13 March 2023

• Same-sex marriage bench: the Supreme Court referred petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriages to a Constitution Bench of five judges. The government opposed the move, arguing that decriminalisation does not equal legitimisation.
• SVB failure: Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in the largest bank failure since the 2008 global financial crisis. A classic bank run unfolded as depositors withdrew funds simultaneously.
• Credit Suisse stress: Switzerland's Credit Suisse faced severe stress concurrently. Its eventual rescue by UBS wiped out USD 17 billion in AT1 bonds.
• ESG reporting mandate: India requires its 1,000 largest listed companies to file Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reports disclosing GHG emissions and gender diversity metrics.
• MAIA mission: NASA and the Italian Space Agency are building the Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols to study health impacts of air pollution in 11 heavily populated cities including Delhi.

GS Paper 2: Polity and Governance; Judiciary; Fundamental Rights.

The Supreme Court of India referred petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriages to a Constitution Bench of five judges. The referral reflects the constitutional weight of the questions involved. The government told the court that recognition of marriage is a legislative matter governed by existing personal law statutes.

• What was asked: petitioners sought a gender-neutral reading of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, to allow same-sex couples to marry under its provisions. The Act currently uses gendered language that presupposes heterosexual couples.
• Special Marriage Act, 1954: a central statute that enables civil marriage between any two persons regardless of their religion or caste. It is the secular alternative to personal law marriages. Petitioners argued it should be interpreted gender-neutrally to include same-sex couples.
• Government's position: the 2018 Supreme Court judgment in Navtej Singh Johar decriminalised same-sex conduct by striking down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The government argued this judgment addressed criminal liability only. It did not create a right to marry or require the State to recognise such unions.
• Article 21: guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. Petitioners relied on Article 21 to argue that the freedom to choose one's partner and to formalise that relationship with legal consequences is a protected liberty.
• K.S. Puttaswamy judgment, 2017: the nine-judge Supreme Court bench held that privacy is a fundamental right under Part III of the Constitution. Petitioners argued that the State's refusal to recognise same-sex partnerships intrudes on the private sphere protected by this ruling.
• Constitution Bench: under Article 145(3) of the Constitution, a bench of at least five judges must decide cases involving substantial questions of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution. The referral signals that the court treats the questions as meeting that threshold.

The distinction between decriminalisation (Navtej Singh Johar, 2018) and the claimed right to marry is the central legal battleground. Examiners often conflate the two.

Revises: Fundamental Rights; Judicial Review; Marriage Law; Indian Penal Code; K.S. Puttaswamy.

GS Paper 3: Economy; Banking; Financial Institutions.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a California-based lender that served technology startups and venture capital firms, collapsed on 10 March 2023. It was the largest bank failure since Washington Mutual in 2008. The failure is a textbook illustration of interest rate risk and deposit concentration risk.

• Why SVB failed: SVB had parked a large portion of deposits in long-duration US government bonds. When the Federal Reserve raised interest rates sharply in 2022-23, the market value of those bonds fell. When SVB disclosed a loss on a bond sale, panic set in. Depositors attempted to withdraw USD 42 billion in a single day. The bank could not meet withdrawals and was seized by regulators.
• FDIC insurance limit: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures deposits up to USD 250,000 per depositor per bank. Most SVB depositors were technology companies with balances far exceeding this limit. They faced losses on the uninsured portion until the US government stepped in to guarantee all deposits.
• India connection: SVB had invested USD 1.7 million in One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm. The exposure was minor but drew attention to cross-border venture linkages.
• Contagion: Signature Bank (New York) was closed two days later. Credit Suisse, already under stress from separate governance failures, required a rescue by UBS orchestrated by Swiss regulators.
• AT1 bonds (Additional Tier 1 / Contingent Convertible bonds): hybrid capital instruments that banks issue to meet regulatory capital requirements. They are designed to absorb losses. When a bank's capital falls below a contractual trigger level, AT1 bonds convert to equity or are written off entirely. Credit Suisse's rescuers wrote off USD 17 billion in AT1 bonds. Holders of AT1 bonds received nothing even though equity shareholders received some consideration, reversing the usual priority in insolvency. This shocked global AT1 markets.
• Basel III capital framework: international banking standards (Basel III) require banks to hold sufficient capital to absorb losses. AT1 bonds count as Tier 1 capital under Basel III. India's banks hold AT1 bonds too; SEBI had earlier restricted their sale to retail investors because of their loss-absorption design.

The FDIC limit (USD 250,000), the AT1 write-down mechanism, and the distinction between Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital are standard MCQ territory.

Revises: Banking Regulation; Basel Norms; Capital Markets; Financial Stability.

GS Paper 3: Economy; Environment; Corporate Governance.

India mandates its 1,000 largest listed companies to file a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) with SEBI. The BRSR is India's principal ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) disclosure instrument.

