection of the vulnerable. Thus, the primary purpose of Nyaya is the defence of the weaker sections of society 

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due to their social or biological circumstances. 

2)The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) effectively addresses this responsibility. 3)In contrast to the IPC, which finds similar protections later (Section 326 and beyond), the BNS prioritises the protection of women and children, with these provisions taking precedence in Sections 63 to 99. 

4)The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) introduces several new offences against women and children that were absent in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), addressing crimes that lacked specific legal provisions. 

5) Additionally, the penalties for offences against women and children have been significantly increased. The aim is to create a strong deterrent effect on potential offenders and ensure greater protection for these vulnerable groups.

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1) Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) includes several new offences related to national security that were not part of the IPC. 

2)These additions are crucial for addressing emerging internal and external threats to the country. 

3)The new provisions aimed at safeguarding national security align with the spirit of the Bharatiya Constitution, which begins with the principle of sovereignty. It is important to remember that only a safe and secure nation can effectively protect the rights of its citizens. 4)The BNS meets this critical need by incorporating the necessary and timely provisions. 

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New offences against women and children : 

1) Section 69: Sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means, etc. ‘Marrying by suppressing identity’ hasrecently gained significant media attention, with numerous cases reported across the country. India has witnessed a surge in exploitative relationships and gruesome crimes. 

2) In BNS, under Section 69, it is mentioned that ‘Whoever, by deceitful means or by making a promise to marry a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same, has sexual intercourse with her, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to a fine.’ 

3)The law now explicitly addresses deceptive means, including identity suppression. This provision is crucial as it clarifies legal ambiguities and resolves the inconsistencies found in different High Court rulings on the same issue. As a result, it provides significant relief to potential victims of such offences by offering clearer legal protection 

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QUESTIONS RELATING TO BNS 

37)Consider the following : 

1)Under Section 95 of BNS, Whoever hires, employs or engages any child to commit an offence shall be punished with imprisonment of either description which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to ten years, and with fine; and if the offence be committed shall also be punished with the punishment provided for that offence as if the offence has been committed by such person himself 

2)Explanation—Hiring, employing, engaging or using a child for sexual exploitation or pornography is covered within the meaning of this Section. 

3)The immunity granted to minors from criminal liability has often been exploited by hardened criminals, who use them to commit offences, thus granting immunity to both parties. 

4)This new provision is crucial as it aims to protect children, who are particularly vulnerable to manipulation by such offenders, while addressing this loophole in the law

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New Offences Against Human Body : 

1) Section 103(2): ‘When a group of five or more persons acting in concert commits murder on the ground of race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief, or any other similar ground, each member of such group shall be punished with death or with imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to a fine.’ 

2)In the Tehseen Poonawalla case (2018), the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India provided comprehensive guidelines to prevent mob lynching. Section 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita specifically addresses mob lynching. 

3)By incorporating this new offence, the Government has effectively implemented the Supreme Court’s judgement, reinforcing legal measures to combat such acts of violence. 

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1) Section 111 talks about organised crime, which states: ‘Any continuing unlawful activity, including kidnapping, robbery, vehicle theft, extortion, land grabbing, contract killing, economic offence, cybercrimes, trafficking of persons, drugs, weapons, or illicit goods or services, human trafficking for prostitution or ransom, by any person or a group of persons acting in concert, singly or jointly, either as a member of an organised crime syndicate or on behalf of such syndicate, by use of violence, threat of violence, intimidation, coercion, or by any other unlawful means to obtain direct or indirect material benefit, including a financial benefit, shall constitute organised crime.’ 

2)The severity of organised crimes is increasing. Previously, there were no specific provisions for offences like land grabbing, economic crimes, or vehicle theft, despite their increasing frequency. 

3)By providing a broad and comprehensive definition of such crimes, this new provision fills a much-needed gap and ensures their proper recognition and legal treatment

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1) Section 112 (1) talks about Petty Organised Crime which states: ‘Whoever, being a member of a group or gang, either singly or jointly, commits any act of theft, snatching, cheating, unauthorised selling of tickets, unauthorised betting or gambling, selling of public examination question papers, or any other similar criminal act, is said to commit petty organised crime.’ 

