September 2025

Current Affairs: 16th Sept 2025

• SC stays ‘arbitrary’ Waqf changes, but upholds Act

Context: Court says judgment based on only a prima facie consideration of the 2025 law, its observations will not prevent parties from making future submissions about the validity of provisions in the Act.

• The Supreme Court struck a balance by staying crucial portions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which it found “prima facie arbitrary” while refusing to freeze the law in its entirety.
• In a judgment on a plea for a interim stay of the law, a Bench of Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih reasoned that parliamentary legislation was naturally presumed to be constitutional as the lawmakers would only have the public’s best interests in mind, so much so that even discrimination woven into the statute would be based on adequate grounds.
• However, this reasoning did not stop the court from staying key provisions of the 2025 Act, including the one which required a person intending to create a Waqf to prove that he had been practising Islam for five years.
• The court clarified that the judgment was based on a prima facie consideration of the 2025 law.
• The observations in the judgment would not prevent parties from making future submissions about the validity of provisions in the Act.
• The court said there was nothing wrong in requiring a person to prove that he had been practising the faith for at least five years, considering that Waqf endowments were misused as a “clever device to tie up property in order to defeat creditors and generally to evade the law under the cloak of a plausible dedication to the Almighty”.
• However, the Bench found it arbitrary that the law failed to provide a basic mechanism or procedure to ascertain whether the person had indeed been practising Islam for at least five years. Chief Justice Gavai directed the provision to be shelved until the government came up with a mechanism.
• The court found “totally unconstitutional” a proviso in Section 3C, which mandated that a Waqf would lose its character the moment someone raised a doubt that it was government property.
• Chief Justice Gavai said though any government property was public asset, and a designated officer had every reason to conduct an inquiry, it could not suddenly cease to be one before the designated officer completes the probe and submits the report.
• The court stayed parts of Section 3C that allowed the designated officer and a State government to unilaterally alter revenue and Waqf Board records, respectively, changing the status of a Waqf property into a government property. Chief Justice Gavai held that determination of the title (ownership) of a property came within the ambit of the judiciary, and the executive would be breaching the fundamental principle of separation of powers by one-sidedly depriving citizens possession of a Waqf property.
• “It is directed that unless the issue with regard to title of the Waqf property in terms of Section 3C of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 is not finally decided in proceedings under Section 83 before the Waqf Tribunal, and subject to further orders by the State High Court, neither the Waqfs will be dispossessed of the property nor the entry in the revenue records and the records of the Waqf Board shall be affected,” the court said. To balance the equities and protect valuable government properties, the court said it was imperative that Mutawallis (managers) of these disputed Waqfs did not create any third-party rights until the final decision of the competent tribunal on the status of property.
• The Bench further directed that Central Waqf Council would not have more than four non-Muslims out of a total 22. State Waqf Boards would limit the number of its non-Muslim members to three out of a total 11. The court ordered that the Chief Executive Officers of State Waqf Boards must be picked from the Muslim community “as far as possible”.
• “Right from 1923, in all the Waqf enactments we have referred to, there was a requirement of registration of Waqfs. We are, therefore, of the view that if Mutawallis for a period of 102 years could not get the Waqf registered, as required under the earlier provisions, they cannot claim that they be allowed to continue with the Waqf even if they are not registered,” Chief Justice Gavai said.
• The court noted that the Waqf Act, 1995, had allowed registration without any requirement to provide a formal deed. “If for 30 long years, the Mutawallis had chosen not to make an application for registration, they cannot be heard to say that the provision which now requires the application to be accompanied by a copy of the Waqf deed is arbitrary,” the court reasoned.
• The judgment prima facie refused to accept an argument by the petitioners that a Waqf property would lose its status if it was notified as a “protected monument”.

• Amid an export surge, trade deficit comes down by 54%

Context:  India’s trade deficit contracted by more than 54% to $9.9 billion in August, driven by a surge in merchandise exports, a continued strong performance in services exports, and a significant reduction in merchandise imports.

• The trade deficit stood at $21.7 billion in August last year. The data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry showed that exports to the U.S. increased to about $6.86 billion in August 2025, from $6.7 billion in August last year.
• This is despite the 25% tariffs imposed on Indian exports to the U.S. for most of that month, and 50% for a few days at the month-end.
• “Despite the global uncertainties and the trade policy uncertainties, India’s exporters have done extremely well,” Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said at a press meet. “It shows that the policies of the Government of India have paid off well.”
• India’s total exports increased to $69.2 billion in August 2025, up 9.3% over its level in August last year. Within this, merchandise exports increased to $35.1 billion in August 2025, compared with $32.9 billion in August last year, a growth of 6.7%. Services exports increased to $34.1 billion in August 2025, compared with $30.4 billion in August last year.
• On the import side, India’s total imports fell to $79 billion in August 2025, compared with $85 billion in August last year, a contraction of 7%. This was driven by a 10.1% contraction in merchandise imports to $61.6 billion.
• Services imports increased marginally to $17.45 billion in August 2025 from $16.5 billion in August last year. The relatively strong export performance has meant that the trade deficit in April-August of this financial year stood at $41.4 billion, down 20.1% over its level in the April-August 2024 period.

• Aadhaar is part of statute, can be used by voters, says SC

Context: Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act allows use of Aadhaar to authenticate entries

• The Supreme Court said Aadhaar was part of the right-to-vote statute, and voters were permitted to utilise the unique identity proof to the extent permitted by the law.
• A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi was responding to submissions intended to portray Aadhaar as inferior to the 11 documents listed by the Election Commission for voter verification during the special intensive revision of Bihar electoral rolls.
• This has come barely a week after the court declared Aadhaar as the “12th document” aggrieved voters could attach in their claims and objections for including or excluding names on the voter list.

Plea against order

• Petitioner-advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who wants the court to rethink its August 8 order listing Aadhaar as the 12th document, said any person could get an Aadhaar, and that they need not necessarily be a citizen.
• “Aadhaar is not proof of age, citizenship, residence, or domicile,” Mr. Upadhyay said.
• Justice Bagchi asked then what Aadhaar was meant to prove. Mr. Upadhyay said it was merely a “simple” proof of identity.
• Referring to Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, Justice Bagchi asked if Aadhaar was not part of the statute which governed the EC with regard to the right to vote and inclusion on the rolls.
• The Section permits EC officials to use Aadhaar to authenticate entries on the electoral rolls.
• To this, Mr. Upadhyay argued that Aadhaar could not be equated with any of the other 11 documents. “So, are you saying that a land record (one of the 11 documents) is more relevant than Aadhaar?” Justice Bagchi queried.
• The court issued notice on Mr. Upadhyay’s plea, and fixed October 7 to hear arguments on the legality of the special intensive revision. It said its judgment would prevail over anything that may happen.
• Mr. Upadhyay argued the SIR order of June 24 envisaged not only a proof of identity but also supporting evidence of eligibility, including place of birth or residence as per the 1950 Act. Consequently, acceptance of Aadhaar alone, without accompanying proof of place of birth or other eligibility criteria, diluted the intended scheme of the order.
• He also argued in favour of a “pan-India” SIR to root out “foreign infiltrators” who had sneaked their way into the electoral rolls. “Bihar has lakhs of Bangladesh nationals and Rohingyas…” the petitioner-advocate submitted.
• To this, Justice Surya Kant responded that the EC knew the law, and could distinguish between citizens and infiltrators on the voter list.
• Senior advocates A.M. Singhvi and Gopal Sankaranaraynan urged the court to hear their petitions on the validity of the SIR exercise itself. They said the EC was well into conducting SIRs in other parts of the country.

• Devadasi survey begins amid confusion over documents

Context: The third survey of devadasis in Karnataka commenced on Monday amid confusion over the list of documents sought by the government to establish the identity. Activists claim many are not even aware that a survey is under way, given inadequate publicity.

• A number of devadasis who went to their respective taluk office of the Women and Child Welfare Department on Monday had to return home without completing the survey, since they lacked documents that included the family tree. In some places, server issues slowed down the registration.
• The government has mandated over a dozen documents from those devadasis and their family members who have been left out of the previous surveys or from the families of the deceased devadasis. Confusion seems to prevail in the taluk offices since a self declaration is also accepted, according to officials.
• Shobha S. Gasthi, a former devadasi and a member of the government-appointed Belagavi district committee, felt that the insistence on the family tree would prevent many from getting benefits. The family tree may take over a fortnight to just apply for and the survey process may be over before people get it, she said.
• She also pointed out that though the survey started, the district committee was yet to meet even once.
• Yamanurappa Halavagli, son of a devadasi and State coordinator of the Karnataka Vimuktha Devadasi Mahila Matthu Makkala Vedike, said: “The survey is not being done transparently. District committees have not been trained before the survey. In fact, in several districts committee itself has not been formed”.
• The survey of devadasis is being conducted in 15 North and Central Karnataka districts where the system of dedicating women to temple services has been found to be prevailing even after the Karnataka Devadasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act, 1982, was enacted.
• While the first two surveys conducted in 1993-1994 and 2008-2009 identified 23,630 and 46,660 devadasis, respectively, several thousands had been left out since an age criteria of 45 and above had been imposed.
• The current survey follows the State Human Rights Commission direction to the government to conduct a fresh survey before October 24.