• BRSR: replaces the older Business Responsibility Report. Companies must disclose greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3), water consumption, waste generation, gender diversity ratios, and supply chain practices.
• ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance): a framework investors use to assess a company's non-financial risks and conduct. Environmental metrics cover emissions and resource use. Social metrics cover labour practices and community impact. Governance metrics cover board composition, audit quality, and shareholder rights.
• Who must file: the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation on Indian stock exchanges. SEBI extended BRSR compliance to the top 1,000 from FY2022-23. Smaller companies file on a voluntary basis.
• CSR vs BRSR: the Companies Act, 2013, mandates that eligible companies (net profit above Rs 5 crore, turnover above Rs 1,000 crore, or net worth above Rs 500 crore) spend at least 2% of their average net profit of the preceding three years on Corporate Social Responsibility activities. CSR is a spending mandate. BRSR is a disclosure mandate. They operate independently.
• Scope 1, 2, 3 emissions: Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased electricity. Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions in the value chain, including suppliers and customers. The BRSR requires disclosure of all three categories.

The CSR-BRSR distinction and the SEBI applicability threshold (top 1,000 listed companies) are common one-liner traps in prelims.

Revises: Corporate Governance; Environment; Companies Act, 2013; Capital Markets.

GS Paper 2: Governance; Government Schemes; GS Paper 3: Economy.

The Union Budget 2023-24 announced PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman (PM VIKAS) to integrate traditional artisans and craftspeople into domestic and global value chains. The scheme targets workers in 18 traditional crafts identified with the Vishwakarma community of artisans.

• Objective: to upgrade the skills, tools, and market access of artisans. The scheme provides skill training, modern toolkits, digital payment integration, and credit linkages.
• Coverage: 18 traditional crafts. These include carpentry, goldsmithing, blacksmithing, sculpture, pottery, weaving, and allied handcraft trades.
• Ministry: Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, in convergence with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
• Value chain integration: the scheme aims to connect artisans to government procurement portals (GeM), e-commerce platforms, and export channels. Direct access to markets is the key departure from earlier scheme designs that focused on training alone.
• Budget context: announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2023-24. The scheme operationalised with full guidelines after the budget announcement.

The 18-craft coverage, the GEM and e-commerce linkage, and the dual-ministry structure are the testable facts.

Revises: Government Schemes; Skill Development; MSME; Artisan Economy.

GS Paper 3: Economy; Industry; GS Paper 2: Governance.

The MSME Competitive (LEAN) Scheme supports small and medium enterprises in adopting lean manufacturing practices to reduce waste and improve efficiency.

• Lean manufacturing: a production philosophy that aims to minimise waste (of materials, time, and effort) while maximising customer value. Tools include 5S, Kaizen, Kanban, and Value Stream Mapping.
• Government contribution: the government bears 90% of the implementation cost for a standard LEAN project. The MSME pays only 10%.
• Enhanced subsidy categories: enterprises in SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries) clusters, women-owned enterprises, SC/ST-owned enterprises, and enterprises in the North East region receive an additional 5% subsidy. Their government contribution rises to 95%.
• SFURTI: Ministry of MSME scheme that clusters traditional industries (khadi, coir, handicrafts) into viable groups. SFURTI clusters qualifying for LEAN subsidy top-up is a precision linkage worth noting.
• Ministry: Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Implemented through the National Productivity Council.

The 90% subsidy baseline and the additional 5% for priority categories are the numerical anchors for MCQs.

Revises: MSME; Industry; Government Schemes; Manufacturing.

GS Paper 3: Science and Technology; Environment; GS Paper 1: Geography.

The Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) is a joint mission of NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) designed to study the health impacts of particulate air pollution in major cities around the world.

• What MAIA does: uses a multi-angle camera to observe airborne particles (aerosols) from orbit. By capturing images at multiple viewing angles simultaneously, it distinguishes aerosol types (black carbon, dust, sea salt, sulphates) that single-angle instruments cannot separate.
• Health focus: MAIA is the first satellite mission explicitly designed to generate health science data. Epidemiologists will correlate MAIA's aerosol measurements with hospital admission and mortality records in the 11 target cities.
• Target cities: 11 of the world's most populated cities. Delhi is one of them. The mission targets cities where air pollution-linked mortality data is available for correlation.
• Italian Space Agency (ASI): Italy provides the satellite platform. NASA provides the MAIA instrument and mission science leadership.
• Relevance to India: Delhi's inclusion reflects its status as one of the world's most polluted capitals. MAIA data will be publicly available, supporting Indian researchers and policymakers with independent satellite-derived air quality intelligence.

MAIA's dual-agency structure (NASA + ASI) and its explicit health-science mandate (not just atmospheric science) distinguish it from standard Earth observation satellites.

Revises: Space Technology; Environment; Air Pollution; Science and Technology.

GS Paper 3: Energy; Infrastructure; GS Paper 2: Governance.

The Ministry of Power introduced the High Price Day Ahead Market (HP-DAM) and the Surplus Power Portal (PUShP) to improve electricity availability during periods of peak demand.

