Science: A Cambridge University study found that mega-droughts, lasting 200 years, caused the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilisation approximately 4,200 years ago.
International: India proposed reforms to UNSC veto power : permanent members' use of veto should require justification and be subject to review.
Energy: India's nuclear power programme was assessed: at 2.5-3.2 per cent of electricity capacity, targets are significantly behind schedule.
Justice: India's undertrial crisis: 76 per cent of the prison population (4.3 lakh of 5.5 lakh prisoners) are undertrials, concentrated in crimes with long maximum sentences.
Finance: The government examined bail reform and personal bond provisions as part of the new criminal procedure legislation.
1. Indus Valley Civilisation: mega-droughts caused its end
GS area: History (Ancient India), Environment (Climate and civilisations)
A study published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment (Cambridge/UK-led team) in April 2023 found that a prolonged mega-drought lasting approximately 200 years triggered the decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) around 4,200 years ago.
What the study found: Using speleothem records (growth rings from cave formations) from the region, researchers reconstructed rainfall patterns. They identified a multi-century arid period approximately 4,200 years ago, coinciding with the IVC's urban decline phase.
The IVC at its peak: The Harappan Civilisation (3300 to 1300 BCE, mature phase 2600 to 1900 BCE) covered approximately 1.5 million sq km across present-day Pakistan, northwest India, Gujarat, Rajasthan and parts of Afghanistan. Major cities: Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Dholavira, Rakhigarhi, Lothal.
Decline theories: Earlier theories blamed Aryan invasions (disproved by archaeology), changes in the Saraswati river course (partly supported), and now, climate. The consensus is multi-causal: prolonged drought reduced agricultural surplus, forcing migration east and southward to Gangetic plains and the Deccan.
4.2 kiloyear event: The mega-drought identified in this study coincides with a global climate anomaly known as the "4.2 kiloyear event," which also affected Egypt's Old Kingdom, the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia, and Early Bronze Age civilisations across Eurasia.
Dholavira: A key IVC city in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021. Known for its elaborate water management systems, including reservoirs and check dams : evidence that IVC communities were adapting to water scarcity even before the final collapse.
IVC writing undeciphered: The Indus Script remains undeciphered. The inability to read IVC texts is a key gap in understanding why the cities were abandoned.
Static linkage: Ancient Indian history, IVC, climate and civilisations.
2. UN Security Council: veto reform debate
GS area: International Relations (UN reform, India's foreign policy)
India, as part of its G4 (India, Brazil, Germany, Japan) position, reiterated its call for reform of the UNSC veto at meetings in April 2023.
India's stand on veto: India holds the nuanced position of not seeking veto power for itself immediately (to reduce opposition) while calling for an Elected Permanent Member category or non-permanent members with veto after a transition period.
G4 proposal: Four aspirants for permanent UNSC seats (India, Brazil, Germany, Japan), each with strong cases based on economic size, population and geopolitical significance. The G4 has been pushing UNSC expansion since 2005.
The veto power: Article 27(3): Decisions on non-procedural matters in the UNSC require the affirmative votes of nine members, including all five permanent members. Any permanent member's "no" vote is a veto.
Veto use patterns: Russia has used veto most frequently in recent decades (especially on Syria, Ukraine). China's veto use increased from the 2000s. The US has vetoed resolutions on Israel-Palestine most frequently.
Uniting for Peace Resolution: UN General Assembly Resolution 377 (1950) allows the General Assembly to take emergency action if the Security Council is paralysed by a veto. It was invoked for the Ukraine crisis in February 2022.
Coffee Club (United for Consensus): A group opposing UNSC expansion with new permanent members, led by Italy, Pakistan, Canada, Argentina and South Korea. They prefer rotating regional seats over new permanent members.
A Ministry of Home Affairs report and NCRB Prison Statistics 2021 data confirmed that 76 per cent of India's 5.5 lakh prison population are undertrials.
Who is an undertrial: A person who has been charged and is in custody awaiting trial. Under the Constitution, Article 21 guarantees the right to speedy trial (read into the right to life by the Supreme Court in Hussainara Khatoon, 1979).