2)Previously, there was no specific law to address petty offences, but with the introduction of this section, such cases will now be handled directly, and offenders will receive appropriate punishment based on the severity of the offence. (iv) Section 117 talks about Voluntarily Causing Grievous Hurt 

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1)In Section 117(3): ‘Whoever commits an offence under sub-section (1), i.e., grievous hurt, and in the course of such commission causes any hurt to a person which causes that person to be in permanent disability or in persistent vegetative state, shall be punished with rigorous 

imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life.’ 

2)We must remember the tragic case of Aruna Shanbaug, where the victim remained in a vegetative state for 42 years, yet the accused received only minor punishment for assault and robbery. 

3)This new provision addresses the long-standing gap by imposing stricter penalties for offences that cause permanent disability or leave the victim in a permanent vegetative state, ensuring justice for such grave crimes

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1)In Section 117(4): ‘When a group of five or more persons acting in concert causes grievous hurt to a person on the ground of his race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief, or any other similar ground, each member of such group shall be guilty of the offence of causing grievous hurt and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.’ 

2)This clause specifically addresses hate crimes, which were not previously recognised as an offence. 

3)The BNS now fulfils the need for a dedicated legal provision, as evidenced by the increasing number of hate crime incidents. 

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1) Offences against Nation (i) Section 113 talks about Terrorist Act: Anyone who commits any act with the intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, sovereignty, security, or economic security of India, or with the intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror among the people or any section of the people in India or in any foreign country—commits a terrorist act. 

2)Engaging in different activities has expanded its scope, thereby constituting a terrorist act. 

3)The historical record and current conditions in and around Bharat render it particularly vulnerable to terrorist activities. Until now, the term ‘terrorism’ had not been clearly defined in legal terms. This marks the first comprehensive and inclusive attempt to define terrorism, which will undoubtedly aid in protecting the nation against anti-national activities.

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1) Section 152 talks about Act endangering sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India: Anyone who intentionally or knowingly incites or attempts to incite secession, armed rebellion, or subversive activities, or fosters separatist sentiments or jeopardises the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India, or engages in or commits any such act, faces a life sentence or a seven-year sentence, along with a fine. 

2)In the IPC, ‘Sedition’ or ‘Rajdroh’ was defined as an offence under Section 124A. After numerous complaints of misuse challenged its constitutional validity in court, the Supreme Court suspended its operation. 

3)The BNS abolished ‘sedition’ or ‘Rajdroh’ and introduced ‘Rashtra Droh’ as a new offence under this section. While Section 124A focused on the ‘government,’ now, Section 152 emphasises on the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India 

1) Section 195(2): ‘Whoever threatens to assault or attempts to obstruct any public servant or threatens or attempts to use criminal force to any public servant in the discharge of his duty as such public servant in endeavouring to disperse an unlawful assembly or to suppress a riot or affray, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with a fine, or with both.’ 

2)This provision offers additional protection to public servants while they are carrying out their duties. It is important to remember that on many occasions it has been observed, police officers have faced threats of assault, yet in absence of specific provisions, such offenders are not abundantly dealt with 

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(1) Sec. 197(1)(d): ‘Whoever, by words either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representations or through electronic communication or otherwise, makes or publishes false or misleading information, jeopardising the sovereignty, unity and integrity or security of India, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or

with both’. 

2)The dissemination of misleading information and the propagation of fake propaganda have become prevalent across various media platforms, from mainstream to social media. Such misinformation can pose serious threats to law and order, as well as to the 

sovereignty, unity, integrity, and security of India. 

3)Until now, there were no provisions in the IPC to address these challenges, allowing perpetrators to seek protection under the guise of Article 19(1)(a). The inclusion of this provision in the BNS will provide a robust defence for state authorities in dealing with such rumour mongers. 

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1) Section 48 talks about Abetment outside India for offences in India, which states: ‘A person abets an offence within the meaning of this Sanhita who, without and beyond India, abets the commission of any act in India which would constitute an offence if committed in India.’ India has historically been vulnerable to external influences and destabilising forces, originating from outside its borders. 

