5 March 2024

• Polity: A seven-judge Supreme Court Bench ruled that MPs and MLAs cannot claim constitutional immunity when accused of bribery. The ruling overturns a 1998 precedent.
• Economy: India's share of the global remittances market was confirmed at USD 125 billion for 2023. The WTO endorsed India's proposal to reduce cross-border remittance costs to under 3 per cent.
• Environment: The leopard census put India's population at 13,874 in 2022, an 8 per cent rise from 2018. Madhya Pradesh leads.
• Governance: Karnataka led the State Energy Efficiency Index 2023, with Maharashtra and Haryana showing the greatest year-on-year improvement.

GS area: Polity (judiciary, Parliament)

A seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers cannot claim immunity under Articles 105(2) and 194(2) of the Constitution when prosecuted for bribery. The ruling emerged from the Sita Soren case, in which the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha member was accused of accepting a bribe in exchange for her vote in the 2012 Rajya Sabha election.

The 1998 P.V. Narasimha Rao case had held that an MP who voted after receiving a bribe was protected by parliamentary privilege. The Court overruled that position:

• Bribery not a legislative act: accepting money is not part of making a speech or casting a vote in the House. Privilege does not immunise the act of receiving the bribe.
• Parallel jurisdiction: courts and legislative houses can exercise authority simultaneously in separate matters. The court's jurisdiction to try bribery does not interfere with Parliament's authority over conduct inside the chamber.
• Public interest: allowing bribery immunity undermines democratic foundations and electoral integrity.

Articles 105(2) and 194(2) protect MPs and MLAs from civil or criminal proceedings for anything said or any vote cast in the legislature. The Bench clarified these protections extend only to legislative acts, not to pre-legislative transactions.

Static linkage: Polity (Parliament, fundamental rights, judiciary).

GS area: Polity

The Supreme Court's ruling is the trigger to revise the full scheme of parliamentary privileges:

• Freedom of speech: MPs and MLAs cannot be sued or prosecuted for any speech or vote in the House.
• Freedom from arrest in civil cases: 40 days before, during and 40 days after a session.
• Right to regulate internal proceedings: courts cannot inquire into how Parliament conducts its business.
• Right to exclude strangers.

The Privileges Committee has 15 members in the Lok Sabha and 10 in the Rajya Sabha. It investigates alleged breaches and can recommend admonishment, reprimand, suspension or expulsion.

The ruling drew a clear line: privilege is about what happens inside the chamber, not what happened in a hotel room before the vote.

Static linkage: Polity (Parliament and state legislatures).

GS area: Economy (international finance)

India received USD 125 billion in remittances in 2023, the largest inflow for any country globally. The cost of transferring this money is significant:

• Transaction cost: approximately USD 7 to 8 billion annually in transfer fees paid by the diaspora.
• India's WTO proposal: reduce cross-border remittance costs to under 3 per cent. The WTO formally endorsed the proposal.
• UPI angle: lower-cost transfer rails built on India's Unified Payments Interface could expand remittance access for smaller amounts and to underserved communities.

The G20's Sustainable Development Goal 10 target also calls for reducing remittance costs to below 3 per cent by 2030.

Static linkage: Economy (international finance, UPI).

GS area: Environment (biodiversity)

The 2022 leopard census, released on 5 March, put the Indian leopard population at 13,874 animals, an 8 per cent increase from 12,852 in 2018. State-wise:

• Madhya Pradesh: 3,907 leopards, the highest in any state.
• Central India and Eastern Ghats: stable or rising populations.
• Shivalik hills and Gangetic plains: declining.

Key threats: poaching, habitat loss to agriculture and urban expansion, and road kills. India chairs the International Big Cat Alliance, a 97-country platform headquartered in India.

Static linkage: Environment (biodiversity, protected areas).

GS area: Economy (energy), Governance

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, under the Ministry of Power, publishes the State Energy Efficiency Index annually. The 2023 edition assessed 36 states and UTs on 65 indicators across seven sectors including buildings, industry, municipalities and transport. Results:

• Top performer: Karnataka.
• Highest improvement: Maharashtra and Haryana.
• Theme: Energy Transition through Electrification and Decarbonisation.

The Index is developed with the Alliance for Energy-Efficient Economy (AEEE). The Bureau of Energy Efficiency was established in 2002 under the Energy Conservation Act 2001.

Static linkage: Economy (energy efficiency), government schemes.

• World Poverty Clock: less than 3 per cent of India's population lived in extreme poverty in 2024 (poverty line: USD 2.15 per day). Extreme poverty fell from 4.69 crore people in 2022 to 3.44 crore in 2024. Multidimensional poverty fell from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14 to 11.28 per cent in 2022-23.
• Swachhata Green Leaf Rating: a joint initiative of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Ministry of Tourism to rate hygiene and sanitation standards in the tourism sector. Bison Resorts in Madhya Pradesh received the first Five Leaf Rating Certificate.
• International Big Cat Alliance: India chairs this 97-country alliance, headquartered in India, whose mandate is to protect the world's seven big cat species.