• State govt. extends deadline for receiving applications for start-up programmes

Context: The Department of Electronics, IT and BT has extended the deadline for receiving applications for its flagship start-up programmes: ELEVATE 2025, ELEVATE Unnati 2025, and ELEVATE Minorities 2025.

• In the light of good response from innovators and entrepreneurs across Karnataka, the submission deadline has been extended from September 15 to 17, until 11.59 p.m., according to an official release from the department. Applications must be submitted through the official portal:https://eitbt.karnataka.gov.in/
• The ELEVATE programme is designed to identify and support innovative, early-stage start-ups by providing them with essential resources, including grant-in-aid, according to a press release.

• SC backs move to rid ‘waqf by user’ of statutory recognition

Context: Top court did not prima facie find any substance in the argument that centuries-old lands, graveyards, dargahs and mosques, recognised as Waqfs through long and consistent usage over the years, will be ‘grabbed’ by the government.

• The Supreme Court said legislative action to rid ‘Waqf by user’ of statutory recognition and make registration of Waqfs mandatory cannot be termed “arbitrary”, considering the “menace” of encroachment on “huge government properties” over the years.
• “We are of the view that if the legislature in 2025 finds that on account of the concept of ‘Waqf by user’, huge government properties have been encroached upon, and to stop the menace, it takes steps for deletion of the provision, the amendment, prima facie, cannot be said to be arbitrary,” Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, heading a Division Bench, observed in a judgment refusing to stay the entirety of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
• The SC verdict referred to how the Andhra Pradesh Waqf Board had notified thousands of acres of land belonging to the government as Waqf property.
• The Andhra Pradesh government had failed to get the land back in the High Court, and had to finally appeal to the Supreme Court, which set aside the notification and had held that the lands were vested with the State.
• “After noticing such instances of misuse, if the legislature finds that the concept of ‘waqf by user’ has to be abolished and that too prospectively, in our view, the same cannot prima facie be said to be arbitrary,” the court reiterated.
• Clause (i) of Section 3(r) of the Waqf Act of 1995 had recognised “Waqf by user”, which meant a property used for religious or charitable purposes but without any formal written declaration or deed stating its character.

Formal deed must

• The 2025 Amendment Act omitted the concept of “waqf by user” and insisted on a formal Waqf deed.
• The court noted that mandatory registration of Waqfs was not a new concept. It had been part of the 1995 Waqf law.
• “We are, therefore, of the view that if for 30 long years, the Mutawallis [managers of Waqfs] had chosen not to make an application for registration, they cannot be heard to say that the provision which now requires the application to be accompanied by a copy of the Waqf deed is arbitrary,” the Chief Justice, who authored the judgment, observed.
• The apex court did not prima facie find any substance in the petitioners’ argument that centuries’ old lands, graveyards, dargahs and mosques, which have been recognised as Waqfs through long and consistent usage over the years, would be “grabbed” by the government.
• In this regard, the court recorded the assurance given by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre, that the deletion of clause (i) of Section 3(r) of the original 1995 Waqf Act would only come into effect prospectively, when the 2025 amendments came into effect.

• The Amendment Act was notified on April 8, 2025.

‘Misuse of provisions’

• The Union government, also represented by advocate Kanu Agrawal, had earlier informed the apex court that “shocking” misuse of Waqf provisions had led to “rampant encroachments” on private and government properties.
• The Centre had submitted that encroachments had led to a 116% rise in Waqf lands from 2013 to 2024, a phenomenal high unmatched even in the Mughal period.
• “It is submitted that right before even Mughal era, pre-Independence and post-independence eras, the total of Waqfs created was 18,29,163.896 acres of land in India. Shockingly after 2013, in just 11 years, the addition of Waqf land is 20,92,072.536 acres… The figure of 20 lakh acres is additional and not the total figure. The total comes to 39,21,236.459 acres of land,” the Minority Affairs Ministry affidavit had submitted in the court in April.

Centre’s take

• The government had argued that removing the concept of ‘waqf by user’ in the 2025 amendments did not deprive a Muslim his right to create a Waqf.
• “Under the proviso to Section 3[1][r], no trust, deed or any documentary proof has been insisted upon in the amendment or even prior thereto. The only mandatory requirement for being protected under the proviso is that such ‘waqf by user’ must be registered as on April 8, 2025, as registration has always been mandatory as per the statute governing waqfs since last 100 years,” the Centre had said.
• Only those who evaded registration to avoid being accountable under a statutory regime or reveal transactions of land dealings would be in trouble, the government had maintained in court.

• ‘Animal acquisitions as per law’: SIT formed by top court gives clean chit to Vantara

Context: A Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted to conduct an “independent factual appraisal” of complaints against Reliance-owned Vantara, a zoological rescue and rehabilitation centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, has found no statutory irregularities in the acquisition of animals.

• The SIT, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice J. Chelameswar, concluded that the acquisitions were in accordance with regulatory laws and recorded the satisfaction of authorities on all statutory compliance.
• A Bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B. Varale noted that the SIT had undertaken a “thorough and extensive investigation” into the complaints and said it had “no hesitation in accepting the conclusion so drawn in the report”.
• “The imports of the animals have been made only after issuance of valid permits. Once the imports of animals is fully documented and supported by valid permits, it is not open for anyone to go beyond the said permits and to dispute the validity attached to such permits or official acts,” the court said. The Bench further said that on a perusal of the SIT report, it was “satisfied” with Vantara’s practices.
• Addressing allegations of misuse of carbon credits, water resources, and financial impropriety, the court said the SIT had found them to be baseless, relying upon responses from agencies such as the CBI, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, and ED.
• The court was hearing two petitions filed by advocates C.R. Jaya Sukin and Dev Sharma, who had alleged irregularities at Vantara on the basis of media reports, social media posts, and complaints from NGOs and wildlife organisations regarding alleged violations of law and the acquisition of animals from India and abroad, particularly elephants.
• The court had instructed the special team to look into grievances raised about the “creation of a vanity or private collection, breeding, conservation programmes and use of biodiversity resources, misutilisation of water and carbon credits, breach of laws of trade in animals or animal articles, wildlife smuggling and money laundering.”

• PM to launch campaign for women and child healthcare

Context: In an effort to improve healthcare service, the Centre is set to launch the ‘Swasth Nari, Sashakt Parivar Abhiyaan’ (healthy woman, strong family campaign), along with the eighth ‘Poshan Maah’(nutrition month) on September 17.

• Prime Minister Modi will launch the initiative jointly led by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

• India gets licence to scour Indian Ocean for precious metals

Context: India has bagged an exploration contract from the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to look for a class of precious metals in the northwest Indian Ocean.

• This is the first licence granted globally for exploring polymetallic sulphur nodules in the Carlsberg Ridge, M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• The agreement with the Jamaica-based ISA was signed in Delhi.

• These nodules are concentrations of rock found in the deep ocean and said to be rich in manganese, cobalt, nickel, and copper.

• The Carlsberg Ridge is a 3,00,000-sq.km stretch that lies in the Indian Ocean, specifically in the Arabian Sea and northwest Indian Ocean. It forms the boundary between the Indian and Arabian tectonic plates, extending from near Rodrigues Island to the Owen fracture zone.

• For exploration in areas part of the ‘high seas’ or part of the ocean that is so far away from any country, that it is not part of their territories, countries must obtain permission from the ISA. Currently, 19 countries have such exploration rights.
• India too had applied in January 2024 for exploration rights in two regions of the Indian Ocean. While one in the Carlsberg Ridge has been granted, the second – the Afanasy-Nikitin Sea (ANS) mount – is yet to be approved. The ANS is located in the Central Indian Ocean, and the territory has been claimed by Sri Lanka for exploration rights. While countries can claim up to 350 nautical miles from their coasts as their ‘continental shelf’, those in the Bay of Bengal can, in theory, claim up to 500 nautical miles as per the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Earlier exploration

• Previously, India had obtained such exploratory rights from the ISA in the Central Indian Ocean Basin. The first was signed in March 2002 and is set to expire on March 24, 2027, after two extensions. The second was for polymetallic sulphides in the Indian Ocean Ridge. It was signed on September 26, 2016, with validity till September 2031.

• ‘PhonePe’s Indus Appstore installed in 10 crore devices’

Context: PhonePe’s Indus Appstore, the firm’s domestic alternative to Google Play and Apple’s App Store, is installed on 10 crore devices, the company announced.

• The milestone has been possible due to agreements the firm struck with phone makers like Xiaomi and Alcatel, which allowed it to be pre-installed on handsets. Since its unveiling, the store has been able to offer apps distributed elsewhere, as it relies on aggregators authorised by most app developers.

• ‘AI-led efficiencies can contribute to 8% GDP growth target’

Context: Skilling workers whose roles are threatened by AI is key, NITI Aayog said in the report Artificial Intelligence-led efficiencies in industries could be key in contributing to an annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 8% in the coming years, NITI Aayog said in a report.