Why so many undertrials: Criminal trials in district courts average three to five years (longer for sessions court cases). Poor access to legal aid. Inability to furnish surety or money bail. Judicial vacancies (India has 21 judges per 10 lakh people, versus the Law Commission target of 50).
Bail law reform: The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act 2022 and the draft new CrPC (now BNSS) contain provisions to ease bail for minor offences. Section 479 of the new code mandates bail for undertrials who have served half the maximum sentence for the offence (one-third for first-time offenders).
Hussainara Khatoon case (1979): The Supreme Court directed the release of undertrials who had been in custody longer than the maximum sentence for their alleged offence. This established the right to speedy trial as a fundamental right.
Prison overcrowding: India's prisons are at 130 per cent capacity nationally. Some states (UP, Bihar, MP) have prisons at 150-180 per cent. Overcrowding worsens health, safety and rehabilitation outcomes.
Legal Aid: NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) provides legal aid to undertrials. District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) are meant to visit prisons quarterly and identify undertrial cases eligible for bail.
Static linkage: Judiciary, prison reform, fundamental rights.
4. Bail and the personal bond
GS area: Polity (Criminal law, Procedural rights)
Discussions around India's new criminal procedure legislation in April 2023 highlighted the personal bond (recognisance) as a key tool for undertrial bail without surety.
Types of bail: Regular bail (Section 437/439 CrPC), anticipatory bail (Section 438 CrPC), default bail (Section 167(2) CrPC, also called statutory bail : triggered if chargesheet is not filed within 60 days for non-serious offences).
Personal bond: A bail type where the undertrial is released on their own recognisance (personal guarantee) without requiring cash deposit or surety. Used for less serious offences or for undertrials who cannot afford surety.
Section 436A CrPC (now BNSS Section 479): Mandates release on personal bond of an undertrial who has served half the maximum sentence for the offence. Courts were under-applying this provision.
BNSS reforms: The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which replaced the CrPC, added: mandatory bail for undertrials who are first-time offenders and have served one-third of the maximum sentence; electronic monitoring (e-custody) as a bail condition; and expanded use of video trial.
Digital courts: The Supreme Court's phase 3 of the e-courts project aims to create fully digital case management, reducing physical presence requirements for routine hearings and cutting delay.
Static linkage: Criminal procedure, fundamental rights, judicial reform.
5. Biodiversity: 4.2 kiloyear event and climate resilience
GS area: Environment (Climate, Ecology)
The "4.2 kiloyear event" identified in the IVC study is part of a broader discussion about climate tipping points and their civilisational consequences.
The 4.2 kiloyear event: A globally synchronous drought event roughly 4,200 years ago (approximately 2200 BCE). Evidence from lake sediments, cave speleothems and tree rings shows dry conditions across Asia, Africa and Europe for 100 to 200 years.
Civilisational impact: The event is associated with the collapse of the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia, Egypt's First Intermediate Period, the decline of Early Bronze Age cultures in Greece, and now, the IVC urban decline.
Modern parallel: Climate scientists use past abrupt climate events as analogues for understanding the risk of future abrupt events triggered by anthropogenic warming. If warming breaches critical thresholds, abrupt shifts in monsoon patterns are possible.
Monsoon and India: India's agriculture depends critically on the South-West Monsoon (June to September), which delivers 75 per cent of annual rainfall. A weakened monsoon, similar to the 4.2 kiloyear event, would devastate agricultural output and water supplies.
IVC water management lesson: Dholavira's elaborate water harvesting systems, including 16 reservoirs, were an adaptation to water scarcity. Modern India's Jal Shakti initiatives echo this ancient approach.
Static linkage: Climate science, ancient history, water security.
Practice MCQs
Check yourself
The "4.2 kiloyear event" is associated with which of the following? 1. Decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation's urban phase. 2. Collapse of the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia. 3. Egypt's First Intermediate Period. Select the correct answer:
Check yourself
Under Section 167(2) of CrPC (now BNSS), "default bail" is triggered when:
Check yourself
The G4 group of nations seeking permanent UNSC seats comprises:
Check yourself
The Dholavira site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021, is located in:
Check yourself
India's undertrial population (76 per cent of all prisoners) reflects primarily which systemic failure?