2 May 2025

• Polity: Private Member's Bills have nearly vanished from Parliament's working time. The 18th Lok Sabha discussed zero PMBs in 2024.
• Security: Operation Kagar, the largest anti-Naxal campaign, reduced affected districts from 106 to just 6.
• Geography: Bhakra-Nangal dam dispute: BBMB ordered water release to Haryana while Punjab opposed it.
• Governance: Depot Darpan portal launched for real-time monitoring of 2,278 food storage warehouses.
• History: ASI discovered 11 Satavahana-era inscriptions linking to the Chutu dynasty.

GS area: Polity, Governance, Parliamentary Procedures

Private Member's Bills have witnessed a sharp decline in deliberation despite their constitutional importance.

• What a PMB is: A bill introduced by an MP who is not a government minister. These are introduced on Fridays under the Rules of Procedure and follow the same legislative stages as government bills.
• Scale of decline: The 17th Lok Sabha (2019-24) introduced 729 PMBs but discussed only 2. The 18th Lok Sabha in 2024 introduced 64 PMBs and discussed zero.
• Time collapse: During the Winter Session of 2024, Lok Sabha spent just 0.15 hours and Rajya Sabha 0.62 hours on PMBs.
• Historical record: Only 14 PMBs have passed since Independence. None has passed both Houses since 1970.
• Reasons for decline: Government bills dominate the legislative calendar; frequent disruptions consume Friday time; the anti-defection law curbs independent dissent; and scheduling is at the Chair's discretion.
• Proposed reforms: Protecting Friday time by statute; shifting PMBs to Wednesdays; creating a priority committee; extending working hours; implementing digital tracking systems.

PMBs serve as policy incubators and allow MPs to express independent positions. Their near-disappearance weakens parliamentary oversight.

Static linkage: Parliament and state legislatures, anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule).

GS area: Education, Social Justice, Governance

Delhi mandated prior approval for private school fee hikes, highlighting the need for a national framework.

• Scale of the problem: NSS 2017-18 data shows the average private school fee in Delhi was ₹32,003, three times the national average of ₹11,026.
• Constitutional basis: Article 21A guarantees the Right to Education for children aged 6 to 14.
• State models:
  • Delhi: Approval-based model under the Delhi School Education Act, 1973. Schools need government permission before raising fees.
  • Bengaluru: Formula-based cap of 10 per cent annual increase with audit backing.
  • Mumbai: Objection-based grievance model with a Fee Regulatory Committee reviewing cases where 25 per cent or more parents object.
• Central gap: No central guiding law exists. The 17th Lok Sabha spent only 9.08 hours discussing private education.

Static linkage: Right to Education Act 2009, Article 21A, decentralised governance.

GS area: Internal Security, Left Wing Extremism

Operation Kagar is the Union Government's large-scale counterinsurgency campaign targeting Maoist strongholds.

• Launch: January 2024, involving over 1 lakh personnel including CRPF, CoBRA, DRG, STF and state police forces.
• Core zones: Bastar (Chhattisgarh), Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) and West Singhbhum (Jharkhand).
• Impact: Naxal-affected districts reduced from 106 in 2015 to just 6 in 2025. Over 287 Naxals were neutralised in 2024 and 150 or more already in 2025.
• Technology used: Drones, AI-enabled surveillance and satellite imagery.
• Objective: Restore state control in affected areas; enable development programmes; protect tribal communities from Maoist exploitation.

Static linkage: Left Wing Extremism, internal security, tribal communities.

GS area: Governance, Food Security, Digital Infrastructure

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution launched Depot Darpan, a real-time monitoring portal for food storage depots.

• Coverage: 2,278 warehouses managed by the Food Corporation of India, Central Warehousing Corporation and state or private agencies.
• Technology: Geo-tagged data, IoT sensors and AI tools.
• Features: Real-time monitoring, geo-tagged auditing, automated ratings, CO₂ and phosphine gas monitoring, humidity and temperature sensors, AI-based bag counting, face recognition and automatic number plate recognition systems.
• Significance: Strengthens the food security infrastructure serving 80 crore NFSA beneficiaries. Reduces grain wastage and improves supply chain efficiency.

Static linkage: Public Distribution System, National Food Security Act, food governance.

GS area: Environment, Biodiversity, Ancient History

Two distinct items merit attention.

• Palamu Tiger Reserve: Jharkhand's Jaigir became the first village fully relocated from the PTR core zone. Palamu is Jharkhand's only tiger reserve, located in Latehar district on the Chhotanagpur Plateau. It was one of India's original nine Project Tiger reserves, notified in 1974. It is notable as the site of the world's first tiger pugmark-based census conducted in 1932 by J.W. Nicholson. Dominant flora is the Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous forest. Key rivers are the North Koel and Burha.
• Satavahana inscriptions: ASI discovered 11 inscriptions from the Satavahana era revealing links to the Chutu dynasty. The Satavahanas were founded by Simuka in the mid-1st century BCE. Their core regions were Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra with capitals at Pratishthana (Paithan) and Amaravati. They used Prakrit in Brahmi script and built rock-cut temples like the Karle Chaitya and stupas at Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda.

Static linkage: Ancient Indian history (Satavahanas), wildlife conservation (Project Tiger).

GS area: Indian Geography, Water Resources, Federal Relations

The Bhakra-Beas Management Board ordered water release to Haryana while Punjab opposed the decision, citing its own water needs.

• Bhakra Dam: Located on the Sutlej River near Bhakra village in Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh, about 13 km upstream from Nangal, Punjab. It is a concrete gravity dam.
• Gobind Sagar Reservoir: Created by Bhakra Dam. Capacity is 34 billion cubic metres, making it India's second largest reservoir after Indira Sagar.
• Sutlej River: Originates at Lake Rakshastal near Mount Kailash in southwestern Tibet at over 15,000 feet elevation. One of three trans-Himalayan rivers originating in Tibet (the others are the Indus and the Brahmaputra). It enters India at Shipki La Pass in Himachal Pradesh.
• BBMB: The Bhakra-Beas Management Board manages the shared water and power infrastructure between Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.

Static linkage: River systems of India, inter-state water disputes, Indus tributaries.