• “Accelerating AI adoption across industries to improve productivity and efficiency could bridge 30-35% of the gap between the current rate of growth and the 8% target,” the public policy think tank said in the report.
• Individual industries must leverage AI to introduce efficiencies; candidates that are primed for this include pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, automobiles and financial services, it said.
• “AI has reduced the cost of producing the next molecule [for the pharmaceutical industry] by approximately 10 times and crashed the time that it takes — roughly 10 years — by roughly 50%,” Koshir Daka, a senior partner at McKinsey said at the report unveiling, adding that this could give India an opening to invent a clutch of drugs at a global stage in the near future.
• The unveiling is among a series of events building up to February 2026’s AI Impact Summit, to be hosted by India.
• “The impact that AI can have, not just on India’s economy but the global economy, is so profound and so significant that we need to take the leadership position in this area,” IT Secretary S. Krishnan said.
• Skilling workers whose roles are threatened by AI is key, the report said, recommending “mapping job shifts annually, embedding lifelong learning into career pathways, scaling MSME digital upskilling, and protecting gig and platform workers.”

• Vaishali retains Grand Swiss title, qualifies for Candidates

Context: R. Vaishali is the champion once again at the FIDE Grand Swiss. In one of the most prestigious events in the chess calendar, the 24-year-old from Chennai showed her class.

• She was a surprise winner in the women’s section of the last edition of the tournament on the Isle of Man in 2023. This time around, in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, she retained her title, and thus booked a ticket for next year’s Candidates tournament, the qualifying event for the World championship.
• She has ensured that at least three of those eight female Candidates would be Indian. That is quite a feat. (Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh are the others).
• In the last Grand Swiss, the male champion was also from Indian – Vidit Gujrathi — but this time around, there was disappointment for the country. The two Candidates slots have been won by Anish Giri and Matthias Bluebaum, by finishing as the champion and runner-up in the open section. Nihal Sarin was in a good position to take one of those spots for much of the tournament, but he faltered towards the end.
• But Vaishali’s brilliant effort should bring joy to Indian chess, which is continuing to rise and rise. And it is another great boost to the women’s game, coming as it does less than two months after Divya’s World Cup triumph.

Divya rightly chose to compete in the open section of the Grand Swiss – as she had already qualified for the Candidates – and played above her strength. She and Vaishali should inspire the Indian girls.

Current Affairs: 15th Sept 2025

• Centre reopens PLI scheme for white goods till Oct. 14, cites market growth

Context: The Union government has reopened the application window for the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for white goods, it said on Sunday, citing market growth and growing industry confidence following the success of earlier rounds of the scheme.

• “The application window for the PLI Scheme for white goods (Air Conditioners and LED lights) is being reopened based on the appetite of the industry to invest more under the scheme, which is an outcome of the growing market and confidence generated due to manufacturing of key components of ACs and LED lights in India under the PLI for white goods scheme,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

More investments

• The application window for the scheme will remain open between September 15 and October 14.
• The release further said that in order to avoid any discrimination, both new applicants as well as existing beneficiaries of the scheme who want to invest more would be eligible to apply, subject to the guidelines.
• So far, the Ministry said, 83 applicants with committed investment of ₹10,406 crore have been selected as beneficiaries under the scheme. “The investments will lead to manufacturing of components of Air Conditioners and LED lights across the complete value chain including components which are not manufactured in India presently with sufficient quantity,” it said.
• The Union Cabinet had given its approval for the PLI scheme for white goods for the manufacture of components and sub-assemblies of ACs and LED lights in April 2021. The scheme was to be implemented over seven years, from the financial year 2021-22 to 2028-29, with an outlay of ₹6,238 crore.

• House panel says govt. must explore feasibility of licensing requirements for AI content creators

Context: A parliamentary committee has recommended that the government explore the feasibility of licensing requirements for AI content creators and making labelling of AI-generated videos and content mandatory, as part of efforts to combat the spread of fake news.

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey, also asked the government to devise legal and technological measures to identify and prosecute individuals and organisations disseminating such content.
• The committee’s draft report was recently submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and will be tabled in Parliament during the next session. It also called for “close coordination between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and other Ministries and departments”.
• While the committee’s suggestions are not binding, its recommendations are often accepted by the government.
• The panel noted that MeitY has already constituted a nine-member body to examine challenges arising from “the issue of deepfakes”.
• Two ongoing projects in this regard include fake speech detection using a deep learning framework and the design and development of software to identify deepfake videos and images, it said.
• The report observed that advances in technology, particularly in AI, could provide tools to address concerns over fake news. However, the Ministries concerned had conveyed that AI, in its current form, cannot be used for fact-checking as it relies on pre-existing information available online. Instead, AI could help flag potentially fake or misleading content for human review, the committee said.
• “AI and machine learning (ML) technologies are increasingly being employed to enhance the ability to detect, verify, and prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation,” the committee noted, adding that several research projects and initiatives are exploring such uses.
• Calling fake news a “serious threat” to public order and the democratic process, the committee recommended amending penal provisions, increasing fines, and fixing accountability. It also favoured the mandatory presence of fact-checking mechanisms and internal ombudsmen in all print, digital, and electronic media organisations.
• At the same time, it stressed that such measures should evolve through consensus-building among media bodies and other stakeholders.

• 99% of goods in 12% GST bracket moved to 5%, says Sitharaman

Context: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Sunday that the GST regime had benefited both the people and the State governments.

• Speaking on “Tax reforms for rising Bharat” at a joint conclave of the Trade and Industries Association, she said that in the latest GST reforms, 99% of all the goods in the 12% GST bracket had come under the 5% bracket. “This is a reform which touches the lives of all 140 crore people. The GST rate cuts in the range of 10-13% will reduce the expenses for people and they can use that extra savings elsewhere,” Ms. Sitharaman said.
• She expressed confidence that the companies would pass on the benefits to the consumers.
• “When the GST was introduced in 2017, there were 65 lakh taxpayers. Today there are 1.51 crore taxpayers,” she said.
• “The gross GST receipts which were ₹7.19 lakh crore in 2017 has now touched ₹22 lakh crore. On average, per-month GST collection is ₹1.9 lakh crore or ₹2 lakh crore for Central and State governments which is divided in the ratio of 50:50. If the monthly GST collection is ₹1.8 lakh crore, ₹90,000 crore goes to the States and ₹90,000 crore comes to the Centre. Out of the Centre’s ₹90,000 crore, 41% goes to the States.”
• Ms. Sitharaman said that almost eight months of work had gone into the GST 2.0 reforms and the rate rationalisation had been effected with the cooperation of the Finance Ministers of all States in the GST Council. “GST rates for over 350 items have been reduced,” she noted.
• “Systems have been simplified so that GST registration can be done in three days,” Ms. Sitharaman said. “Another major step is addressing the product classification problems in GST 2.0,” she said.
• “Now we have brought all food items at 5% or 0%. So there is no classification problem. We have brought similar classification for one type of goods. We worked on it for eight months looking into each item and what category it should be classified,” Ms. Sitharaman said.
• She said the cut in personal income tax rates, bringing in the new Income Tax Act and the GST reforms had all been done in a span of eight months.
• Speaking at the event, A.R. Unnikrishnan, chairman of the CII Tamil Nadu State Council, and G.S.K. Velu, chairman, Federation of Indian Chambers Of Commerce and Industry and Tamil Nadu State Council, welcomed the GST reforms.
• Linesh Sanatkumar, president, Hindustan Chamber of Commerce, said the increase in GST rate of paper and paperboard to 18% from 12% had come as a major shock.
• Tamil Nadu Traders Association president A.M. Vikramaraja flagged the issue of harassment of traders by some GST officials and sought formation of a committee to address the issue.

• PM inaugurates India’s first bamboo-based ethanol plant

Context: Golaghat facility billed as world’s first green bamboo bioethanol plant; ₹7,230-crore polypropylene project also initiated at Numaligarh Refinery; the facility aims to reduce dependence on fossil fuels

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored the need for India to be self-sufficient in energy. He was speaking after inaugurating the country’s first bamboo-based ethanol plant in eastern Assam’s Golaghat district.
• He laid the foundation stone for a ₹7,230-crore polypropylene plant at the Numaligarh Refinery. The project will be established near the ₹5,000-crore bioethanol plant, a “zero-waste” facility described as the world’s first to produce ethanol from green bamboo.
• Terming the bioethanol plant a step toward ensuring energy security, Mr. Modi said the facility aimed to promote clean energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

• “Assam is a land that supports India’s energy efficiency. The petroleum products from Assam are accelerating the development of India.
• “India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world now. Our energy needs have been increasing with our Viksit Bharat dream. We spend crores of rupees on imports as we are dependent on other countries for energy. We want to change this by trying to achieve self-sufficiency in energy,” the Prime Minister said.

Deep-water exploration

• “While we are focusing on hydrocarbon exploration, we are also laying stress on green energy like solar,” he said, highlighting the country’s national deep-water exploration mission to look for hydrocarbons under the sea. Referring to the bioethanol plant, Mr. Modi said it would benefit local farmers and tribal communities.
• “The government will help them grow and procure the products to ensure a win-win situation,” he said. He criticised the erstwhile Congress governments for penalising people for cutting bamboo, which was earlier categorised as a tree. He said the BJP government removed the ban on bamboo cutting and stressed that the decision was helping the locals in this part of the country.
• Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) officials said five lakh tonnes of green bamboo would be sourced yearly from four northeastern States, including Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, to produce 48,900 tonnes of ethanol, 11,000 tonnes of acetic acid, 19,000 tonnes of furfural, and 31,000 tonnes of food-grade liquid carbon dioxide. A joint venture of NRL and Finland’s Fortum and Chempolis OY, the plant is expected to give a ₹200-crore boost to Assam’s rural economy.