2)This provision imposes liability on even an abettor located outside India who incites someone to commit an offence within the country. Furthermore, under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam,(BSA) the trial can proceed even if the abettor is absent. 3)This is a significant development because it eliminates the need to apprehend and extradite the individual to initiate legal proceedings, allowing a trial to proceed without their presence 

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Offences against Property (i) Section 304 (1) talks about Snatching which states: 1)‘Theft is snatching if, in order to commit theft, the offender suddenly or, quickly, or forcibly seizes, or secures, grabs, or takes away from any person or from his possession any movable property.’

2)As we know, snatching has become a prevalent offence in today’s society. Incidents involving the theft of chains and mobile phones, particularly targeting women and the elderly in metropolitan areas, are quite common and can inflict serious mental and physical harm on the victims. 

3)Previously, the IPC did not include a specific provision for snatching. However, the BNS now addresses this issue with a dedicated provision for the offence of snatching 

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New Additions in Definition Clause : 

1) Section 2(3)- Child- means any person below the age of eighteen years. 2) Section 2(10)- Gender- ‘he’ includes males, females, and transgenders. In the case of National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India (2014), the Hon’ble Supreme Court recognised transgender individuals as the ‘third gender.’ 

3)The BNS now provides transgender people with the same protections previously available to males and females. 

4)Given the social discrimination that transgender individuals have faced, this is a significant and positive step taken by the government to ensure their protection 

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New Punishment Section 4(f) talks about Community Service: 

1)Community services punishment is added under Section 4 of the BNS. 2) In Bhartiya Darshan, ‘Prayashchit’ is a key aspect of ‘Vyavhar-Vidhi.’ 3)In the BNS, the government has sought to incorporate this principle through the concept of ‘Community Service.’ This provision is specifically aimed at first-time offenders who commit petty offences. These represent the fundamental changes introduced in the BNS. Given the contemporary challenges, the BNS is highly relevant, as it addresses the offences and issues currently faced by the country and its citizens. 

4) In conclusion, we can assert that the government has made a significant effort by implementing this new code. It is poised to effectively address the new offences prevalent in

society and tackle the challenges confronting the nation. 

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1)Industrialisation has often created a gap between management and workers, stemming from the unequal ownership of means of production. 

2)This disparity has resulted in industrial friction and disputes, which are prevalent across developed and developing nations. 

3)This creates the need for an effective system of dispute resolution to maintain social and economic stability. 

4) In India, this objective has been pursued through a series of labour statutes, including the Industrial Disputes Act (IDA) of 1947 and the Industrial Relations Code (IRC) of 2020, which aimed to address disputes amicably through mechanisms such as conciliation, arbitration, and adjudication. 

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1)The abrogation of Article 370 is another watershed moment having the propensity to alter the constitutional conscience. 

2)The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the authority of the President of India to revoke Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. 

3)The abrogation in August 2019 resulted in the division of the former state of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories, J&K and Ladakh, and stripped the state of its special rights. 

4)The Supreme Court stated that Article 370 was merely a provisional measure to enable the admission of the former princely state to the Union of India during a period marked by internal turmoil and external threats. 

5)The Supreme Court stated that Jammu and Kashmir did not maintain any aspect of sovereignty upon its accession to India. 

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1)The Forty Fourth Amendment Act, 1978: 

2)This amendment was enacted by the Janata Party government in the background of the 42nd Amendment and the experience of emergency. 

3) First, it made changes in Art. 352 relating to proclamation of emergency. The word ’internal disturbance’, which was a vague expression and was open to misuse, was replaced by ‘armed rebellion’. 

4)Further, the written advice of the Cabinet to the President to proclaim an emergency was made mandatory. 

5)Also, it needed to be passed by a two-thirds majority of both houses of parliament within a month. 

6)For its further continuance, it required renewal by Parliament every six months by a two-thirds majority only. Also, Lok Sabha was empowered to revoke it by a simple resolution if ten per cent of its members requested a special meeting to revoke it. 7)Safeguards were also made against preventive detention that could not be continued beyond three months unless an advisory board recommended further detention. 

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1)The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act) 2023 directly addresses the concerns. 

2)By recognising behavioural data as personal data, the law ensures that users’ rights are protected. This includes the right to correct or erase their data, forcing AI systems to rethink how they operate. For instance, if a user opts to erase their data, it disrupts the continuous stream of information that AI models rely on to provide personalised services 

3)The DPDP Act 2023 provides a solid framework for safeguarding personal data, but it also raises questions about how businesses can innovate while respecting user privacy. 

