Economy: The Ministry of Mines updated India's critical minerals list to 30 minerals. China dominates 87 per cent of rare earth processing globally.
Space: ISRO confirmed the SpaDeX mission launch for 30 December 2024. India would become the fourth country to demonstrate space docking.
Polity: The 55th GST Council meeting revised tax slabs on used cars, gene therapy and bank penalties.
Governance: The No-Detention Policy was scrapped for Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.
1. Critical Minerals: India's 30-Mineral List
GS area: Economy, Science and Technology
The Ministry of Mines identified 30 critical minerals vital for India's economic growth and national security.
Definition: Critical minerals are those essential for clean energy technologies, defence, electronics and high-tech manufacturing, and for which supply is vulnerable to disruption.
Complete import dependency: India has zero domestic production for 10 of the 30 critical minerals.
China's dominance:
Rare earth processing: 87 per cent globally.
Lithium refining: 58 per cent globally.
Silicon processing: 68 per cent globally.
India's deposits:
Lithium: Jammu and Kashmir (5.9 million tonnes, one of the world's largest deposits).
KABIL: Khanij Bidesh India Limited is a joint venture (NALCO + HCL + MECL) for overseas mineral asset acquisition.
India's international engagements: Member of Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), Critical Raw Materials Club (with EU), Australia's Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.
Static linkage: Economy (critical minerals, energy transition), science and technology.
2. SpaDeX Mission: India to Become Fourth Nation
GS area: Science and Technology
ISRO confirmed the launch of SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) on 30 December 2024 via PSLV-C60.
Objective: Demonstrate spacecraft rendezvous, docking, undocking and transfer of electrical power between docked satellites in orbit.
Satellites: SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target). Each weighing about 220 kg.
Orbit: 470-km circular orbit at 55-degree inclination.
Significance: India becomes the fourth country to demonstrate in-orbit docking, after Russia (1967), USA (1966) and China (2011).
Why docking matters: Docking is essential for the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS, India's planned space station), Gaganyaan human spaceflight, lunar missions and satellite servicing.
PSLV-C60: The 60th flight of India's PSLV. The PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) is ISRO's most reliable workhorse, with a success rate above 95 per cent.
Static linkage: Science and technology (ISRO, SpaDeX, space docking, Gaganyaan).
3. 55th GST Council Meeting: Revised Rates
GS area: Economy, Governance
The 55th GST Council meeting, chaired by Union Finance Minister, revised GST rates on several items.
Used cars (other than EVs): 18 per cent (uniform rate regardless of engine size, replacing the earlier variable rate structure).
New electric vehicles: 5 per cent (unchanged, continuing incentive for EV adoption).
Used electric vehicles: 18 per cent (newly specified, same as other used cars).
Gene therapy: Exempt from GST (to encourage medical innovation and patient access).
Bank penalties for non-compliance: Exempt from GST (charges for regulatory non-compliance are not a "service" attracting tax).
GST Council composition: Finance Ministers of all states and the Union Finance Minister (as chair). It is a constitutional body under Article 279A (inserted by the 101st Constitutional Amendment, 2016).
The Cirus (Canada-India-Reactor-Utility-Services) reactor entered the news in the context of India's nuclear history.
Criticality: Achieved on 10 July 1960 at BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre), Trombay, Mumbai.
Capacity: 40 MW thermal.
Built with: Canadian assistance under the Colombo Plan (1958 agreement). Canada provided heavy water; the US provided the design.
Fuel: Natural uranium metal.
Moderator: Heavy water (deuterium oxide).
Significance: Cirus produced the plutonium used in India's first nuclear test (Pokhran-I, 1974). Its decommissioning was a condition in some nuclear deal discussions. India decommissioned Cirus in December 2010.
UPSC angle: India's nuclear history, Pokhran tests (1974 and 1998) and the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal (2008) are recurring themes.
Static linkage: Science and technology (nuclear energy, BARC), modern history.
5. No-Detention Policy Scrapped for Central Schools
GS area: Governance, Education
The Central government scrapped the No-Detention Policy for Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) under Right to Education Act amendments.
No-Detention Policy: Part of the Right to Education Act, 2009. Originally mandated that no student could be detained (failed) from Classes 1 to 8.
RTE amendment: The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act, 2019 allowed states to reintroduce examinations in Classes 5 and 8 and to detain failing students.
Current position: States can now choose. 14 states and UTs continue the no-detention policy. The Centre has now removed it for KVs and JNVs.
Criticism of NDP: Students were promoted without learning outcomes. ASER surveys consistently found poor foundational literacy and numeracy despite rising enrolment.
NEP 2020 position: The National Education Policy, 2020 emphasises foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) through the NIPUN Bharat programme rather than examination-based detention.
Static linkage: Governance (education policy, RTE Act), social issues.
6. National Human Rights Commission: Appointment and Powers
GS area: Polity
Justice V. Ramasubramanian's appointment as NHRC Chair prompted a review of the commission's powers and limitations.
Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993: NHRC's founding legislation.
What NHRC can do: Investigate complaints, summon officials, enter and inspect prisons, request government documents, recommend compensation payments and institutional remedies.
What NHRC cannot do: Impose binding orders on the government. Its recommendations are non-binding but must receive a government response.
Limitation on complaints: Cannot investigate complaints older than one year from the incident. Cannot investigate complaints pending before state human rights commissions or being tried by court.
Paris Principles "A" status: Full compliance with independence, pluralism and mandate criteria.
Static linkage: Polity (human rights institutions, statutory bodies).
7. Briefly noted
GenCast: Google DeepMind's AI-based probabilistic weather forecasting model provides forecasts up to 15 days ahead. Trained on 40 years of European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) data (1979-2019). Outperforms traditional numerical weather prediction models for medium-range forecasts.
Panama Canal geography: 82 km long, connects Pacific (Gulf of Panama) and Atlantic (Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean). Uses lock system lifting ships 26 metres. Over 14,000 ships per year. Transited by about 5 per cent of global trade.
Practice MCQs
Check yourself
With reference to critical minerals identified by India's Ministry of Mines, consider the following statements: 1. India has complete import dependency for 10 of the 30 critical minerals. 2. India's largest graphite deposit is in Arunachal Pradesh. 3. China controls 87 per cent of global rare earth processing capacity. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Check yourself
The SpaDeX mission aims to make India the fourth country to demonstrate in-orbit space docking. Which of the following sequences correctly represents the order in which countries first demonstrated docking?
Check yourself
The GST Council is a constitutional body established under which provision?
Check yourself
The CIRUS reactor, decommissioned in 2010, produced material significant in which context?
Check yourself
The No-Detention Policy under the Right to Education Act, 2009 originally mandated: