Current Affairs: 17th Sept 2025

Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, says UN commission

Context: United Nations investigators concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza in a bid to “destroy the Palestinians”, accusing Israel’s Prime Minister and other top officials of incitement.

• The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which does not speak on behalf of the world body, found that “genocide is occurring in Gaza”, commission chief Navi Pillay said. “The responsibility lies with the State of Israel.” The report, immediately slammed by Israel, marks the first time a UN-mandated investigative body has concluded the country is committing genocide.
• Israel has since the start of the war in Gaza faced genocide accusations from NGOs and independent UN experts. Ms. Pillay said she believed the facts presented by the commission should prompt “high-level leaders at the UN also to call this what it is, the genocide”.
• Israel “categorically” rejected the report, with the Foreign Ministry describing it as “distorted and false” and calling “for the immediate abolition of this Commission of Inquiry”.
• After the report was published, UN rights chief Volker Turk said it was up to the courts to determine whether genocide was taking place, but warned: “We see the evidence mounting.”
• The commission published its latest report nearly two years after the war erupted in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack inside Israel. Israel’s retaliatory campaign has displaced virtually the entire Gaza population and has killed nearly 65,000 people, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the UN considers reliable.
• The report came as Israel launched a ground assault on Gaza City, where the UN has declared a full-blown famine.
• The commission concluded that Israeli authorities and forces had since October 2023 committed “four of the five genocidal acts” listed in the 1948 Genocide Convention.
• These are “killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group”.
• The investigators said explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military authorities and their patterns of military action “indicated that the genocidal acts were committed with intent to destroy… Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group”.
• They concluded that Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have “incited the commission of genocide and that Israeli authorities have failed to take action against them to punish this incitement”.

India, U.S. to push for early conclusion of a trade deal

Context: India and the U.S. held “positive and forward looking” discussions here on the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement between the two countries, the Commerce and Industry Ministry.

• The Ministry added that the two sides decided to “intensify efforts” towards an early conclusion of a “mutually beneficial” trade agreement.
• A team of officials from the office of the United States Trade Representative, led by Brendan Lynch, the chief U.S. negotiator, held discussions with the Indian side, led by Rajesh Agrawal, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce.

The meeting lasted for about seven hours.

• In a separate statement, the U.S. Embassy spokesperson said that Mr. Lynch had a “positive meeting” in Delhi with Mr. Agrawal to “discuss next steps in bilateral trade negotiations”.
• “Acknowledging the enduring importance of bilateral trade between India and the U.S., the discussions were positive and forward looking covering various aspects of the trade deal,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. “It was decided to intensify efforts to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial Trade Agreement,” it added.
• The statement, however, stopped short of disclosing the date of the next round of formal negotiations.
• The meeting, Mr. Agrawal had clarified, was not an official round of negotiations, but a meeting to discuss how to take the talks forward.
• According to sources in the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the talks will now continue virtually once the U.S. team returns home.

Gehlot returns KTCDA (Amendment) Bill, 2025; seeks clarification from govt.

Context: Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has returned the Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeking clarification from the State government on its proposal to reduce the size of buffer zones for smaller waterbodies. The Bill was passed in the Monsoon Session of the legislature.

• Mr. Gehlot said that he has received objections from the Bengaluru Town Hall Association with a request not to give his assent to the Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
• As per the Bill, the buffer zone is sought to be removed for tanks spread across less than five guntas while setting a three-metre buffer for tanks with an area between five guntas and one acre, six metres for tanks between one acre and 10 acres, 13m for tanks between 10 acres and 25 acres, 24m for tanks between 25 acres and 100 acres, and 30m for tanks that are bigger than 100 acres.
• For primary canals, the government has proposed to bring down the buffer zone from the current 30m to 15m. And for secondary canals from 15m to 10m and for tertiary canals from 10m to five metres.
• Mr. Gehlot told the government, “As per the expert’s opinion, the existing lake buffer zone of 30m is itself insufficient, and the real requirement is nearly 300 metres to achieve ecosystem balance. If anything, the buffer zone should be increased, not decreased.”
• He added that the government had not consulted an expert committee and people about the implication of this amendment.
• “It is in violation of the Constitution and settled law, and is harmful for every citizen, affects the citizens’ right to water security and a healthy environment,” he said.
• It is necessary to get clarifications from the State government about the issues raised by Bengaluru Town Hall and ‘also know whether this amendment will result in a really adverse effect’, he stated while returning the file to the government and directing it to re-submit the file along with clarifications.
• Bengaluru Town Hall stated that the association is pleased to learn that the Governor has returned the amendment, which, it claims, ‘threatens the 45,000 lakes in Karnataka’.
• “That the State government could so frivolously attempt to make amendments that have such large-scale apocalypse-like consequences for both nature and the population of the State shows that the government is not working in the interests of the people of the State. This needs to change immediately. The government needs to be held accountable,“ said Sandeep Anirudhan, convenor for Bengaluru Town Hall.