4)On the other hand, the BNS 2023 opens the door to more advanced AI-based policing, but with that comes the responsibility of ensuring that these technologies do not infringe on individual rights 

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Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS): . 

1)The new Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) provides a holistic approach to deal with crimes in the digital age. 

2)The BNSS also stipulates that criminal trials must be completed in three years, and judgments must be pronounced within 45 days of being reserved. This would help in clearing the vast backlogs and faster delivery of justice. 

3)Section 530 of the BNSS allows all trials, inquiries and proceedings to be conducted in electronic mode, which is in keeping with the need of the present time. 

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1)Three new Criminal Laws namely Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 were implemented replacing more than century old three colonial era Criminal Laws. 

2)They mark a tectonic shift from the earlier laws that were meant to subserve the colonial

interest and their repeal is another step to shedding of the vestiges of colonial legal legacy. 

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To ensure seamless implementation of the laws( Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 20230, the MHA launched e-Sakshya, Nyaya Setu, Nyaya Shruti, and e-Summon App for three new criminal laws in Chandigarh 

1)e-Sakshya, e-Summon, Nyaya Setu, and Nyaya Shruti apps will enhance the efficacy of our criminal justice system in delivering timely and transparent justice. 

2)Under e-Sakshya, videography, photography, and testimonies will be saved on the e-evidence server, which will also be available in the courts immediately. 3)Under the e-summon, the summons will be sent electronically from the court to the police station and also to the intended individuals. Police, Medical, Forensic, Prosecution and Prisons are interlinked on the Nyaya Setu Dashboard, which will provide the police with all the information related to the investigation in just one click 

4)Through Nyaya Shruti, the court will be able to hear witnesses through video conferencing. This will save time and money and also settle the cases faster 

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1)It is said that everyone present has witnessed the implementation of the biggest reform of the 21st century. These three new laws brought in by Prime Minister - Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya 

Adhiniyam (BSA)- have the fragrance of Indianness and our ethos of justice. He said that it is the responsibility of the Constitution to give justice to every person and our criminal justice system is the means to bring this spirit of the Constitution to reality.

2)Union Home Minister said that laws made 150 years ago cannot remain relevant today. He said that there is a vast difference between the objectives of 1860 and today's India, and interests of rulers of those times and the objectives of our Constitution today, but the machinery of implementation has remained the same. He said that for years, people did not get justice, instead the justice system was blamed for only giving newer dates of hearing. Shri Shah added that gradually the trust of the people on our systems was getting eroded. 

3)That is why Modi government has done the work of implementing BNS instead of IPC, BNSS instead of CrPC and BSA instead of Evidence Act, he said 

4)He said that under e-Sakshya, all videography, photography and testimonies will be saved on the e-evidence server, which will also be available in the courts immediately. 

5)Under the e-Summon, it will be sent electronically from the court to the police station and also to the person to whom the summons is to be sent. Police, Medical, Forensic, Prosecution and Prisons are interlinked together on the Nyaay Setu Dashboard, which will provide the police with all the information related to the investigation in just one click. 6)Through Nyaay Shruti, the court will be able to hear witnesses through video conferencing. This will save time and money and also settle the cases faster. 

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1)It is said that under e-Sakshya, all videography, photography and testimonies will be saved on the e-evidence server, which will also be available in the courts immediately. 2)Under the e-Summon, it will be sent electronically from the court to the police station and also to the person to whom the summons is to be sent. Police, Medical, Forensic, Prosecution and Prisons are interlinked together on the Nyaay Setu Dashboard, which will provide the police with all the information related to the investigation in just one click. 3)Through Nyaay Shruti, the court will be able to hear witnesses through video conferencing. This will save time and money and also settle the cases faster. 

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1)The Government of India had notified Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 on 11th March 2024. 

2)The Rules envisage manner of application form, procedure for processing applications by District Level Committee (DLC) and scrutiny and grant of citizenship by State Level Empowered Committee (EC). 

3)In pursuance of these rules, applications have been received from persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have entered into India up to 31.12.2014 on account of persecution on grounds of religion or fear of such persecution. 

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1)The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was passed by the Parliament, to include ‘Pahari Ethnic Group, Paddari Tribe, Koli and Gadda Brahmin’ communities in the list of STs of UT of Jammu and Kashmir. 

