1 May 2025

• Polity: Cabinet approved caste enumeration as part of the upcoming Population Census, reversing the 2021 stance.
• Labour: International Labour Day spotlight on India's bonded labour crisis. Article 23 prohibits forced labour yet enforcement remains weak.
• Environment: India's first inter-state cheetah conservation corridor spans 17,000 sq km across Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• Agriculture: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs fixed the Fair and Remunerative Price for sugarcane at ₹355 per quintal for 2025-26.
• Security: CBI launched Operation Hawk targeting online child sexual exploitation networks.

GS area: Polity, Governance, Social Justice

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs approved the inclusion of caste enumeration in the upcoming Population Census. This reverses the 2021 position against such enumeration and is the first official commitment to a full caste census since Independence.

• Last full caste census: Conducted in 1931 under British administration.
• SECC 2011: The Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011 attempted collection but its caste data remains unpublished.
• Mandal Commission gap: The Commission estimated OBC population at 52 per cent without contemporary empirical support. Bihar's 2023 survey found OBCs and Extremely Backward Classes together at 63 per cent.
• Constitutional basis: Article 340 empowers the President to appoint a commission to investigate the condition of socially and educationally backward classes. This is the primary provision authorising such data collection.
• Census as Union subject: Census appears at Item 69 of the Seventh Schedule Union List. Article 246 places it within Parliament's exclusive legislative domain.

The core policy question is whether enumeration of castes will sharpen or soften identity-based politics. Supporters argue it is necessary to design proportionate welfare. Critics warn it could deepen caste identities without improving outcomes.

Static linkage: Constitutional provisions (Seventh Schedule), social justice (OBCs, affirmative action).

GS area: Social Justice, Constitutional Rights, Labour

India's bonded labour crisis came under scrutiny on International Labour Day. The numbers point to a large gap between law and enforcement.

• Scale of the problem: An estimated 84 crore bonded labourers exist across India according to advocacy estimates. Between 2016 and 2021 only 12,760 persons were rescued, less than 1 per cent of the estimated total.
• Rehabilitation Scheme 2016: Targets 1.84 crore rescues by 2030. Progress is far behind schedule.
• Community profile: Over 80 per cent of victims belong to SC, ST or OBC communities.
• Constitutional protection: Article 23 prohibits traffic in human beings and all forms of forced labour. Article 21 guarantees the right to life with dignity.
• Statute: The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 is the primary legislation. It abolished the system and made it a criminal offence.
• Sector reality: The unorganised sector employs roughly 39 crore of India's 47 crore total workers. Ninety per cent of the workforce is in the informal economy, which is the primary zone of exploitation.

The persistence of bonded labour despite a 1976 abolition statute reflects weak enforcement, caste-based discrimination and the absence of viable post-rescue support.

Static linkage: Fundamental Rights (Article 23), labour law, social justice.

GS area: Environment, Energy Policy, Science and Technology

Governments and private companies across the world are intensifying exploration of naturally occurring hydrogen deposits.

• What it is: Free molecular hydrogen (H₂) occurring naturally underground. Unlike green hydrogen produced by electrolysis, it requires no energy input to generate.
• Cost potential: Studies project production costs near $1 per kilogram versus higher costs for green hydrogen.
• How it forms: Primarily through serpentinisation (water reacting with iron-rich rocks), radiolysis (radiation splitting water) and organic decomposition.
• Energy advantage: Hydrogen fuel cells are about three times more efficient than internal combustion engines. The only combustion by-product is water vapour.
• Challenges: Reserves remain largely unmapped; deposits are scattered; storage and transport are complex because hydrogen is flammable and odourless; and refuelling infrastructure does not exist at scale.

Static linkage: Energy security, renewable energy alternatives, National Green Hydrogen Mission.

GS area: Environment, Biodiversity, Inter-state cooperation

Rajasthan joined Madhya Pradesh to create India's first inter-state cheetah conservation corridor.

• Coverage: 17,000 sq km in total. Madhya Pradesh contributes 10,500 sq km; Rajasthan 6,500 sq km.
• Key locations: Panna National Park and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh; Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. Districts involved in Rajasthan include Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli and Chittorgarh.
• Institutional support: The National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India back the project.
• Significance: The corridor enables natural cheetah migration across state boundaries, which is essential for genetic diversity and population viability. It is described as a unique conservation model in Asia.

Static linkage: Wildlife conservation, Project Cheetah, national parks and sanctuaries.

GS area: Agricultural Economics, Price Policy, Farmer Welfare

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the Fair and Remunerative Price for sugarcane at ₹355 per quintal for the 2025-26 season.

• What FRP is: The Fair and Remunerative Price is the minimum price sugar mills must legally pay to sugarcane farmers. It replaced the earlier Statutory Minimum Price in 2009.
• Legal basis: The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 provides the statutory backing.
• Recommending body: The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices recommends the FRP. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gives final approval.
• Increase: The 2025-26 rate represents a 4 per cent increase over the previous season.
• Low-recovery protection: Even if sugar recovery falls below 9.5 per cent, mills must pay a floor of ₹329.05 per quintal.
• Payment timeline: Mills must pay within 14 days of cane delivery.

Static linkage: Agricultural price policy, CACP, farmer welfare schemes.

GS area: Governance, Urban Finance, Security

Two distinct news items round out the day.

• Ghaziabad Green Municipal Bond: Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam issued India's first certified green municipal bond worth ₹150 crore. The proceeds fund a Tertiary Sewage Treatment Plant. The bond aligns with Green Bond Principles and ESG standards. It demonstrates a replicable financing model for other municipal bodies under SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation).
• Operation Hawk: The Central Bureau of Investigation launched Operation Hawk to combat international online child sexual exploitation. The operation targets networks with Indian connections using digital seizures and coordination with the FBI and Interpol. Legal tools include the IPC, the Information Technology Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).

Static linkage: Urban local bodies and finance; cybercrime law; CBI jurisdiction.

• National Security Advisory Board reconstituted: The NSAB was established in December 1998 and functions under the National Security Council Secretariat. Its 16 members serve two-year terms and provide independent strategic analysis. Former R&AW chief Alok Joshi was appointed Chairman.
• National Medical Register: Eight months after launch, less than 1 per cent of India's doctors had enrolled. The NMR is established under Section 31 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 and is a centralised digital database of allopathic practitioners.