22 June 2025

• The Supreme Court awarded Rs 5 lakh compensation for 28-day wrongful detention after bail was granted but not executed on hyper-technical grounds.
• India slipped from rank 63 to rank 71 on WEF's Energy Transition Index 2025 which measures energy equity, security and sustainability.
• Lucknow was nominated for the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Gastronomy.
• Operation Sindhu continued evacuating Indian nationals from Iran via Armenia with MEA coordinating through a 24-hour control room.
• The Atal Pension Yojana crossed 629 lakh subscribers as pension coverage debate intensified ahead of a projected old-age dependency ratio of 30 per cent by 2050.

GS area: GS-II (Judiciary, Fundamental Rights), GS-IV (Ethics)

The Supreme Court granted Rs 5 lakh compensation to a person who remained in custody for 28 days after a court had granted bail. The bench of Justices K.V. Vishwanathan and N.K. Singh held that detention on hyper-technical grounds after bail violates constitutional guarantees.

• Article 21: Guarantees that no person shall be deprived of their life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to include the right to speedy trial, right to bail and right against arbitrary detention.
• Hyper-technical grounds: The Court's term for procedural pretexts used to delay release after a court orders bail. Examples include demanding sureties in forms not prescribed by law or requiring documents not mandated by the order. Courts have consistently held such practices are unconstitutional.
• Compensation jurisdiction: The Supreme Court has power under Article 32 to grant monetary compensation for violation of fundamental rights by the State. This is called constitutional tort or constitutional compensation.
• Right to life and personal liberty: Article 21 protections apply from the moment a bail order is issued. Continued detention after a bail order transforms lawful custody into unlawful confinement.
• Significance: The ruling reinforces that procedural formalism cannot be used to circumvent substantive rights. It places an obligation on jail authorities and courts to execute bail orders without manufactured delay.

This judgment is directly testable in GS-II on judicial review and in GS-IV on the ethics of institutional compliance with court orders.

Revises: Article 21, fundamental rights, writ jurisdiction under Articles 32 and 226.

GS area: GS-III (Energy, Environment, International indices)

India fell eight places on the World Economic Forum's Energy Transition Index 2025, moving from rank 63 in 2024 to rank 71. The index measures a country's progress toward an affordable, secure and sustainable energy system.

• World Economic Forum (WEF): An international non-governmental organisation headquartered in Cologny, Switzerland. It publishes indices on global competitiveness, energy transition and gender gaps among others.
• Energy Transition Index (ETI): Published annually by WEF. It scores countries on three dimensions: energy equity (access and affordability), energy security (reliability and diversity of supply) and sustainability (emissions and environmental performance).
• India's score context: India's decline reflects tensions between rapid energy demand growth and the pace of clean energy deployment. Coal still accounts for the largest share of India's electricity generation.
• Top performers: Nordic countries and small advanced economies typically lead the ETI. Their advantage lies in established renewable infrastructure and lower per-capita energy demand.
• Policy relevance: India's National Action Plan on Climate Change, the National Solar Mission and PM-KUSUM target improvements on sustainability. Energy equity is addressed through schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and Saubhagya.
• Distinction from other indices: The ETI differs from the Climate Change Performance Index (published by Germanwatch) and from the IEA's World Energy Outlook. Confusing these three sources is a common MCQ trap.

Revises: Energy policy, climate commitments, international environmental indices.

GS area: GS-II (India's foreign policy, Bilateral relations)

Operation Sindhu is India's ongoing evacuation of nationals caught in the conflict zone following the Israel-Iran escalation. Nationals are being moved via Armenia as a transit country.

• MEA coordination: The Ministry of External Affairs is running a 24-hour control room to track Indian citizens in Iran and coordinate exits. This model mirrors Operation Kaveri (Sudan 2023) and Operation Dost (Turkey earthquake 2023).
• Transit route: Armenia is being used as an intermediary transit point because direct air routes from Iran are disrupted. Indian nationals fly to Yerevan before onward travel to India.
• Strait of Hormuz: A strategic chokepoint between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Roughly 20 per cent of global oil trade passes through it. Any military escalation near Iran directly threatens shipping through the Strait.
• Indian community in the Gulf: Approximately 9 million Indian nationals live and work in Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Remittances from the Gulf constitute a major share of India's total inward remittances.
• Evacuation precedent: India has conducted named evacuations for its nationals in conflict zones including Operation Maitri (Nepal 2015), Operation Raahat (Yemen 2015) and Operation Kaveri (Sudan 2023). These demonstrate a standing MEA-military coordination mechanism.

Revises: India's diaspora policy, Gulf relations, Strait of Hormuz, MEA structure.

GS area: GS-I (Culture), GS-II (International institutions)

Lucknow was nominated for the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Gastronomy in June 2025. Acceptance would make Lucknow the first Indian city in the Gastronomy category.

• UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN): Established by UNESCO in 2004 to promote sustainable urban development through culture and creativity. Cities join in one of seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music.
• Scale: The network includes over 350 cities in more than 90 countries. Membership gives cities access to shared platforms, resources and policy frameworks for creative economy development.
• Gastronomy category: Cities nominated as Cities of Gastronomy are recognised for a well-developed gastronomic ecosystem including culinary traditions, local food markets, culinary education and food tourism.
• Lucknow's claim: Lucknow is known for its Awadhi cuisine including dum biryani, galouti kebab and sheermal. The city's culinary identity is tied to its Nawabi cultural heritage.
• Indian cities already in UCCN: Jaipur (Crafts and Folk Art), Mumbai (Film), Varanasi (Creative City of Music) and Srinagar (Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art) are existing Indian members.
• UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Headquartered in Paris. Maintains the World Heritage List, the Intangible Cultural Heritage list and the UCCN among its cultural programmes.

Revises: UNESCO conventions, India's cultural heritage nominations, urban cultural economy.

GS area: GS-III (Agriculture, Government schemes)

A suite of centrally sponsored schemes targets natural farming, soil health and solar energy adoption in agriculture. These schemes appear frequently in prelims.

• National Mission for Natural Farming (NMNF): Provides Rs 4,000 per acre per year for two years to farmers who shift to chemical-free natural farming. It promotes zero-budget practices such as Jivamrita (microbial cultures from cow dung) and Bijamrita (seed treatment).
• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY): Targets 15 lakh hectares under organic farming. It clusters farmers into groups of 50 and provides end-to-end support from certification to market linkage.
• Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM): An online trading platform that links agricultural mandis across India. It has 1.80 crore registered farmers. Total trading value through the platform has reached Rs 4,82,350 crore.
• Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme: Issues soil test-based cards to farmers that detail nutrient status and recommend appropriate inputs. Over 20 crore cards have been issued.
• PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan): Promotes solar energy use by farmers for irrigation and other needs. Over 35 lakh farmers have been reached.
• Ministry: The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare administers these schemes. e-NAM is implemented by the Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC).

Revises: Agriculture policy, food security, government schemes for farmers.

GS area: GS-II (Social sector, Vulnerable sections), GS-III (Economy)

India covers only 12 per cent of its workforce under formal pension schemes. As the old-age dependency ratio approaches 30 per cent by 2050, the policy gap is significant.

• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA): The statutory regulator for pension funds in India. It regulates the National Pension System and the Atal Pension Yojana. It was established under the PFRDA Act 2013.
• National Pension System (NPS): A defined-contribution pension scheme open to government employees (mandatory for central government recruits from 2004) and voluntary for other citizens. Returns depend on market-linked fund performance.
• Atal Pension Yojana (APY): A government-backed defined-benefit scheme for unorganised sector workers. The government co-contributes for eligible subscribers for five years. APY guarantees a fixed monthly pension between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000. Subscribers: 629 lakh as of 2025.
• Unified Pension Scheme (UPS): Announced in August 2024. It replaces the NPS for central government employees from 1 April 2025. It provides a defined-benefit element equal to 50 per cent of average pay over the last year of service for employees with 25 or more years of service.
• Old-age dependency ratio: The number of people aged 60 and above per 100 working-age people (15 to 59). India's ratio is projected to reach 30 per cent by 2050 as the demographic dividend transitions to demographic pressure.
• Coverage gap: Formal pension schemes cover only 12 per cent of the total workforce. The unorganised sector, which employs roughly 90 per cent of workers, has minimal coverage.

Revises: Social security framework, PFRDA, NPS, APY, welfare schemes.

GS area: GS-II (International institutions), GS-III (Health)

The One Health framework featured in this year's Yoga Day theme and represents a growing international consensus on integrated health governance.

• One Health defined: A collaborative multi-sectoral approach that recognises that human health, animal health and ecosystem health are interdependent. It was formalised through a tripartite agreement between WHO, FAO and UNEP in 2021.
• Rationale: Seventy-five per cent of new infectious diseases are zoonotic, meaning they originate in animals. Ecosystem degradation increases the risk of spillover events. One Health addresses this by coordinating surveillance and response across sectors.
• WHO: The World Health Organization leads the human health pillar of One Health.
• FAO: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads the animal health and food safety pillar.
• UNEP: The United Nations Environment Programme leads the ecosystem health pillar.
• India's relevance: India has experienced zoonotic outbreaks including Nipah (Kerala) and avian influenza. India's One Health framework under the National One Health Mission coordinates the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment.

Revises: International health institutions, zoonotic diseases, environmental governance.

• Israel-Iran oil market: Global oil prices showed early stabilisation after US-mediated signals of de-escalation. Iran's Fattah hypersonic missile (Mach 13 to 15, range 1,400 km) remained a watched variable. India has been diversifying crude oil suppliers to reduce Gulf dependency.
• Harit Yoga follow-on: Tree-planting events continued under the Harit Yoga programme across Indian cities following the 21 June Yoga Day launch. Ministry of AYUSH reported participation from state governments in all 28 states.
• IPPB multilingual access: India Post Payments Bank's 13-language interface was highlighted as a model for inclusive fintech after its Digital Payments Award. Rural penetration through postmen agents remains unmatched in reach.