2)The Rajya Sabha passed the bill on 9th February 2024 to amend the Constitution (Jammu & Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order, 1989 with respect to the UT of J&K. Earlier, the Bill had been passed by the Lok Sabha on 6th February 2024. 

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The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is intended to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes regarding Andhra Pradesh. The following inclusions will be made in list of Scheduled Tribes of Andhra Pradesh: - 

1) Inclusion of ‘Bondo Porja’ and ‘Khond Porja’, that are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), at entry 25 in the ST list of Andhra Pradesh. 

2) Inclusion of ‘Konda Savaras’, that are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), at entry 28 in the ST list of Andhra Pradesh. 

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The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2024 proposed to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in relation to Odisha. The following changes/inclusions will be made in list of Scheduled Tribes of Odisha: 

Four Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), which are proposed to be included in their own names in the list of STs: 

1)Pauri Bhuyan, Paudi Bhuyan as synonyms of Bhuiya, Bhuyan at Sl. No. 6; 

ii. Chuktia Bhunjia as synonym of Bhunjia at Sl. No. 9; 

2)Bondo as sub-entry under STs "Bondo Poraja, Bonda Paroja. Banda Paroja" at Sl. No.13; and, Mankidia as synonym of ST “Mankirdia” at Sl.No. 47.

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Bharat is advancing on the path of achieving zero casualties during disasters. In this direction, the Lok Sabha today passed the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Modi Ji for this landmark move. The game-changing provisions of the law will serve as a fresh impetus to Modi Ji's vision to build a disaster-resilient Bharat by empowering our response forces to shield our citizens from any kind of calamity. The bill makes way for the security of every citizen by prioritizing a proactive approach to disaster management over a reactive one.” 

1)The bill shifts the approach to disaster management from a reactive to a proactive one with renewed thrust on prevention, mitigation, and preparedness. 

2)The legislation will enable the government to brave calamities with a whole-of-the-government approach by fostering seamless synergy among agencies. 

3) The bill empowers the NDMA and the SDMA to build databases to foster better preparedness and the swiftest response.

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1)The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 came into force on 1st April, 2024. 

2)An Indian delegation led by Minister of State of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, participated in the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological held in Cali, Colombia in Oct-Nov, 2024. 

3)India submitted its National Targets under the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan on 10th September, 2024 and also submitted its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan on 31st October, 2024 during the COP-16 to the Convention on Biological Diversity meetings. 

4)Both the National Biodiversity Targets and Action Plan are aligned with the goals and targets set under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. 

5)The Biological Diversity Rules, 2024 were notified in the Gazette of India on 22 October 2024. 

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1)Protection of wildlife and its habitats have been in the cultural ethos since time immemorial. MoEFCC is mandated to protect and improve the environment and to safeguar

the forest and wildlife of the country under Article 48-A of the Constitution. 2)Conservation planning in India is based on the philosophy of identifying and protecting representative wild habitats across all the ecosystems. 

3)The number of Protected Areas in the country, which stood at 745 in the year 2014 have risen to 1022. This accounts for 5.43% of the country’s total geographic area. Participation of people are given more impetus. There has been a substantial increase in establishment of Community Reserves. The numbers of Community Reserves in the country has increased from 43 in the year 2014 to 220 as on date. 

4)Apart from the protected areas, the country also has 57 tiger reserves notified under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 with the prime focus of conservation of tigers and its habitat. States have also declared 33 elephant reserves for providing safer habitats to the elephants. 

5)Since 2014, 59 wetlands have been added to the list of Ramsar Sites, taking the tally to 85 in the country covering an area of 1.35 million ha. India boasts the largest Ramsar site network in Asia and the 3rd largest in the world in terms of number of sites. 

6)As per All India Tiger Estimation 2022 report, the estimated tiger population in India is 3,682, which accounts for 70% of wild tiger population of the World. 

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EPA : 

1)The Environment (Protection) Act (EPA) was enacted in 1986 with the objective of providing protection and improvement of the environment. 

2)The Government has amended the penal provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 as a part of Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provision) Act, 2023 for decriminalization and rationalizing offences to further enhance trust based governance for ease of living and doing business and the same have been made effective from 1st April, 2024. 

