30 January 2025

• Governance: Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 Joint Committee finalised its report; the Bill proposes major changes to waqf governance and property management.
• Social Justice: The Supreme Court reiterated its ban on manual scavenging in six major metropolitan cities.
• Environment: National Critical Mineral Mission approved with an outlay of Rs 34,300 crore for securing critical minerals for green energy transition.
• International: Paris AI Summit scheduled for February 10-11, 2025, with India as co-chair alongside France.
• History: Martyrs' Day observed on 30 January, the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination in 1948.

GS area: Polity, Governance

The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 submitted its report to Parliament in January 2025.

• What is Waqf: A permanent dedication of movable or immovable property by a Muslim for religious, pious, or charitable purposes under Islamic law. Once a waqf, the property cannot be revoked.
• Existing law: Waqf Act, 1954 (replaced by Waqf Act, 1995). Waqf Boards exist in every state; the Central Waqf Council oversees them.
• Constitutional question: Article 26 guarantees every religious denomination the right to manage its own religious affairs. The Bill tests the boundary between governance reform and this fundamental right.
• Key proposed changes in the Bill:
  • A non-Muslim member to be included in State Waqf Boards (currently all-Muslim composition).
  • The District Collector (not the Waqf Tribunal) to adjudicate disputes over government land claimed as waqf.
  • "Waqf by user" (where long use establishes waqf status) to require formal registration.
  • Compulsory audit of waqf accounts.
• Opposition concerns: Critics argue the Bill violates Article 26 by allowing government interference in Muslim religious affairs.

Static linkage: Minority rights, religious freedom (Polity, GS Paper 2).

GS area: Social Justice, Governance

The Supreme Court reiterated its earlier orders banning manual scavenging in six metropolitan cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

• Manual scavenging: The practice of manually cleaning human excreta from dry latrines, open drains, septic tanks, and sewers. Workers are overwhelmingly from Scheduled Castes.
• Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013: Prohibits employment of manual scavengers and construction of dry latrines. Imposes criminal penalties.
• NAMASTE Scheme (National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem): Provides mechanised cleaning equipment for sewer and septic tank cleaning, replacing manual entry. Implemented by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Constitutional grounding: Article 17 abolishes "untouchability." Manual scavenging as a practice that enforces caste-based degrading work violates Article 21 (right to life and dignity) and Article 17.
• Safai Karamchari Andolan: The leading civil society organisation that filed petitions before the Supreme Court on this issue.

Static linkage: Social justice, scheduled castes, Directive Principles (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Economy, Environment

The Union Cabinet approved the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) with an outlay of Rs 34,300 crore.

• Purpose: Secure supply of critical minerals essential for renewable energy, electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing, and defence.
• List of critical minerals: India has identified 30 critical minerals (as of 2023), including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, rare earth elements, titanium, and manganese.
• Key components:
  • Domestic exploration of critical mineral blocks.
  • Investment in overseas critical mineral assets (via Khanij Bidesh India Limited, KABIL).
  • Stockpile creation.
  • Recycling ecosystem for battery and electronics waste.
• KABIL: A joint venture of NALCO, HCL, and MECL to secure overseas mineral assets (especially lithium and cobalt in Australia, Argentina, and Chile).
• Demand driver: India's target of 500 GW renewable energy by 2030 and 30% EV penetration by 2030 require massive critical mineral inputs.

Static linkage: Mining, energy transition, strategic resources (Economy, GS Paper 3).

GS area: International Relations, Science and Technology

The Paris AI Summit was scheduled for 10-11 February 2025, co-chaired by France and India.

• India's role: Co-chair with France, reflecting India's growing stature in global AI governance.
• India's AI infrastructure: The government allocated Rs 10,372 crore under IndiaAI Mission for AI compute infrastructure (10,000 GPUs), foundational model development, and AI skilling.
• Global AI safety: The Paris Summit was to build on the Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit (November 2023) and Seoul AI Summit (May 2024), focusing on AI for public interest and safety.
• India's position: India supports open-source AI development and democratisation of AI tools, contrasting with the proprietary approaches of major US companies. The DeepSeek development strengthened this position.
• Key tension: Safety advocates (EU approach: regulation-first) versus innovation advocates (US approach: innovation-first). India has positioned itself as a bridge.

Static linkage: Multilateral diplomacy, technology governance (International Relations and Science and Technology, GS Papers 2 and 3).

GS area: Modern Indian History

30 January marks the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, observed as Martyrs' Day.

• Assassination: Gandhi was shot on 30 January 1948 at Birla House (now Gandhi Smriti), New Delhi, by Nathuram Godse.
• Observation: The President, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Defence Minister pay floral tributes at Raj Ghat. Two-minute silence observed at 11:00 AM.
• Gandhi's death anniversary vs. independence: Gandhi was assassinated less than 6 months after India's independence on 15 August 1947.
• Raj Ghat: Located on the banks of the Yamuna in New Delhi. A simple black marble platform marks the spot of Gandhi's cremation.
• Gandhi's economic ideas: Trusteeship (wealthy hold wealth as trustees for society), Swadeshi (self-reliance in production), and Village Swaraj (decentralised village-based economy).

Static linkage: Indian freedom struggle, Gandhian philosophy (Modern History, GS Paper 1).

GS area: Science and Technology

China's EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) reactor achieved a plasma containment record of 1,000 seconds at a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius.

• Significance: Previous record was 403 seconds (also by EAST in 2023). This is a critical milestone toward sustained nuclear fusion reactions.
• How fusion works: Deuterium and tritium (hydrogen isotopes) fuse to form helium, releasing enormous energy. Unlike fission, fusion produces no long-lived radioactive waste.
• Temperature requirement: Fusion requires temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius, far hotter than the Sun's core.
• ITER Project: International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, under construction in Cadarache, France. India participates as a member through the ITER India project.
• ITER goal: Achieve Q=10 (10 times more energy output than input). The EAST record helps validate confinement physics for ITER.

Static linkage: Nuclear energy, science and technology (GS Paper 3).

• TEAM Initiative for MSMEs: Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Market Linkages Initiative. Connects MSMEs with ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) to access e-commerce markets without dependence on large platform intermediaries.
• DRC-M23 Conflict: M23 rebel group captured Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in January 2025. Rwanda is accused of backing M23. DRC conflict links to control of mineral resources (cobalt, coltan) essential for global EV supply chains.