Constitutional clarity: Presidential Reference proceedings boost case against delays by Governors

Context: The hearings on the Presidential Reference that followed the Supreme Court judgment on April 8, 2025, clarifying the constitutional position on the powers of the Governor and the President in providing assent to Bills passed by State Assemblies, have largely confirmed that Governors should not indefinitely withhold assent to such Bills.

• Addressing the 14 questions posed in the Presidential Reference, the observations of the five-judge Bench largely converged on the constitutional principles elucidated in April.
• The question by the Chief Justice of India, B.R. Gavai, on whether the Court should “sit powerless” while Governors make “competent State legislatures defunct” echoed the core concern in the April judgment — that constitutional offices cannot paralyse democratic governance through inaction.
• While States’ counsel largely argued along political lines based on which parties governed them, this did not detract from the thorough examination of Articles 200 and 201 during the proceedings.
• The argument that the Constitution’s silence on specific timelines in these Articles does not grant unlimited discretion to Governors remains compelling.
• When the Solicitor-General argued that Governors serve as a “check on hasty legislation”, the Bench’s response also indicated the tension between this position and democratic principles. Justice Vikram Nath’s observation, that Governors “cannot sit over the wisdom of the legislature indefinitely”, was succinct.
• That only Opposition-ruled States have faced prolonged delays, as pointed out by Kerala’s counsel, suggests the constitutional framework itself is not ambiguous but that its application has become selective.
• The Bench’s examination of why judicial review applies to Governors’ recommendations under Article 356 (President’s Rule) but supposedly not to actions under Article 200 (assent to Bills) highlighted potential inconsistencies in arguments defending unlimited discretion for Governors.
• The proceedings related to the questions posed in the Presidential Reference demonstrate why the April judgment’s framework remains constitutionally sound and necessary to maintain the balance between federal cooperation and State autonomy.
• The question from these hearings is on why the Centre chose this unusual route. As scholars have established, an advisory opinion by the Court under Article 143 does not override a binding judgment under Article 141.
• If the Centre genuinely sought clarity on the April judgment, well-established judicial procedures such as review petitions or curative petitions were available. When the Court’s final reply to the Reference is received, the Centre should accept the constitutional boundaries that the April judgment and these proceedings have reinforced, rather than continuing to pursue powers that would alter the delicate federal balance that the Constitution has established.

Foodgrain, fruit, and vegetable yield rose this year: Agriculture Minister

Context: Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that foodgrain output as well as fruit and vegetable production had seen a significant rise this year from those of the previous year.

• He was speaking to presspersons after a two-day National Conference on Agriculture – Rabi Campaign, a joint meeting between the Union and State Agriculture Departments to prepare the road map for the upcoming winter seasonal crops.
• “The Central government has set a production target of 362.5 million tonnes for 2025-26, up from 341.55 million tonnes last year. The country’s total foodgrain production reached 353.96 million tonnes in 2024-25, an increase of 21.66 million tonnes (6.5%) over the previous year. The country achieved a record harvest in key crops such as rice, wheat, maize, groundnut, and soybean. This output was 12.41 million tonnes higher than the set target of 341.55 million tonnes,” Mr. Chouhan said.
• The conference discussed topics such as climate resilience; quality seeds, fertilizers, pesticides; horticulture, and natural farming. It also decided to boost pulses and oilseeds productivity and focus on integrated farming systems.
• He said the Centre and States will continue their coordinated efforts to ensure agricultural growth and farmers’ welfare.
• On the flood situation, he said the government is making every possible effort to assist those affected in States such as Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Assam, and parts of Haryana. “The Centre will leave no stone unturned in supporting the States/Union Territories,” the Minister said, adding that efforts are being made to ensure timely and adequate disbursal of insurance benefits to farmers covered under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

Committee on simultaneous polls to meet economists

Context: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on reviewing legislation aimed at introducing simultaneous polls will be meeting economists Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Arvind Panagariya, and Surjit S. Bhalla in its next meeting scheduled for September 24.