3)The salient features of the amendments in EPA are as follows:- 

i) Penal provision mentioned under EPA, 1986 have been completely decriminalized.

ii) Appointment of adjudicating officer proposed for determining the penalties under EPA, 1986. 

iii)Provision made for creation and management of fund for collection as well as proper utilization of fund collected from penalty. 

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1)Ministry of Minority Affairs introduced Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 on 08.08.2024 in Lok Sabha.

2)Subsequently, the Bill has been referred to a Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC). 

3)The mandate of the JPC is to examine the Bill and make a report on the bill to the Parliament by the last day of the Budget session. 

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1)To further protect minority rights, the Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. 2) Five religious communities – Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Parsis and Sikhs were initially notified as minorities, and in 2014, Jains were also included. 

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1)The Union Cabinet, under the leadership of Prime Minister , has approved to confer the status of Classical Language to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali

languages. 

2)Classical languages are regarded as the custodians of India’s ancient and profound cultural legacy, preserving the rich history, literature, and traditions of their respective communities. 

3)By conferring this status, the government seeks to honor and protect the linguistic milestones of Bharat's diverse cultural landscape, ensuring that future generations can access and appreciate the deep historical roots of these languages. 

4)This move not only reinforces the importance of linguistic diversity but also acknowledges the vital role these languages play in shaping the nation's cultural identity. 

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1)Prakrit inscriptions serve as vital historical records, providing insights into India’s past. The inscriptions from the pre-Mauryan period, as well as those from King Ashoka and Kharvel, are primarily written in Prakrit. 

2)This rich literary tradition encompasses various genres, making Prakrit a repository of Indian history, culture, art, philosophy, and knowledge systems. 

3)Influential figures such as Lord Mahavira and Mahatma Buddha imparted their teachings in the Prakrit language to share their insights and accomplishments with the general populace. Prakrit served as the vernacular of ancient Indian society. 

4)The foundational texts of both Jain and Buddhist traditions were written in Prakrit languages, which embody a valuable reservoir of knowledge and science. 

5)Furthermore, various forms of folk literature also showcase a wide array of uses of Prakrit languages throughout different regions. 

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Pali is a rich tapestry woven from various dialects, adopted by Buddhist and Jain sects in ancient India as their sacred languages. Lord Buddha, who lived around 500 B.C., utilized Pali to deliver his sermons, making it a fundamental medium for disseminating his teachings. The entire corpus of Buddhist canonical literature is composed in Pali, most notably the Tipitaka, which translates to "Threefold Basket." 

1)The first basket, the Vinaya Pitaka, outlines the monastic rules for Buddhist monks, providing a framework for ethical conduct and community living. 

2)The second basket, the Sutta Pitaka, is a treasure trove of speeches and dialogues attributed to the Buddha, encapsulating his wisdom and philosophical insights. 

3)Lastly, the Abhidhamma Pitaka delves into various topics related to ethics, psychology, and the theory of knowledge, offering a profound analysis of the mind and reality. 

4)In addition to canonical texts, Pali literature includes the Jataka Kathas, which are non-canonical tales narrating the stories of the Buddha’s previous lives as the Bodhisattva or future Buddha. These narratives resonate with the common heritage of the Indian masses, reflecting shared moral values and cultural traditions. Together, these literary contributions underscore the significance of Pali as a vital language in preserving and transmitting ancient Indian thought and spirituality. 

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Cooperatives in India are diverse, serving a wide range of purposes and sectors. Some of the key types of cooperatives include: 

1)Consumers’ Cooperative Societies: These provide consumer goods at reasonable prices, eliminating middlemen. Examples include Kendriya Bhandar and Apna Bazar. 

2)Producers’ Cooperative Societies: These support small producers by providing raw materials and equipment. Examples include APPCO and Haryana Handloom. 

3)Cooperative Marketing Societies: These assist small producers in marketing their goods collectively. AMUL, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, is a prominent example. 

4)Cooperative Credit Societies: These offer financial assistance to members by accepting deposits and providing loans at reasonable interest rates.

Cooperative Farming Societies: These enable small farmers to benefit from collective farming practices, such as lift-irrigation cooperatives. 

5)Housing Cooperative Societies: These provide affordable housing options by purchasing and developing land for members.

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