• India must invest more in accelerating diversification of food production: FAO Chief Economist Maximo Cullen

Context: About 40.4% of the Indian population (approximately 60 crore people) are unable to afford a healthy meal, says Maximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

• Dr. Cullen said the number was a significant decrease from the FAO’s assessment in 2023 that 74.1% of India’s population was unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021.
• He said India needed to start to invest more in accelerating the diversification of food production.
• Dr. Cullen said India played a crucial role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of zero hunger by 2030 because of the level, size, and population of the country.
• “Reduction of hunger in India affects the world and affects, of course, South Asia. So India, I think, has a huge role to play. That’s why we believe it’s so important that they continue and accelerate the transformation. India needs to move to the higher level — that is access to healthy diets, which right now is 40.4% of the population. So we need to improve that even more and also to find ways to assure this today and tomorrow,” he said.

• “The Green Revolution played its role, but now it’s time to do more. So don’t forget about it, but do more. We need to do more,” Dr. Cullen said.
• On the FAO’s assessment in 2023 that 74.1% of India’s population was unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021, he said that in 2024, the percentage of the population that could not afford a healthy meal was 40.4.
• “The methodology is improved. So yes, there is an important decrease. So the number to compare is basically to look at the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World [SOFI] of this year to look at the previous year’s number. But yes, there is a significant improvement, but still it’s too high. Healthy diet is diversity. It means fruits and vegetables, proteins, and also means cereals. More than 40% of the country’s population cannot afford a healthy diet. So it’s a minimum cost to healthy diet,” the FAO Chief Economist said.

Address the situation

• Dr. Cullen added that the immediate step the Indian government should take to address the situation was diversification.
• “India needs to start to invest more in accelerating the diversification of production. To move from cereals to high-value commodities. Pulses could be an option because they are more nutritious, they also have proteins. So pulses is an option and this is very consistent with your culture. But India should move more to fruits and vegetables and that requires an effort because you will need to substitute at some point,” he said.

Tariff war

• On the tariff war, he said the first problem of tariffs was inefficiencies.
• “You will be more inefficient in the way you move commodities. Because before you were optimising the world, now the world is segmented. The world that wants low tariffs, but the world that has now high tariffs. The second issue is uncertainty. The changes of tariffs every day has created a lot of uncertainty and that complicates markets. Although markets have already learned how to manage this uncertainty, so things don’t change too much,” he said.
• He, however, said the impact of food insecurity due to tariffs was not so high, but inefficiencies would be high.
• “But assume they get into a situation where you play tit-for-tat, then this could be very dangerous. It’s not happening at this point, countries are not responding. So let’s see how it evolves, but uncertainty and inefficiencies will make us less resilient for sure, because we will have less places where to have food access because of the tariffs. It will affect farmers, it will affect the smallholders, especially will affect the farmers who are more linked to the markets. But what will happen at the end is that you will have a segmented trade,” he said.

Current Affairs: 14th Sept 2025

EC claims ‘exclusive’ power to decide how and when to hold SIR

The Election Commission (EC) has, in no uncertain terms, told the Supreme Court to leave alone its “exclusive jurisdiction” to decide when and how to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The EC was responding to a petition seeking a judicial direction from the top court to the panel to conduct SIR at “regular intervals” across the country to identify and expel foreign infiltrators enrolled as voters. The EC said its power to decide if a revision exercise would be intensive or summary would “depend on the situation”. The call was entirely its own and outside the judicial ambit.

“The decision to conduct a summary or an intensive revision of the electoral roll is left to the discretion of the EC. The EC has complete discretion over the policy of revision to the exclusion of any other authority,” it submitted.

Provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electoral Rules, 1960 gave the EC “complete discretion on the timing of the revisional exercise”. “The obligation to conduct a revision is not couched within a timeline,” the EC noted. It said the law allowed it power to hold a special revision of the rolls of any constituency or part of it “in such a manner as it may think fit”.

The petitioner, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, said periodic SIR before every general, State and local body elections was necessary to protect the purity of the electoral process. But the panel would brook no interference from the courts.

“A direction to conduct SIR at ‘regular intervals’ throughout the country would encroach the exclusive jurisdiction of the Election Commission,” the poll body said.

The exchange has come in the middle of an ongoing dispute over the Bihar SIR exercise, which petitioners, including Opposition political parties, have claimed to be “citizenship screening” in the guise of a revisional exercise of the State’s electoral roll.

The poll body assured that it was “fully cognisant of its statutory duty to maintain the purity and integrity of the electoral rolls”.

The EC confirmed there would be a nationwide SIR with January 1, 2026 as the qualifying date.

“There is a letter of July 5 to all Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of States and UTs to initiate immediate pre-revision activities for the SIR of electoral rolls with reference to January 1, 2026 as the qualifying date on a nationwide basis,” the EC informed the court.

The poll body said it had convened a conference of all the CEOs of the States and Union Territories in New Delhi on September 10 to “further strengthen and coordinate preparatory measures for conducting SIR” nationwide.

‘Impose tariffs on Russian oil buyers’

The U.S. has asked G7 countries to impose tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia, asserting that only “unified efforts” that cut off funding to Moscow’s war machine at source can apply sufficient pressure to end “the senseless killing” in Ukraine.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer were on a call with G7 Finance Ministers when they reiterated Donald Trump’s call for imposing tariffs.

The U.S. has asked G7 members to impose tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia, asserting that only “unified efforts” that cut off funding to Moscow’s war machine at source can apply sufficient pressure to end “the senseless killing”.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, were on a call with G7 Finance Ministers on Friday when they reiterated President Donald Trump’s call to the bloc’s partners about imposing tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia.

G7 is an intergovernmental bloc of rich, industrialised countries comprising the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K.

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump said he was ready to sanction Moscow, but on the condition that all NATO allies agree to completely halt purchases of Russian oil and implement their own sanctions.

He also suggested members of the transatlantic alliance consider slapping tariffs of 50% to 100% on China as a way to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine. “I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA,” Mr. Trump said in a social media post, which he described as a letter to all NATO nations and the world.

The U.S. has imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods, including a 25% additional duty for India’s purchase of Russian crude oil.

Mr. Trump branded NATO nations’ purchase of Russian oil “shocking” and said it weakens their bargaining power over Moscow. “Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when?”

“I believe that (NATO sanctions on Russia), plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR,” Mr. Trump added.

Confusion over clearances for Great Nicobar project persists

Months before seeking a report from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration on alleged violations of forest rights while executing the ₹81,000-crore Great Nicobar Islands development and infrastructure project, the Tribal Affairs Ministry had told a Bench of the Calcutta High Court that it should be dropped as a party in a petition that challenged the project’s clearances on the same grounds.

The court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the forest clearance. The petitions, filed by the former official Meena Gupta, argue that provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 were violated in obtaining the consent of the tribespeople to divert about 13,000 hectares of forestland for the project, which includes a transshipment port, an airport, a power plant, and a township.

Earlier this week, the Ministry sought a “factual report” from the islands administration on a fresh complaint from the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar that processes under the Act had not even been initiated in Nicobar, contrary to what the Deputy Commissioner of Nicobar certified in August 2022, claiming that all rights under the legislation had been identified and settled and consent obtained for diversion.

The Union Environment and Tribal Affairs Ministries and the islands administration had filed pleadings before the court between January and February. In these affidavits, the Environment Ministry said it was yet to receive a compliance report from the islands administration on the completion of all 37 conditions imposed in its Stage I clearance for the project, of which one is the FRA compliance.

In defending itself and insisting that all procedures under the FRA were followed, the islands administration has accused the petitioner of “cloaking” a “private interest litigation” petition as a public interest litigation petition.

FRA is State domain

However, the Tribal Affairs Ministry, the nodal Ministry for the FRA, has submitted that it should be “removed from the list of respondents”, arguing that the implementation of the law falls upon the respective State or Union Territory. In its February 19 affidavit, the Ministry denied and disputed all assertions made in the petition.

Notably, with regard to the no-objection certificate issued by it in 2020 for the project, mandating FRA compliance, the Ministry said the NOC was “given on the basis of facts given by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration in the denotification proposal”.

This comes even as Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram told The Hindu in 2024 that his Ministry would look into the clearances obtained for the project. Earlier this year, Mr. Oram had said at a public event that the Ministry was looking into the concerns raised about the project.

Land a State subject

In its complaint, the Tribal Council for Little and Great Nicobar alleged that this certificate amounted to a “false” representation as the process for recognising and vesting rights under the FRA had not even been initiated on the Nicobar islands.

However, in submissions to the High Court, the Environment Ministry has not mentioned this certificate.

It has said that land is a State subject, further asserting that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal Ministry for the Forest Rights Act, 2006. In its affidavit, dated January 14, it went on to submit that no provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023, “abrogate” any part of the FRA.

SC restores Rajasthan royal estates to Khetri Trust

The Supreme Court has restored the ₹3,000-crore historic estates of a Constituent Assembly member and former parliamentarian, Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh, to a trust he created for charitable purposes after a nearly four-decade-old litigation with the State of Rajasthan over his will.

The court’s recent order, published on Saturday, would act as a precedent against the government interfering in or caveating private wills without first proving intestacy (absence of a will) and a complete absence of heirs. A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma realised Singh’s instruction in his 1985 will to bequeath his assets to the Khetri Trust, an organisation founded by the former Rajasthan royal, who played a part in the framing of the Constitution, to promote education and advance the study of science, literature and the arts in India.

