18 October 2024

• Polity: The Supreme Court was examining the constitutional validity of Exception 2 to Section 375 IPC, which exempts marital rape in cases of wives above 18 years.
• Climate: The FAO's "Unjust Climate" report found poor households face 5 per cent greater income loss from climate extremes. India reduced rural poverty from 42.5 per cent to 8.6 per cent.
• Governance: A CJI transition was imminent: Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was set to retire on 10 November 2024. Justice Sanjiv Khanna was recommended as the 51st CJI.
• Technology: The IndiaAI Mission's components (compute capacity, innovation centres, dataset platform) were fleshed out with a 2,000 crore rupee startup financing window.

GS area: Polity (Fundamental Rights, Criminal Law)

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court was examining whether Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code is constitutionally valid.

• Exception 2 of Section 375 IPC: "Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape." The amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act raised the wife's age threshold to 18 in 2013. The marital exception still exists in adult marriages.
• Constitutional challenge: Petitioners argued the exception violates Article 14 (equality), Article 15 (non-discrimination on grounds of sex), and Article 21 (right to life and dignity including bodily autonomy).
• Government's position: The government asked the court to defer to Parliament, arguing that criminalising marital rape could destabilise the institution of marriage. It also cited the absence of parliamentary consensus.
• Global comparison: About 77 countries have criminalised marital rape. The UK criminalised it in 1991. The USA did so state by state through the 1970s-1990s.
• BNS 2023: The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (which replaced the IPC in July 2024) retained the marital rape exception with the same language.

Static linkage: Article 21, right to bodily autonomy, criminal law reform (Polity).

GS area: Environment (Climate Justice), Economy (Agriculture)

The Food and Agriculture Organisation released the "Unjust Climate" report in October 2024, documenting how climate change impacts fall disproportionately on the poor.

• Key finding: Poor households face a 5 per cent greater income loss from climate extremes compared to wealthier households in the same region, even though they contribute far less to emissions.
• Gender dimension: Female-headed households experience an 8 per cent greater income loss from heat stress than male-headed households. Women have less access to credit, insurance, and technology to adapt.
• India's poverty reduction: India reduced rural poverty from 42.5 per cent (2005-06) to 8.6 per cent (2022-24), referenced in the report as a positive case.
• FAO basics: Founded in 1945. Headquarters in Rome. 194 member states. Its mandate covers food security, agricultural development, nutrition, and rural development. Its annual World Food Day is on 16 October.
• Climate justice: The principle that countries and communities that have contributed least to historical emissions should not bear a disproportionate share of climate damage. This is a central demand of developing countries in UNFCCC negotiations.

Static linkage: Climate finance, climate justice, FAO, rural poverty (Environment and Economy).

GS area: Polity (Judiciary)

Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was scheduled to retire on 10 November 2024. Justice Sanjiv Khanna was recommended as his successor.

• CJI appointment process: The outgoing CJI recommends the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court for appointment as the next CJI. The government conventionally accepts this recommendation. The recommended judge is appointed by the President of India.
• Seniority principle: The convention that the senior-most judge becomes CJI has been in place since the 1990s. It was established after the supersession controversies of the 1970s, when the government bypassed senior judges, leading to the NJAC and collegium debates.
• DY Chandrachud's tenure: He was the 50th Chief Justice. His tenure included significant verdicts including the same-sex marriage case (2023), the electoral bonds ruling (2024), and the NEET examination controversies.
• Justice Sanjiv Khanna: He became the 51st CJI upon Justice Chandrachud's retirement on 10 November 2024.

Static linkage: Appointment of judges, collegium system, independence of judiciary (Polity).

GS area: Science and Technology, Economy (Digital Economy)

The IndiaAI Mission, launched in 2023 under the Global Partnership on AI Summit, received detailed implementation guidelines in October 2024.

• Nodal ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• Seven components:
  • IndiaAI Compute Capacity: shared GPU infrastructure for AI research.
  • IndiaAI Innovation Centre: building foundation models in Indian languages and domains.
  • IndiaAI Datasets Platform: curating high-quality public datasets for Indian AI development.
  • IndiaAI Application Development Initiative: government AI use-cases.
  • IndiaAI FutureSkills: 5,000 AI PhDs and 1 lakh skilled professionals target.
  • IndiaAI Startup Financing: 2,000 crore rupees for AI startup funding.
  • Safe and Trusted AI: ethics, safety standards, and audit frameworks.
• Context: The mission aims to position India as a global AI hub while ensuring sovereign AI capabilities in critical sectors.

Static linkage: Digital India, AI policy, innovation ecosystem (Science and Economy).

GS area: Governance (Consumer Protection, Digital Economy)

The US Federal Trade Commission's "Click-to-Cancel" rule came into effect in October 2024. Although a US regulation, it carries direct implications for Indian tech and subscription businesses operating globally.

• What it requires: Companies that offer subscription services must make cancellation as simple as the initial sign-up. If a user signed up online in one click, they must be able to cancel online in one click.
• Relevance for India: Indian consumers of global services (streaming platforms, software subscriptions, app marketplaces) benefit directly. Indian tech companies operating in the US or exporting services must comply.
• India's consumer protection law: The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, does not have an equivalent provision but CCPA has broader powers to address unfair trade practices including dark patterns in digital commerce.

Static linkage: Consumer protection, digital commerce, dark patterns (Governance).

GS area: International Relations (Labour Migration)

Saudi Arabia's Musaned Platform, a wage protection system for foreign domestic workers, was examined in the context of Indian migrant worker rights.

• What Musaned does: Records and monitors employment contracts of domestic workers in Saudi Arabia. Workers can report violations, apply for visa status changes, and access dispute resolution through the platform.
• India-Saudi labour corridor: Saudi Arabia is the largest recipient of Indian migrant workers. Over 2.5 million Indians work in Saudi Arabia. Domestic workers, who are often isolated in private homes, are among the most vulnerable.
• ECR protection: India's Emigration Check Required system (e-Migrate portal) is supposed to vet employment contracts before workers depart. The Musaned platform is the Saudi-side complement.

Static linkage: Labour migration, Indian diaspora, bilateral relations with Gulf states (International Relations).