5 July 2025

• History: The 50th anniversary of the Emergency (declared 25 June 1975) remained in political debate. RSS backed removing "Secular" and "Socialist" from the Preamble.
• Schemes: PM-POSHAN covers 11.80 crore children in 11.20 lakh schools but faces fund delays and per-child allocation gaps.
• Environment: The C-FLOOD App, India's first village-level flood inundation forecasting tool, provides 2-day advance warnings in three river basins.
• Economy: The RBI used Variable Rate Reverse Repo auctions of 1 lakh crore rupees to absorb excess liquidity.
• Heritage: 4 July marks the birth anniversary of Alluri Sitarama Raju, leader of the Rampa Rebellion.

GS area: Polity (Constitution, Emergency provisions, history)

The Emergency declared on 25 June 1975 under Article 352 completed 50 years of contested memory. The facts are the thing.

• Article 352: Allows proclamation of National Emergency on grounds of war, external aggression or armed rebellion (the 44th Amendment changed "internal disturbance" to the narrower "armed rebellion").
• Duration: 1975 to 1977. Under Indira Gandhi's government.
• Preventive detention: The Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was used. Over 1,00,000 citizens were arrested.
• Sterilisation programme: 8.3 million sterilisations in 1976-77. 6.2 million were vasectomies. Incentives included 150 rupees cash, radios and food grains.
• Turkman Gate: Over 1,000 homes demolished in Delhi. Police firing caused deaths.
• Justice H.R. Khanna: The sole Supreme Court judge who affirmed the right to life during the Emergency, in ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla (1976).
• 44th Amendment (1978): Post-Emergency reform. Changed "internal disturbance" to "armed rebellion" to raise the threshold. Strengthened Article 21 protections.
• Shah Commission (1978): Investigated Emergency excesses including the sterilisation programme.

The 42nd Amendment inserted "Secular" and "Socialist" in the Preamble during this period. The political demand to remove them references this origin.

Static linkage: Polity (Article 352, Emergency, 44th Amendment, fundamental rights).

GS area: Governance (education, nutrition schemes)

PM-POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman) was launched in 2021-22, replacing the 1995 Midday Meal Scheme. It has been running in some form since the Madras experiment of the 1920s.

• Coverage: 11.80 crore children across 11.20 lakh government and government-aided schools up to Class 8.
• Funding: Centrally Sponsored Scheme with 60:40 sharing between Centre and States. Budget: 54,061 crore rupees (Centre) plus 31,733 crore rupees (States) through 2025-26.
• The allocation gap: The per-child allocation is 6 to 10 rupees per day. Actual cost is 30 to 40 rupees per day. States absorb the difference, often inadequately.
• Fund delays: States report 3 to 6 month delays in central fund disbursals.
• Other issues: Caste-based discrimination in serving meals has been documented. Teacher burden from cooking supervision reduces teaching hours.

The school meal is one of the most evidence-supported nudges for both attendance and nutrition. The gap between the scheme's ambition and its per-meal funding is a governance failure.

Static linkage: Governance (nutrition, education, centrally sponsored schemes, Anganwadi).

GS area: Disaster Management, Science and Technology

India's first unified web-based flood inundation forecasting platform was launched jointly by C-DAC Pune, the Central Water Commission and NRSC.

• Advance warning: Two-day forecasts at the village or Gram Panchayat level.
• River basins covered: Mahanadi, Godavari and Tapi basins at launch. Expandable.
• Technology: Advanced 2-D hydrodynamic modelling on high-performance computing.
• Significance: Previous flood warnings reached district or block level. Village-level granularity allows direct evacuation planning.

Static linkage: Disaster management (flood warning, C-DAC, CWC), science and technology.

GS area: Science and Technology (animal health, international trade)

The Equine Disease-Free Compartment at the Remount Veterinary Corps Centre in Meerut received recognition from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

• Disease-free status: Equine Influenza, Glanders, Surra, Equine Piroplasmosis and Equine Infectious Anemia.
• WOAH: The intergovernmental body (formerly OIE) that sets global animal health standards. Recognition from WOAH is the international certification of disease-free status.
• Significance: WOAH recognition allows India to participate in international horse trade and equestrian sports, including at the Olympics.

Static linkage: Science and technology (animal health, WOAH), international relations (trade).

GS area: Economy (minerals, industry)

The Ministry of Coal and Mines released an Aluminium Vision Document targeting a six-fold increase in production capacity by 2047.

• Current position: India is a significant aluminium producer but imports aluminium products for high-value end uses.
• Bauxite target: Expand production to 150 million tonnes per annum.
• Recycling: Double current recycling rates.
• Strategic link: Aluminium is critical for clean energy infrastructure, electric vehicles, aerospace and defence. The Vision links to Aatmanirbhar Bharat in these sectors.

Static linkage: Economy (minerals, industry policy, clean energy).

GS area: International Relations (health policy), Economy

The World Health Organization's 3 by 35 initiative targets raising real prices of tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks by 50 per cent through taxation by 2035.

• Revenue target: 1 trillion US dollars in additional public revenue globally by 2035.
• Health savings: Up to 3.7 trillion dollars within five years from reduced non-communicable disease burden.
• Mechanism: Sin taxes on products that cause preventable deaths. The tax rate must be high enough to actually change behaviour, not just generate revenue.
• India angle: India already levies GST and cess on tobacco and alcohol. Alignment with the WHO target would require higher effective rates.

Static linkage: International relations (WHO, global health governance), economy (taxation, NCDs).

GS area: History (freedom struggle, tribal revolts)

Alluri Sitarama Raju was born on 4 July 1897 in Mogallu village, East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. The Rampa Rebellion he led from 1922 to 1924 is the focus.

• Trigger: The Madras Forest Act of 1882 restricted tribal access to forest land for cultivation and hunting. British administration enforced it harshly in the Agency tracts.
• Strategy: Initially joined the Non-Cooperation Movement. Later shifted to armed guerrilla resistance in the forests.
• Death: Captured and executed by the British on 7 May 1924.
• Title: Known as "Manyam Veerudu," meaning Hero of the Jungle.
• Legacy: The 2022 film RRR depicted his story. The Government of India issued a commemorative coin.

Static linkage: History (tribal revolts, colonial forest policy, freedom struggle).

GS area: Economy (monetary policy, banking)

The Reserve Bank of India conducted a Variable Rate Reverse Repo auction of 1 lakh crore rupees with a 7-day tenure to absorb excess banking system liquidity.

• What VRRR does: The RBI borrows from banks at a rate discovered by auction. This drains surplus rupees from the system.
• Rate: Cannot exceed the current Repo Rate. The auction determines the precise rate within that ceiling.
• Why it matters: Excess liquidity can push short-term market rates below the RBI's target band. VRRR keeps rates in the corridor.
• Difference from MSS: Market Stabilisation Scheme uses government securities for the same purpose. VRRR is a short-term repo-market tool.

Static linkage: Economy (monetary policy tools, RBI, liquidity management).

• Chautal (classical music): A 12-beat rhythmic cycle associated with the Dhrupad tradition and the pakhawaj drum. Four or six sub-divisions (vibhags). Medium tempo with room for improvisation via "thapi" technique. Rarely tested but worth recognising.
• FAO youth agrifood report: The share of youth in agrifood systems fell from 54 per cent (2005) to 44 per cent. Global youth food insecurity rose from 16.7 per cent to 24.4 per cent between 2014 and 2023. FAO recommends structured investment in decent agri-jobs for rural youth.