The Khetri Trust website shows the chairman as Maharaja Gaj Singh, a former Rajya Sabha member and former Indian High Commissioner. The trustees include Prithvi Raj Singh; Lord Northbrook (Francis Thomas Baring), a British Conservative politician; Ajit Singh, Additional Director-General of Police of Rajasthan; and Kanupriya Harish, a development specialist. The estates include landed properties and palaces in Jaipur, Khetri, Chiwara, Singhana, Kotputli, and Mount Abu in Rajasthan.

The estates had been locked in a dispute with the State of Rajasthan, which had claimed them on the principle of escheat (heirless property devolving to the state). The State had contested the will, claiming Mr. Singh had died ‘intestate’ or without a will.

The State had refused to give up the litigation even after a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court probated or validated the authenticity of Singh’s will. Upholding the High Court decision, the top court Bench observed the State government was a “stranger” which had no locus standi (the right to bring a dispute to court) whatsoever to challenge the former royal’s will.

“Only when there is failure of heirs that the estate of an intestate Hindu would devolve on the Government under Section 29 (principle of escheat) of the Hindu Succession Act. This means that till that stage arrives, the government is a stranger to the probate proceedings and any proceeding regarding succession under the personal law,” the Bench said.

The court further noted that a grant of probate by a competent court of law could be challenged only by likely heirs of the testator either through an appeal or by seeking revocation of the probate. The State cannot presume locus standi by merely invoking the Rajasthan Escheat Regulation Act of 1956, the court said.

About 60% of India’s outward FDI goes to ‘tax havens’

An analysis of RBI data by The Hindu shows that nearly 56% of such investments in 2024-25 were

in low tax jurisdictions such as Singapore, Mauritius, UAE, the Netherlands, U.K. and Switzerland

Indian companies are increasingly leveraging low-tax jurisdictions abroad to channel their foreign investments in a bid to increase their global presence, according to data as well as tax and investment experts.

An analysis by The Hindu of data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which closely tracks outward investments by Indian companies, shows that nearly 56% of such investments in 2024-25 were in low tax jurisdictions (commonly called tax havens) such as Singapore, Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

In other words, out of the total ₹3,488.5 crore of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by India in 2024-25, about ₹1,946 crore went to these low tax jurisdictions.

In fact, just three of these countries — Singapore (22.6%), Mauritius (10.9%), and the UAE (9.1%) — accounted for more than 40% of India’s outward FDI in 2024-25.

Further, this trend seems to have increased in intensity in the current financial year. In the first quarter, these low tax jurisdictions accounted for 63% of India’s total outward FDI. However, while countries around the world, including India, have sought to crack down on the trend of companies shifting profits to these tax havens, experts have said that choosing these low tax jurisdictions is also a strategic imperative for Indian companies, and not just a tax issue.

“If Indian companies are making investments outside India, then having them through a company set up in one of these jurisdictions makes a lot of sense,” according to Riaz Thingna, Partner, Grant Thornton Bharat.

He said that, if an Indian company is looking to set up a subsidiary in Europe, the US, or any other country, then doing it through a special purpose vehicle in Singapore or a similar jurisdiction will help them in getting strategic investors, and in providing better tax positioning at the time of stake dilution.

“These jurisdictions are also more flexible in transferring funds and investments on a day-to-day basis,” Mr. Thingna explained. So, very often, these investments are not being made only to evade, avoid or reduce tax. They are often made because these jurisdictions form platforms for investment in third countries.”

First level

Vaibhav Luthra, Tax Partner at EY India, too, explained that the RBI data does not provide the ultimate investment destination, but only shows the first level of outward investments.

According to Luthra, these low-tax or “tax efficient” jurisdictions not only provide a tax advantage, but also offer tax stability. Apart from this, they also come with other advantages for Indian companies looking to invest abroad.

“A lot of the time, for things like fund raising, or for an investor coming in, they usually like coming in at these intermediate jurisdictions,” he explained. Also, having an entity in the middle also protects the Indian parent company.”

Mr. Thingna also pointed to the propensity of foreign companies to choose a low-tax jurisdiction to form a joint venture rather than in India.

“If the Indian company is looking for a strategic partner, a strategic partner from any other country will be happier investing into the Singapore entity, or one in a similar jurisdiction, than into the Indian entity because of our FDI regulations, our taxation and various other elements,” Mr. Thingna explained.

The RBI data also points to this trend.

The data for July 2025, the latest available data on outward investment, shows that joint ventures accounted for almost 60% of the investments made by Indian companies in the low-tax jurisdictions.

Tariff outcome

Mr. Thingna was also of the belief that the high tariffs imposed by the U.S. on imports from India could induce Indian companies to invest abroad, if they continue.

“There could be a lot of companies who will set up subsidiaries and other entities outside India, where the value addition is done, and accordingly escape the harsher tariffs on India,” Mr. Thingna said.

“This has not happened yet, as the tariffs are recent, but it could happen.”

Corteva launches 

pesticides for use 

on potato, grapes

The Hindu Bureau 

New Delhi

Global pesticides company Corteva Agriscience has launched two pesticides against diseases like ‘Downy Mildew’ in grapes and ‘Late Blight’ in potatoes.

The company claimed that both the chemicals will transform potato, grapes cultivation in India.

A release from Corteva said building on the globally successful Zorvec technology, this advanced solution offers growers protection against the devastating diseases and will lead to healthier crops, higher yields and superior quality produce.

“Zorvec Entecta delivers a unique combination of advanced chemistry and powerful performance. Its active ingredients provide strong and reliable control against oomycetes plant diseases,” it said.

The release added that the chemical is secure and protected from wash-off just 20 minutes after application.

What are Foreigners Tribunals’ new powers?

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently notified Rules, Order and Exemption Order, which made the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 operational. Parliament passed the legislation to regulate all matters relating to foreigners and immigration in April. It repealed and replaced several Acts, the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920; the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939; the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000.

What was the rationale?

The Government said a new legislation was required to avoid multiplicity and overlapping of laws on passports or other travel documents in respect of persons entering and exiting from India, and to regulate matters related to foreigners’ visa, registration and immigration issues. Though most provisions in the newly notified Rules, Order and Exemption Order were there in past notifications, certain new clauses and conditions have been added, considering the vast changes that have occurred after the original pre-Independence Acts came into existence.

What does the Immigration and Foreigners Rules say?

For the first time, the Rules legally designate the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) to “examine cases of immigration fraud” and co-ordinate with the States to identify, deport or restrict the movement of foreigners and collate and maintain an immigration database among others. Though the BOI earlier also performed similar functions, its role was regulatory and not mentioned in the law. In another first, the Rules insert legal provision for recording of biometric information of all foreigners, earlier restricted to a few visa categories and enforceable through executive orders of the MHA.

Educational institutes will have to inform the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) about all foreign students and even provide semester-wise “academic performance” summary such as attendance details and “general conduct” report. While earlier, the “civil authority” could direct to shut down any premise such as a resort, club or an entertainment place if it was frequented by foreigners who are “undesirable”, involved in crime or members of an unlawful group, the new Rules add “illegal migrant” to the list too.

The Rules define the role of an “immigration officer”, who will be officers provided by the Intelligence Bureau.

What does the Immigration and Foreigners Order, 2025 entail?

Foreigners Tribunals (FT), so far unique to Assam, have been given the powers of a first class judicial magistrate. It paves the way to send a person to a detention or a holding centre if he or she fails to produce any proof that they are “not a foreigner”. The 2025 Order that replaces the Foreigners (Tribunal) Order, 1964 empowers FTs to issue arrest warrants if an individual whose nationality has been contested fails to appear in person.

According to Assam’s Home Department, there were 11 Illegal Migrant Determination Tribunals (IMDT) in the State which were converted to tribunals after the Supreme Court scrapped the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 in 2005. A total of 100 FTs is currently operational in Assam. The number of FTs were enhanced after the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published in 2019 in Assam on the orders of the top court. The NRC, again unique to Assam, excluded 19 lakh out of 3.29 crore applicants and FTs were to give adequate opportunity to those excluded to present their case. The State government has challenged the NRC in its current form and the final register is yet to be printed. Those excluded are yet to be provided with rejection slips.

Earlier, the FTs could have unspecified number of members, now the number of members has been capped at three, and the ex-parte orders can be set aside if the appellant files the review within 30 days. FTs are functional only in Assam. In other States, an illegal migrant is produced before a local court.

The order also legally allows border guarding forces or the coast guard to prevent illegal migrants attempting to enter into India by sending them back after capturing their biometric information and available demographic details on the designated portal of the Central Government. The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Assam Rifles (AR) posted along the Bangladesh and Myanmar borders had been practising this through executive orders of the MHA — now, it has been stipulated under law.

What is the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025?

The Order exempts Nepalese, Bhutanese and Tibetans from the provisions of the Act. It has, however, added two other categories. Registered Sri Lankan Tamil nationals who have taken shelter in India up to January 9, 2015 have been exempted from the provisions of sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) of Section 3 (requirement of passport or other travel document or visa) of the 2025 Act. The notification also exempts undocumented members of six minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan from penal provisions and deportation if they entered India without passports or visas, or with expired travel documents, before December 31, 2024. MHA officials clarified that while minorities from the three countries could apply for long-term visas (LTVs), a precursor to citizenship, this is not applicable for Sri Lankan Tamils.