• The panel chairman and senior BJP leader, P.P. Chaudhary, said that the panel wanted to review the economic implications of simultaneous elections.
• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saidin April that India’s GDP would increase by 1.5% with simultaneous polls.
• Former President Ram Nath Kovind, who chaired the high-level committee on simultaneous elections, quoted similar figures.

Top court asks who will decide that a religious conversion is ‘deceitful’

Context: Petitioner-advocate seeks a ban on such conversion; NGO’s counsel seeks a stay of ‘Freedom of Religion’ Acts, which, he says, are getting more and more strident as courts grant bail and bring relief to persons accused and arrested under them

• The Supreme Court asked a petitioner seeking a complete ban on “deceitful” religious conversions who exactly will decide whether an inter-faith marriage is fraudulent or not.
• Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai agreed with senior advocate C.U. Singh, appearing for an NGO questioning the validity of the increasingly stringent anti-religious conversion laws across 10 States, that the court sits to examine the constitutionality of laws, and not to make laws.
• Petitioner-advocate Ashwini Upadhyay said his petition was against religious conversion through allurement and duplicity. Mr. Upadhyay argued that one had the right to propagate religion under Article 25 of the Constitution, but not to convert through fraud or force.
• Highlighting the risk his plea posed to the freedom of conscience enshrined in the Constitution, Chief Justice Gavai pointedly asked, “But who would find out that a religious conversion was deceitful or not?”
• Mr. Singh, appearing in the case along with senior advocate Indira Jaising and advocate Vrinda Grover, said that States such as Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Karnataka had enacted copycat “Freedom of Religion” Acts one after the other, with Rajasthan recently coming up with one.
• “The batch of laws are characterised as Freedom of Religion Acts, but they contain everything but freedom. They are virtually anti-conversion laws,” Mr. Singh submitted.
• He sought a stay of these laws, which were getting more and more strident as courts grant bail and bring relief to persons accused and arrested under them.
• The court scheduled the case after six weeks to consider the question of stay of the implementation of the Acts.

Frivolous complaint

• Mr. Singh said recent amendments made in these Acts empowered third parties to file criminal complaints against couples in inter-faith marriage. The punishment under these laws included a “minimum 20-year sentence or a maximum of life imprisonment”. The bail conditions were on a par with the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The burden of proof was on the convert to prove that he or she was not forced or “allured” to change faith, senior counsel argued.
• “For anybody who marries inter-faith, bail becomes impossible. These are Constitutional challenges… It is not just marriages but any normal church observances or festivals, mobs may come…” Mr. Singh submitted.
• Additional Solicitor-General K.M. Nataraj said the case was coming up for hearing after three years, “and suddenly they [the petitioners] are asking for stay”.
• In 2023, while hearing the case, the court had refused to refer to the Law Commission the question whether “forcible conversion” should be made a separate offence relating to religion under the Indian Penal Code.
• The government had even opposed the locus standi of the NGO, Citizens for Justice and Peace, represented by Mr. Singh, to move the court against these laws.
• Mr. Singh had, however, argued that these State laws amounted to undue interference in a person’s right of choice of faith and life partner. He said each State’s law was used by the other as a “building block” to make a more “virulent” law for itself.
• The petitions have argued that these State laws have a “chilling effect” on the right to profess and propagate one’s religion, enshrined in Article 25.

On WHO essential medicines list, GLP-1 drugs for diabetes, weight loss may become cheaper

Context: With the World Health Organization (WHO) updating its Model Lists of Essential Medicines (EML) to add the GLP-1 class of drugs for diabetes with associated comorbidities such as obesity, access to these drugs might just become easier. Listing a medicine on the EML is one step in a series of actions that can lead to lower costs, better affordability, and greater access.

• The 25th meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines was held from May 5 to 9. It reviewedscientific evidence showing that a group of medicines called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists can help people with type 2 diabetes — especially those who also have heart or kidney disease — and concluded that semaglutide, dulaglutide, liraglutide, and tirzepatide would be added to the EML. These drugs are used as glucose-lowering therapy for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease or chronic kidney disease and obesity.

High price

• According to the WHO, the rationale for including these drugs is very clear: diabetes and obesity are two of the most urgent health challenges facing the world today.
• According to statistics from 2022, over 800 million people live with diabetes, with half going untreated. At the same time, more than one billion people worldwide are affected by obesity, and rates are rising fast especially in low- and middle-income countries.
• The prices of these drugs are so high that access is limited. “A large share of out-of-pocket spending on non-communicable diseases goes toward medicines, including those classified as essential and that, in principle, should be financially accessible to everyone,” Deusdedit Mubangizi, WHO Director of Policy and Standards for Medicines and Health Products, says.

Good step forward

• While appreciating the move, Anoop Mishra, head, Fortis C-DOC Hospital for Diabetes and Allied Sciences, New Delhi, lends a reality check: “It is a good move; however, in India these types of drugs will benefit only a small number of people, while other life-saving, low-cost essential medicines for diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, applicable to a large number of people, remain largely unavailable.”
• On the other hand, V. Mohan, chairman, Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialties Centre (DMDSC), provides an energetic response: “I’m very happy that WHO has included the GLP-1 class of drugs. The fact that even a conservative organisation like the WHO has included these rather expensive drugs in their EML, shows how compelling the evidenceis.Apart from the glucose lowering effect, they have tremendous effect on weight reduction and obesity management.” He points out that recently, injectible semaglutide has been approved for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, associated with weight, and for improving cardio-metabolic health.
• R.M. Anjana, managing director, DMDSC, says: “It will surely help improve access and affordability. But will it be useful as a first line drug? This maybe not for everyone…as there are various subtypes of diabetes. But for those in whom it is indicated, it’s a good step forward.”

At UNHRC, India condemns violation of Qatar’s sovereignty

Context: India defended Qatar’s sovereignty at the UN Human Rights Council. Addressing a UNHRC session in Geneva, India’s Permanent Representative Arindam Bagchi referred to the September 9 Israeli bombing of Doha, and said India “unequivocally” condemned the attack.

• “India is deeply concerned about the recent attacks in Doha and their impact on the security situation in the region. We unequivocally condemn the violation of the sovereignty of Qatar. Such actions threaten peace, stability, and security not only in the region but across the world,” said Mr. Bagchi in his statement, which, however, did not name Israel.
• India’s reiteration of its position on the Israeli strike on Qatar came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had called Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and said, “India condemns the violation of the sovereignty of the brotherly state of Qatar. We support resolution of issues through dialogue and diplomacy, and avoiding escalation.”
• In India’s first response, the External Affairs Ministry, in a statement, took note of the “Israeli strikes” and said India was “deeply concerned by this development”.

To cut imports, govt. to pick 100 items for local manufacture

Context: The government is in the process of finalising a list of 100 products that India imports in large amounts but has domestic capacity to manufacture, a Commerce Ministry official said.

• The aim is to support these sectors — which include engineering goods, plastics, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, among others — and encourage the private sector to expand its capacity so as to substitute imports with domestic production.
• “We are focussing on reducing the dependency on certain geographies so that supply-chain disruptions would not happen,” the official said, on the condition of anonymity as this exercise has not yet been completed.
• “We are trying to see that our dependency regarding critical items should not be adversely impacted,” the official said.
• “We have identified about 100 products where we have huge imports and at the same time we have some domestic capacity,” he added. “We feel that those imports could be replaced by the domestic capacity by improving the capacity utilisation of those manufacturing facilities within the country.”
• The idea, he added, was to focus on the concepts of ‘Swadeshi’ and ‘Atmanirbharta’.

‘More crude coming from Western Hemisphere’

Context: India has developed resilience to navigate global turbulences, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, adding this has been bolstered by “more and more” crude oil coming into the globalmarket from the Western Hemisphere and more gas expected to enter the market from 2026-27.

• Referring to the geopolitical scenario, Mr. Puri, speaking at KPMG’s annual energy conclave ENRich 2025, stated while the world was undergoing turbulence, “we [India] deal with the issues that we have direct control over but today we have resilience to navigate them partly because there is enough oil available in the world”.
• India and its oil sector have been facing headwinds triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs imposed on Indian products.

Simple Energy makes country’s first rare earth free motors

• Initial public offering-bound electric scooter maker Simple Energy on Tuesday said it has started commercially manufacturing the country’s first rare earth-free motors at its Hosur, Tamil Nadu, production facility.

DRL introduces new acidity drug

• Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) introduced South Korean firm HK inno.N Corporation’s acid peptic diseases drug Tegoprazan in India.