25 June 2023

• Education: QS World University Rankings 2024 were released. IIT Bombay ranked 149th, its highest-ever position. India had 45 universities ranked.
• History: 25 June marks the anniversary of the proclamation of Emergency in India (1975). The Emergency lasted until March 1977.
• Economy: India's capital expenditure for 2023-24 was set at 10 lakh crore rupees, a 33 per cent year-on-year increase.
• Environment: India's overall score on the NITI Aayog SDG index improved to 66 of 100.

GS area: Governance, Education

Quacquarelli Symonds released its World University Rankings 2024.

• Global top: MIT retained its 1st position for the 12th consecutive year. The National University of Singapore became the first Asian university to break into the top 10 (at 8th).
• India:
  • 45 universities ranked, making India the 7th most represented country globally.
  • IIT Bombay: 149th position, India's highest-ranked institution and its best-ever performance.
  • IIT Bombay's citations per faculty score improved from 55.1 to 73.1.
  • University of Delhi and Anna University each made the top 500 as new entrants.
• Revised parameters for 2024: QS added three new indicators: sustainability (5 per cent weight), employment outcomes (5 per cent), and international research network (5 per cent). These adjustments reduced the weight of faculty-student ratio, benefiting Indian institutions that were penalised by large class sizes.

Static linkage: Education; governance.

GS area: Polity, History (post-independence)

25 June is the anniversary of the proclamation of the Emergency by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975.

• Constitutional provision: Article 352 of the Indian Constitution allows the President to proclaim a National Emergency on grounds of war, external aggression, or armed rebellion.
• The 1975 Emergency: Proclaimed on the night of 25-26 June 1975 following the Allahabad High Court's judgment on 12 June 1975 setting aside Indira Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha on grounds of electoral malpractice.
• Duration: 25 June 1975 to 21 March 1977.
• Effect: Suspension of the right to move courts for enforcement of Fundamental Rights under Article 359; press censorship; arrest of opposition leaders without trial under MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act).
• 44th Constitutional Amendment (1978): After the Emergency, the Janata government passed the 44th Amendment, which made it harder to proclaim an Emergency. It changed the ground from "internal disturbance" to "armed rebellion" and required a Cabinet resolution in writing before the President acts.

Static linkage: Polity (emergency provisions, Fundamental Rights).

GS area: Economy

India's capital expenditure for 2023-24 was set at 10 lakh crore rupees in the Union Budget, a 33 per cent increase year-on-year.

• What capex is: Government spending on creating or acquiring long-lived physical assets: roads, railways, bridges, hospitals, defence equipment. Distinguished from revenue expenditure (salaries, subsidies, interest payments).
• Multiplier effect: Capital expenditure has a higher fiscal multiplier than revenue expenditure. One rupee of capex generates more than one rupee of GDP output through employment, contractor spending, and improved productivity.
• Effective capital expenditure: If grants-in-aid to states and local bodies for capital asset creation are included, the 2023-24 effective capex rises to 13.7 lakh crore rupees (4.5 per cent of GDP).
• Special Assistance to States: The central government provides 50-year interest-free loans to states for capital investment. In 2023-24, 1.3 lakh crore rupees were approved across 16 states under this scheme.

Static linkage: Indian economy; public finance.

GS area: Environment, Economy

India led the world in LEED Zero green building certifications, holding 73 of the 150 global certifications (49 per cent).

• LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, administered by the US Green Building Council. LEED Zero is the highest certification for buildings that achieve zero carbon, zero energy, zero water, or zero waste.
• India's top states: Haryana and Tamil Nadu.
• Building sector's share: The building and construction sector accounts for approximately one third of India's carbon emissions.
• Why India leads: Large commercial building stock with corporate sustainability mandates; state policies in Haryana requiring green certification for commercial buildings; strong IT sector demand for LEED-certified campuses.

Static linkage: Environment; economy (construction).

• Special Marriage Act 1954 and same-sex marriage: The Supreme Court's Constitution Bench was hearing petitions on whether same-sex couples could register marriages under the Special Marriage Act 1954. The court's verdict (expected later in 2023) was anticipated to clarify whether the right under Article 21 extends to same-sex marriage.
• Wagner Group mutiny: Russian private military company Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, briefly seized control of Rostov-on-Don and began a march toward Moscow on 23-24 June 2023. Prigozhin called it a "march of justice" against the Russian Defence Ministry. The mutiny was called off after Belarus President Lukashenko brokered a deal. The Russian ruble fell sharply. The event exposed cracks in the Russian military chain of command.
• Chandrayaan-3: ISRO confirmed the launch of Chandrayaan-3 was planned for July 2023. The mission retains the lander name Vikram and rover name Pragyan from Chandrayaan-2, which crashed during landing in September 2019.