Current Affairs: 12th Sept 2025

• SC will not sit idle if a wing of democracy fails to do its duty: CJI

Context: The Supreme Court will not “sit idle” and powerless if a constitutional authority fails to discharge his duties, no matter how high he may be, Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai has said.

• The CJI voiced the court’s firm resolve on the final day of a Presidential Reference hearing, which has brought into sharp focus the schism between non-BJP-ruled States and their Governors over delay in clearing crucial laws.

‘Separation of powers’

• “Howsoever high an authority may be, he is not above the law… I am a strong believer in the doctrine of separation of powers. I believe that judicial activism must not turn into judicial terrorism. But at the same time, if one wing of democracy fails in the discharge of his duties, would the court, which is the custodian of the Constitution, be powerless and forced to sit idle,” the CJI asked the Union government.
• The Union government has used the hearing to criticise the top court for encroaching on the domains of Governors and the President.
• The bone of contention which led to the Presidential Reference is an April 8 judgment of the Supreme Court which imposed a three-month deadline on Governors and the President to deal with Bills placed before them for assent or consideration, respectively.
• The court had, in the judgment, held that whims and fancies of Governors cannot hold up governance by endlessly sitting on important legislation passed by State legislatures for the welfare of their people.
• Representing the Union government, Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta said the court’s attempt to compel a “one-size-fits-all” solution by “imposing” a uniform time frame for all Bills would prove “self-destructive”.

‘Context-based issues’

• “Every Bill has its own context-based issues. Some may require the Governor to have further deliberations and consultations. There are times when a State, while knowing that a Bill may eventually harm the State, is forced to bow to public pressure to pass it. In such cases, the State may tell the Governor to hold the Bills.
• Thus, imposing straitjacket time limits may become self-destructive. Each case turns on its own peculiar facts,” the Solicitor General argued. Mr. Mehta said the top court cannot issue a mandamus to Governors to assent to Bills. Gubernatorial assent was part of legislative process. Courts cannot interfere in law-making.
• “Yes, we cannot ask a Governor to take a decision in a particular manner, but the court can very well ask the Governor to take a decision. A mandamus can be issued to the Governor to decide,” Justice Kant replied pithily.
• Mr. Mehta challenged the narrative that Governors were consistently delaying Bills. He said a majority of Bills, in the last 50 years, were given assent by Governors in a month’s time.
• “Even in the case of Tamil Nadu, except for 10 disputed Bills, assent was usually given in a month. The Governor does not sit over Bills endlessly,” Mr. Mehta submitted.
• Chief Justice Gavai said the Constitution’s framers had envisaged an atmosphere of mutual accord while envisaging the role of the Governors in States. “While the Constitution framers were considering the position of the Governors, the expectation was it would be an existence in harmony. That while appointing Governors, the provincial governments (States now) would be taken on board…” the Chief Justice remarked.
• Mr. Mehta reacted that State-Governor relationships had seen decades of harmony before the Delhi government, during the Aam Aadmi Party regime, started filing writ petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution against the Lieutenant-Governor.
• Attorney-General R. Venkataramani said the Governor should be given the discretion to either assent or withhold a Bill after testing its constitutionality.
• “There is nothing wrong in a Governor deciding to withhold assent to a Bill and sending back a message to the State Assembly about his decision. The question here is whether a Governor can withhold endlessly without sending any message,” Chief Justice Gavai observed. The Presidential Reference was reserved for judgment.

• ‘Project Khushi’ for police personnel

Context: The Bengaluru city police, in association with Happiest Health,launched ‘Project Khushi,’ a health and wellness programme designed to help police personnel prevent and manage lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and metabolic disorders.

• According to a release, the proposed project includes in-person expert-led classes and digital learning modules with six live sessions over three months led by specialists in endocrinology, nutrition, ayurveda, yoga, and mindfulness .
• Weekly digital modules are delivered via web stories, articles, videos and tips and a dedicated WhatsApp support group offering daily nudges, exercise prompts, and nutrition tips.
• It includes comprehensive health assessments at the start and conclusion of the programme, including tests for glycaemic control, organ function, thyroid health, vitamin levels.
• Participants will undergo a comprehensive health test at the start and end of the program.

• ETM upgrade key to rollout of Shakti scheme smart cards in State

Context: More than two years after the launch of Karnataka’s flagship Shakti Scheme, smart cards promised to women beneficiaries are yet to be distributed. The Transport Department has attributed the delay to the lack of compatible electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) across the four State-run road transport corporations.

• While the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has already upgraded its ETMs, the rollout of uniform machines across the other corporations is yet to be completed.

• The Shakti scheme, introduced on June 11, 2023, as the first of the Congress government’s five guarantees, allows women, including transgender persons and students, to travel for free on non-premium State-run buses. The scheme has been immensely popular, recently earning a place in the Golden Book of World Records for ferrying the highest number of women passengers under a free-travel programme. As of July 31, 2025, over 516.95 crore trips were completed under the scheme.

• Despite this success, the smart card system envisioned to streamline ticketing and data collection remains in the pipeline. Currently, female passengers can show any valid government-issued identity card to avail of a ‘zero ticket’ from conductors.

Why the delay

• Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that the smart card plan is still on the table, but has been delayed. “The issuance of smart cards has been stalled because not all our ETMs can read and validate them. KSRTC has upgraded its machines, but similar ETMs need to be introduced across all four corporations for uniformity,”.
• Earlier, the Transport Department, in collaboration with the Centre for e-Governance (CeG), developed prototypes of the cards. These cards, built on ‘tap-and-travel’ technology, would allow women passengers to tap their card on a conductor’s ETM to validate their journey. The backend system has already been designed to handle registration, data collection, card procurement, and linking to central servers.
• “The technology part is largely ready, including systems for registration, issuing, and linking data. What remains is ensuring that all four RTCs adopt the same ETMs, so that the cards can work seamlessly across the State,” Mr. Reddy explained.

Cabinet approval

• To address these issues, the Transport Department conducted a Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) meeting with officials from all four RTCs on August 2, 2024. The meeting highlighted the incompatibility of existing ETMs as the primary hurdle.
• “Based on the suggestions at the meeting, KSRTC introduced new ETMs capable of reading smart cards. The procurement process for upgrading ETMs in the other corporations is underway. Once completed, smart cards can be rolled out,” Mr. Reddy said.
• The proposal to distribute the cards will soon be placed before the State Cabinet. “After Cabinet approval, the smart cards will be issued without delay,” he assured.
• While the scheme currently functions smoothly with the use of identity cards, officials admit that smart cards could improve efficiency. At present, conductors issue tickets after manually verifying ID cards of passengers, which often leads to longer boarding times.

Benefits

• “Smart cards will save time for both conductors and passengers. More importantly, they will allow the government to generate accurate data on usage patterns, routes, and beneficiary profiles. This data could also guide policy decisions on public transport planning,” a senior Transport Department official said.
• At the time of the scheme’s launch, women were asked to register on the official portal and provide a valid government-issued ID to receive Shakti smart cards. However, due to the ETM issues, the smart card distribution has not taken place. Instead, the temporary arrangement of showing ID cards continues to this day.
• Meanwhile, a recent study titled ‘Beyond Free Rides: A Multi-State Assessment of Women’s Bus Fare Subsidy Schemes in Urban India’, commissioned by the Sustainable Mobility Network and conducted by Nikore Associates, found that the Shakti Scheme in Karnataka has led to a 23% rise in women’s employment in Bengaluru and a 21% increase in Hubballi-Dharwad.

• HAL gets 3rd engine for LCA Mk1A

Context: The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) said that it has received the third GE 404 engine from General Electric (GE) Aerospace for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1A.

• The Bengaluru-headquartered defence PSU said that while the third GE 404 engine has been received, the fourth will be delivered by the U.S. firm by the end of the month.
• “HAL has received the third GE 404 engine for LCA Mk1A. One more engine is scheduled to be delivered by the end of September. Engine supply chain improvement will pave the way for LCA Mk1A deliveries,” HAL said in a statement. In January 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Security had approved the procurement of 73 LCA Tejas Mk1A fighter aircraft and 10 LCA Tejas Mk1 trainer aircraft at the cost of ₹ 45,696 crore, along with design and development of infrastructure sanctions worth ₹1,202 crore.
• As per the plan, the deliveries of all 83 aircraft would have to be completed in eight years.
• “HAL will be delivering the first three aircraft in the third year and 16 aircraft per year for the five subsequent years,” the Ministry of Defence had said in February 2021.
• However, there have been delays in the deliveries of LCA Mk1As by HAL.
• Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, during the Aero India 2025 in February, had criticised the PSU over the delays and said he was “just not confident” of HAL. HAL, however, had said that the delays in handing over of the aircraft to Indian Air Force (IAF) were due to supply chain issues of GE.
• “When the IAF Chief made the mention (about delays), we did not have a single engine from GE, though the airframe was ready. The first engine came in April and we are now getting the second one. This is the primary reason why the deliveries have been held up,” HAL Chairman and Managing Director D.K. Sunil.
• Mr. Sunil said that if GE delivers 12 engines as assured, HAL will be able to have 12 aircraft ready by the end of this financial year.