• Day Ahead Market (DAM): an electricity trading platform on power exchanges (IEX, PXIL) where generators and distributors buy and sell power for delivery the following day. Prices are discovered through auction.
• HP-DAM: a variant of the DAM that allows prices to rise above the standard ceiling. The standard DAM caps prices at Rs 12 per unit. HP-DAM allows higher prices to attract surplus power that would otherwise not be offered. Higher prices incentivise generators to sell into the market rather than keep units in reserve.
• PUShP (Surplus Power Portal): an online portal that connects states with surplus power to states with deficit. It allows direct state-to-state transactions outside the exchange mechanism, at negotiated prices.
• Peak demand context: India faces acute peak demand shortfalls during summer months (April to June) as cooling loads surge. Both mechanisms are designed to ensure available power actually reaches deficit states rather than remaining locked in bilateral contracts.
• Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC): the independent regulator for inter-state electricity markets. It sets rules for DAM, HP-DAM, and other market segments.

The price ceiling difference between DAM (Rs 12/unit) and HP-DAM (higher ceiling) and the PUShP state-to-state mechanism are the testable contrasts.

Revises: Energy; Electricity Markets; Infrastructure; Regulatory Bodies.

GS Paper 1: Modern History; Art and Culture; GS Paper 2: Governance.

The National Archives of India (NAI) celebrated its 133rd Foundation Day in March 2023 with an exhibition titled "Women and Nation Building 1857-1950." The exhibition drew from archival documents to spotlight women leaders who shaped India's freedom movement.

• National Archives of India: established in 1891 in Calcutta (now Kolkata) as the Imperial Record Department. Shifted to New Delhi in 1911. Functions under the Ministry of Culture. It is the custodian of non-current records of the Government of India and those acquired from private sources.
• Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi: one of the most prominent leaders of the 1857 uprising. Led the defence of Jhansi against British forces. Killed in battle at Kotah-ki-Serai near Gwalior in June 1858. The Siege of Jhansi is the defining episode.
• Begum Hazrat Mahal: Begum of Awadh who led the resistance against the British in Lucknow during the 1857 uprising after her husband Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to Calcutta. She fled to Nepal after the uprising was suppressed and died there in 1879.
• Sarojini Naidu: poet and politician. First Indian woman to become President of the Indian National Congress in 1925. Participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Salt March. Known as the "Nightingale of India" for her poetry. Became the first woman Governor of a state (Uttar Pradesh) after independence.
• Aruna Asaf Ali: hoisted the Indian National Congress flag at Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay on 9 August 1942 when the Quit India Movement was launched, after most senior Congress leaders had been arrested. Known as the "Grand Old Lady of the Independence Movement."

Sarojini Naidu as the first woman INC president (1925) and Aruna Asaf Ali as the flag-hoister of the Quit India Movement are the two facts most tested in prelims.

Revises: Modern History; Freedom Movement; Art and Culture; Women in History.

GS Paper 3: Environment; Biodiversity; Conservation.

The Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) is a subspecies of the grey wolf found across peninsular India and parts of the northwest. Population estimates placed the national count at approximately 3,100 individuals.

• Scientific classification: Canis lupus pallipes is a subspecies of Canis lupus (grey wolf). It is smaller than its Eurasian counterparts and adapted to open scrubland and grassland habitats rather than dense forest.
• IUCN status: the grey wolf species is listed as Least Concern. The Indian subspecies faces greater pressure because of habitat fragmentation and livestock predation conflicts. It is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, giving it the highest domestic protection.
• Population distribution: the national estimate of approximately 3,100 wolves is distributed across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Gujarat has approximately 494 wolves, the third-highest state count.
• Habitat: prefers semi-arid grasslands, scrublands, and dry deciduous areas. Unlike tigers and leopards, wolves are not dependent on reserve forests. Their range overlaps heavily with agricultural land, which drives human-wildlife conflict.
• Conservation challenge: wolves are not charismatic megafauna in the public imagination and receive less dedicated conservation attention than tigers or elephants. The Schedule I listing provides legal protection but wolves lack dedicated recovery programmes comparable to Project Tiger or Project Elephant.

Gujarat's rank (third highest wolf population by state) and the Schedule I listing are the two precision facts most useful in MCQs.

Revises: Biodiversity; Wildlife Conservation; Environment; Wildlife Protection Act.

• Special Marriage Act, 1954 and personal law: the Special Marriage Act enables secular civil marriage and governs succession and property rights independently of personal law. This is why petitioners targeted it rather than Hindu Marriage Act or Muslim personal law.
• SVB and venture capital: SVB was the principal banking partner for Silicon Valley's startup ecosystem. Its collapse froze payroll access for hundreds of startups worldwide, demonstrating how concentration of banking services in one institution creates systemic risk.
• FDIC and deposit insurance in India: India's equivalent is the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India. The current insured limit in India is Rs 5 lakh per depositor per bank, raised from Rs 1 lakh in 2020.