• Special Cabinet meeting on Sept. 16 to discuss UKP-III

Context: In a bid to give a push to the third phase of the Upper Krishna Project (UKP-III), which is currently mired in controversy and in limbo due to the land acquisition issue, the State government has scheduled a special Cabinet meeting for September 16 to arrive at a decision on the land acquisition issue.

• “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar have been holding consultations with the leaders and farmers’ representatives from the region. To complete the project, we need to take the farmers into confidence since over 75,000 acres that will be submerged have to be acquired,” Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil told presspersons in his post-Cabinet briefing.
• Stating that the government intends to provide justice to the farmers, he said that technical and legal issues are to be sorted out, after which a decision could be taken. Though land acquisition rates were informally discussed, no decision was arrived at, he said.
• Meanwhile, government sources stated that farmers could be offered solatium for relinquishing their lands to help irrigate others’ lands, and that the huge compensation could be met through bonds, as the government does not have the necessary funds.

Protocol changed

• Changing the protocol procedures in the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), the State government also decided to restrict the number of persons to be invited and seated on the dais in public functions to a maximum of nine in ordinary circumstances.
• “We have brought changes to the protocol to bring discipline. Earlier, there was no limit. Only in unavoidable circumstances, the maximum number of persons to be invited and seated on the dais will be 13. Respective district in-charge Ministers and Cabinet Ministers will decide on the people whose names are to be included in the invitation and those to be seated on the dais,” Mr. Patil said.
• On fears that the Opposition party members could be ignored in the new protocols, he said that no one would be ignored. Asked what would happen if the protocols are violated, he said that it would be construed as ‘indiscipline’.
• Among other decisions, the Cabinet approved a ₹160 crore package for 11 tribal communities, including Soliga, Hasalaru, Gowdalu, Siddi, Kudiya, Malekudiya, Kadukuruba, Iruliga, Betta Kuruba, Yarava, Paniyan and others, for a housing scheme to 6,856 households under the Chief Minister’s Adivasi Gruha Bhagya scheme and ₹150 crore for Karnataka -Global Information System.
• The Cabinet also approved Karnataka Minor Minerals Concessions (Amendment) Rules, 2025, which seeks to simplify permit fees and bring convenience to farmers and the public.

• State govt. unlikely to take Ordinance route on ballot papers

Context: The State government said that it had recommended to the State Election Commission to use ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and was contemplating promulgating an ordinance to amend the legislation, but may not take the Ordinance route.

SC judgment

• Government sources stated that the government is also considering not taking the Ordinance route, as the Supreme Court, in one of its judgments, has ruled that the choice between ballot paper and EVM in local bodies is left to the State. “Taking the ordinance route may trigger political debate,” said the sources.

• Cyber Command Centre should be made robust: Karnataka High Court

Context: Observing that the Cyber Command Centre (CCC) should not be a mere edifice of bureaucracy but a beacon heralding a new dawn in the fight against cybercrime, the High Court of Karnataka said that officials posted to the CCC should not face frequent transfers.

Directive

• Also, the court directed that it is imperative that the cybercrime helpline 1930 be integrated with the Police Information Technology application that is subsisting and all this to be a part of the CCC besides integration of the system of jurisdictional police station and the CCC for every cybercrime to be brought under the umbrella of the CCC, whether the crime is registered with jurisdictional police or the Cyber, Economic and Narcotic (CEN) police stations.
• Justice M. Nagaprasanna issued the directions while monitoring the progress made in making the CCC operational as per the directions issued by the court in April this year.
• Stating that the CCC must be insulated from external intrusion, the court said the officers, particularly the head of CCC, should not be frequently moved out of the centre, unless warranted at least until a year or two, till the teething problems of CCC or the birth pangs of the establishment do not get obviated.
• “The head of the CCC and his team working in the CCC must not be overnight de-positioned, without the consultation of the head of the CCC. I make it clear that it is consultation and not information, as any investigation by the CCC under way, should not be thwarted by repeated change of officers of the CCC,” Justice Nagaprasanna observed.

Transparency

• The court also made it clear that it would be the duty of the CCC to ensure transparency in its functioning and take steps towards such transparency, including alleged corruption within the CCC.

1930 helpline

• Pointing out that police officers, who act on complaints received on loss of money from bank accounts, take steps for freezing and de-freezing accounts to secure return of lost money without any documents, the court made it clear that it is necessary that the conversation of 1930 helpline should be recorded as part of the police/information technology system.
• If necessary, draw up a zero FIR against each of the complaints received by the helpline, said the court.
• The State government is expected to make the CCC robust, people-friendly, deft and iron-handed to handle cybercrimes, the court said, while directing the head of the CCC to submit a status report by September 24 on the progress in the investigation of cybercrimes or integration of information and technology cases to be done under one roof i.e. CCC.

• Kerala to initiate SIR of electoral rolls soon: CEO

Context: After Bihar, it is Kerala’s turn for the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as the southern State moves towards 2026 Assembly elections.

• Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala, Rathan U. Kelkar, said that his office was awaiting a formal announcement of the SIR schedule for Kerala by the Election Commission of India (EC), but indicated that the roll-out could likely be in October.
• Mr. Kelkar said his office had been laying the groundwork for the exercise and had uploaded the rolls prepared under the 2002 intensive revision, the last time it was held in Kerala, on the CEO Kerala’s website. The SIR arrangements in Kerala were presented at a review held by the EC in New Delhi on the preparedness of States.
• “We have been asked to be ready. I feel it may happen sometime in October,” Mr. Kelkar said, adding that he was planning to meet political parties in the State on September 20.
• Mr. Kelkar sought to allay fears saying that no eligible voter would be left out of the rolls.
• “We don’t feel that SIR will affect any eligible citizen in Kerala. Complaints regarding the electoral roll will be settled once and for all when the SIR is done,” he said, adding that the SIR would make the rolls more “sanitised and healthier” and keep out non-citizens.

• Postal ballots for NRI voters may turn a reality
• Postal ballots for overseas electors may soon become a reality with the Election Commission of India exploring its feasibility.
• Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U. Kelkar said that his office had urged the EC to introduce the facility for the upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala.

• Govt. contemplates raising civil border guards along China border

Context: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is contemplating raising the Border Wing Home Guards (BWHG) along the China border, on the lines of the force patrolling the India-Pakistan border.

• The BWHGs drawn from the civilian population which lives in the border areas act as an ancillary to border guarding forces and the Indian Army during emergencies.
• There are seven States authorised to have BWHGs — Meghalaya, Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• They are now operational only in Rajasthan and their utility was realised during the recent Operation Sindoor when their services were required to collect or disseminate information among the border population.
• As many as 2,279 BWHGs are presently active in Rajasthan. “It is a voluntary force and Rajasthan is the only State which has BWHGs in the present times. They perform the responsibilities of a constable and are usually enlisted for three or four years; 25% cost of training and financial support is borne by the Government of India.
• The usual pay compares to ₹800-900 per day equivalent to that of a constable’s salary,” said the official. The Ministry held a meeting recently on raising the strength of BWHGs for its active engagement with border guarding forces, including the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which is deployed along the 3,488-km border with China.
• Since 2020, more than 50,000 Army and ITBP personnel have been deployed in eastern Ladakh and the raising of BWHGs will help in augmenting the presence and collection of intelligence, a senior government official said.
• Twenty Indian personnel, including a Colonel, were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops on June 20, 2020 along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, in what is possibly the worst incident between the two countries in decades.
• After several rounds of talks, there are 26 patrolling points, out of 65 PPs in eastern Ladakh that are not being patrolled by Indian troops since April-May 2020. The areas being patrolled earlier have been turned into “buffer zones” with the Chinese also not sending troops. PPs are often used to assert territorial claims along the undefined border.

• Police officials must shed all personal biases when they don uniform, says SC

Context: The Supreme Court, in a judgment, warned against communal colours seeping into the khakhi of the police.

• The court issued an unprecedented order that a special investigation team (SIT), comprising an equal number of Muslim and Hindu officers, be formed by the Maharashtra government to investigate allegations of murder and assault made by a 17-year-old Muslim boy during the Akola communal riots of 2023.
• “When members of the police force don their uniforms, they are required to shed their personal predilections and biases, be they religious, racial, casteist or otherwise. They must be true to the call of duty attached to their office and their uniform with absolute and total integrity. Unfortunately, in the case on hand, this did not happen,” Justice Sanjay Kumar observed in the ruling, issued by a Bench which also included Justice Satish Chandra Sharma.
• The case concerned the complaints made by a teenager, Mohammad Afzal Mohammad Sharif, who allegedly witnessed four men — including one who was later identified to have political connections — fatally attacking a man in an autorickshaw during the riots. The men assaulted the boy, leaving him with head injuries.
• Afzal and his father then went to the police station to file a complaint about the murder he witnessed and the assault on himself, but the police took no notice. A subsequent appeal to the Superintendent of Police of Akola came to no avail.
• The murder victim was identified as Vilas Mahadevrao Gaikwad. Afzal had stated that Gaikwad was killed under the mistaken impression that he was a Muslim. “It was for the police to investigate the truth or otherwise of the specific allegations made by the appellant, a 17-year-old boy, who asserted that he was an eyewitness to the murder of Vilas Mahadevrao Gaikwad and was himself assaulted by the very same assailants… If, in fact, the deceased was really murdered under the impression that he belonged to Muslim community and the assailants were not of that community, that was a fact that had to be ascertained after thorough and proper investigation,” Justice Kumar said.
• The State Home Secretary was directed to initiate appropriate disciplinary action against erring police officials for their “patent dereliction of duties”.

• India and Mauritius not just partners but a family: Modi

Context: India and Mauritius are not just partners but a family, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Varanasi, at the signing of agreements to deepen ties between the two countries.

• Following bilateral discussions with his counterpart from Mauritius, Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Mr. Modi said that a stable, prosperous, free, open and secure Indian Ocean was a joint priority of both countries.
• “Centuries ago, our culture and traditions travelled from India to Mauritius, and became a part of everyday life there. Just like the eternal flow of Maa Ganga in Kashi, the continuous stream of Indian culture has enriched Mauritius. And today, when we are welcoming friends from Mauritius in Kashi, it is not just a formality but a spiritual union. That is why I proudly say that India and Mauritius are not just partners but a family,” said Mr. Modi.

• The Prime Minister said Mauritius is an integral part of India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy.

• At a press conference, Mr. Modi said, “Today, we have announced a special economic package designed to support Mauritius’s needs and priorities. This will strengthen infrastructure, create new employment opportunities, and further enhance healthcare facilities.

• The first Jan Aushadhi Kendra outside India has now been established in Mauritius.”

AYUSH centre

• India also announced that it would extend cooperation in establishing an AYUSH Centre of Excellence, a 500-bed Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam National Hospital, as well as a veterinary school and animal hospital in Mauritius.
• The two countries also signed memorandums of understanding to enhance cooperation in science and technology, oceanographic research, power sector and implementation of Phase 2 of small development projects.
• In a proposed hydrography project, the countries will work together on joint surveys, navigation charts, and hydrographic data of the exclusive economic zones of Mauritius.
• “Very soon, we will also launch the training modules of Mission Karmayogi [capacity building for government officials] in Mauritius.
• The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and the Indian Institute of Plantation Management have entered into agreements with the University of Mauritius. These agreements will elevate our partnership in research, education, and innovation to new heights,” added Mr. Modi, lauding the unique “civilisational ties” between the two countries.
• Mr. Ramgoolam, who arrived in Varanasi, witnessed the Ganga Aarti from a cruise in the evening. On Friday morning, he is scheduled to offer prayers at Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham before leaving for Ayodhya.

• Standard of debates should improve: Speaker Om Birla

Context: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressed concern over the lack of meaningful discussions in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State legislatures, and said the standard of debates in the House should improve.

• Speaking at the inaugural function of a three-day Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), India Region, Mr. Birla, who is also the Chairman of the CPA,said the debates in the State legislatures and Parliament should be of high quality to ensure meaningful discussion of laws.
• He expressed concern that the dignity of the debates were getting lowered due to disruptions in the proceedings of the Houses owing to petty political reasons. He urged lawmakers to rise above party lines on issues of national interest and meet the aspirations of people.
• The programme, held at the Vidhana Soudha, was attended by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, and presiding officers of Legislative Assemblies.
• Mr. Siddaramaiah said “a culture of dialogue, commitment to equality, and a willingness to listen, deliberate, and decide together is the true spirit of democracy”.
• He said the Parliament and State legislatures were laboratories of federal democracy, where diversity was debated, dissent was respected, and unity was forged.

• Home Minister launches faster immigration clearance at 5 airports

Context: Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the Fast Track Immigration-Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP), which accelerates the immigration process for preverified Indian nationals and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders, at five more airports.

• After launching the FTI-TTP at Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli, Kozhikode and Amritsar airports, Mr. Shah said travellers would no longer experience long queues or manual checking and would receive immigration clearance in just 30 seconds without delays.
• He said the programme had been launched in alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “speed, scale and scope”. The special initiative was first rolled out at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in July 2024, and two months later, extended to Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin and Ahmedabad.
• Mr. Shah said the facility would not only enhance the convenience of travellers but also provide an opportunity to introduce them to the changes taking place in the country.
• Mr. Shah said with the FTI-TTP, seamless immigration facilities would be available at the designated airports and emphasised that merely providing convenience was not enough, action must be taken to ensure that the maximum number of travellers benefited from it.
• “To achieve this, efforts should be made to enable registration at the time of issuing passports and OCI cards,” he said, adding that if this could be implemented, travellers did not need to return for fingerprinting or documentation and they could travel using their passports whenever they wished.
• “OCI cardholders will benefit the most,” he said, adding that the Home Ministry has planned to integrate this programme with the upcoming Navi Mumbai and Jewar airports.
• About three lakh travellers have registered on this portal, of which 2.65 lakh have utilised it and efforts should be made to increase this number, he said. The FTI-TTP will eventually be launched at 21 major airports in the country.

• First tri-service all-women circumnavigation sailing expedition flagged off

Context: Commemorating women power and the vision of a developed India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually flagged off a historic tri-service all-women circumnavigation sailing expedition — Samudra Pradakshina — from the Gateway of India in Mumbai.

• The expedition is the first of its kind in the world. Addressing the gathering from South Block in New Delhi, Mr. Singh described the initiative, a first of its kind, as a glowing symbol of nari shakti (women power), the jointness of the armed forces, self-reliant India (Aatmanirbhar Bharat) and India’s global vision.

The route

• According to the Ministry of Defence, over the next nine months, 10 women officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force will sail onboard the indigenously-built Indian Army Sailing Vessel (IASV) Triveni, a 50-foot yacht.
• They will follow an easterly route covering nearly 26,000 nautical miles, crossing the Equator twice and rounding the three great Capes — Leeuwin, Horn and Good Hope. They will return to Mumbai in May 2026.

• Centre to conduct 2 key surveys on household finances from July 2026

Context: The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation is all set to conduct two key economic surveys — to measure household finances and to gauge the economic situation of India’s farmers — between July 2026 and June 2027, the Ministry.

• These are the All-India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS) and the Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of Agricultural Households.
• “Both of these nationally representative surveys are scheduled to be conducted from July 2026 to June 2027,” MoSPI said in a press release. “The AIDIS is one of India’s most significant surveys on household finance,” it added. “The SAS of Agricultural Households, first launched in 2003, is designed to assess the economic conditions of farming communities.”
• According to MoSPI, the AIDIS provides “critical” data on household indebtedness and asset ownership across both rural and urban areas. “Its findings are instrumental in shaping national accounts, assessing inequality in asset distribution, understanding credit markets, and informing policies of the RBI, MoSPI, and other government institutions,” it said.
• The SAS of Agricultural Households, on the other hand, includes data on agricultural household income and expenditure, indebtedness and access to credit, land and livestock ownership, crop and livestock production, farming practices and the use of technology, and access to government schemes and crop insurance.
• “The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, NITI Aayog, researchers, and financial institutions utilise the survey findings to shape policies and programmes aimed at agriculture and rural development,” MoSPI noted.

• U.S., Paraguay question India’s hiking of support price for rice

Context: The U.S. and Paraguay, in a joint submission at the WTO, have questioned India’s decision to raise Minimum Support Price (MSP) for rice in 2025 despite “record harvests, exports, stocks, and offloading of stocks for ethanol production”.

• The countries asked India to explain the rationale for increasing the MSP for rice in 2025, while it has been claiming benefits under the ‘Bali Interim Decision’ (that allows WTO subsidy limits to be breached), given India’s record harvests, exports, and stocks exceeding what is necessary to meet domestic food aid needs.
• “While the MSP scheme may be part of India’s domestic public food distribution system, the scheme’s effects on exports and disposal of stocks for non-food purposes appear to go far beyond food security,” the U.S. and Paraguay submitted to the Committee of Agriculture (CoA).

CoA review

• The submission will be taken up for detailed discussions at the CoA review meeting on September 25-26, together with other questions from different members about each other’s policies.

• ‘Working to blend isobutanol with diesel after ethanol blending failed’

Context: The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is working to explore the possibility of blending 10% isobutanol with diesel, Union Minister for Transport Nitin Gadkari.

• At the annual conclave of the India Sugar and Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA), Mr. Gadkari said whilst trials of blending one-tenth ethanol with diesel was not successful, other than the isobutanol blend, it was also being explored for a potential standalone use.

• Isobutanol is an alcoholic compound with flammable properties, and is commonly used as a solvent in many industries including paints and coating.

• Mr. Gadkari’s announcement comes amid the backlash the government received for petrol blended with ethanol at 20%.
• He also said that tractor companies and agricultural equipment manufacturers had expressed eagerness to explore a flex fuel combination of CNG and isobutanol at a recent meeting.
• Mr. Gadkari said using corn to create an ethanol blend was a success, adding farmers had earned more than ₹42,000 crore, with prices spiking from ₹1,200/quintal to “ ₹2,600-2,800/quintal” since they commenced blending.
• Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi urged biofuel producers to increase production and look to enter the global market to export ethanol.
• ISMA president Gautam Goel urged the government to consider, among other things, aligning the fair and remunerative price (FRP) of sugarcane in line with the rising (procurement) costs of cane.
• The industry body chief also sought the government to consider revision in the minimum support price of sugarcane, and increasing the permissible export quota in the sugar season 2025-26.

‘Healthy harvests’

• Sugar production in 2025-2026 season (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026) is likely to be 349 lakh tonnes, which will be significantly more than the production in the current year (2024-25).

• ISMA said that with a favourable monsoon and healthy growth, the crops in Maharashtra and Karnataka are expected to yield healthy harvests.