19 August 2025

• Governance: FAO reports global hunger at 8.2 per cent : India reduced undernourishment for 30 million people.
• Polity: Chief Election Commissioner removal procedure under Article 324 and the 50 MP support requirement.
• Energy: Removable solar panels installed at Banaras Locomotive Works : 15 KWp capacity generating green power for Indian Railways.
• Law: Indian Ports Bill 2025 replaces the 115-year-old Indian Ports Act 1908.
• Space: India's moon mission timeline confirmed : Gaganyaan in 2027, Bharat Antariksh Station by 2035.

GS area: Governance (Food Security), Society

The Food and Agriculture Organisation reported global undernourishment at 8.2 per cent (673 million people) in its 2025 State of Food Security report.

• India's progress: Undernourishment reduced from a higher baseline, helping approximately 30 million fewer people go hungry.
• Caveat: The cost of a healthy diet remains unaffordable for 60 per cent of India's population. Caloric adequacy does not equal nutritional adequacy.
• Government programmes: PM POSHAN (mid-day meals, 2021 renamed), ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services), Anaemia Mukt Bharat, Jal Jeevan Mission (access to clean water reduces disease that worsens nutrition).
• PDS scale: The Public Distribution System covers 800 million beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act 2013 and PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
• The paradox: India has reduced undernourishment in absolute numbers while remaining one of the world's largest contributors to the global hungry population.

Static linkage: Food security, welfare schemes, nutrition policy.

GS area: Polity (Constitutional Bodies)

The procedure for removing the Chief Election Commissioner entered debate around ECI accountability discussions.

• Constitutional provision: Article 324(5) : the CEC shall not be removed from office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.
• Required support: A motion for removal must have the support of at least 50 Members of Parliament to be admitted for consideration.
• Parliamentary process: Requires an address from both Houses of Parliament, each passed by an absolute majority and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
• Grounds: Proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
• Historical fact: No CEC has been removed since independence.
• Election Commissioners: Their removal process is simpler : they can be removed on the recommendation of the CEC. This asymmetry has been criticised.

Static linkage: Constitutional bodies, Election Commission, Polity.

GS area: Economy (Maritime), Governance

The Indian Ports Bill 2025 was introduced to replace the Indian Ports Act 1908 : a colonial statute.

• Maritime State Development Council: A new coordination body between the Centre and states to plan port development coherently. States have their own ports alongside major ports under the Centre.
• State Maritime Boards: Statutory bodies for each state's non-major ports, with defined powers.
• Tariff autonomy: Port authorities gain greater flexibility to set tariffs without central approval for routine service charges.
• Environmental standards: Requires compliance with MARPOL (Marine Pollution) convention standards for waste management, oil spill prevention and air emissions from vessels.
• Why it matters: India aims to handle 10,000 million tonnes of cargo annually by 2047. The 1908 Act was written for colonial trade flows. Modern port governance requires statutory authority for digital infrastructure, container operations and multi-modal logistics.

Static linkage: Maritime policy, economy, governance.

GS area: Polity (Federal Structure)

The powers of Lieutenant Governors to nominate members to union territory assemblies vary.

• Jammu and Kashmir: The Lieutenant Governor can nominate five members : two women, two Kashmiri migrants, one displaced person from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Legal basis: Section 14 of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 (amended 2023).
• Puducherry: The central government nominates up to three members to the Puducherry Legislative Assembly.
• Delhi: No nominated MLA provision exists under the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991.
• Why this is a prelims question: The variation in nomination powers across union territories is a frequent MCQ topic. The J&K provision is especially significant post-2019.

Static linkage: Union territories, Polity, federal structure.

GS area: Environment (Water Security), Governance

A Central Ground Water Authority classification identified 193 districts as over-exploited, critical or semi-critical for groundwater.

• Breakdown: 102 over-exploited (groundwater extraction exceeds recharge), 22 critical (extraction between 90 and 100 per cent of recharge), 69 semi-critical.
• Worst-affected states: Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
• Central scheme: Jal Shakti Abhiyan (2019-2025) : a government-led campaign for rainwater harvesting, check dam construction and aquifer recharge.
• Consequence: Over-exploited aquifers are drawing down. Once a deep aquifer is depleted, natural recharge takes decades. This is irreversible on human timescales.
• Policy link: The National Water Policy (2012) and the Draft National Water Framework Act remain incomplete policy responses to a crisis that is now measurable and mapped.

Static linkage: Water security, environment, governance.

GS area: Science and Technology

ISRO's crewed and lunar mission timeline was reconfirmed through official statements.

• Vyommitra mission (2026): An uncrewed mission with Vyommitra : ISRO's humanoid robot. It validates Gaganyaan life support systems and spacecraft operations in orbit.
• Gaganyaan (2027): India's first crewed orbital mission. Two to three Indian Air Force test pilots will fly to low Earth orbit.
• Bharat Antariksh Station (2035): India's own space station in low Earth orbit.
• Indian astronaut on Moon (2040): The declared target for a crewed lunar landing.
• HOPE connection: The Human Outer Planetary Exploration (HOPE) simulation station at Tso Kar, Ladakh feeds research into psychological, physiological and epigenetic responses to isolation : relevant to the 2040 moon mission.

Static linkage: Space, science and technology, India's space programme.

• UNHCR Sri Lankan Tamil refugees: UNHCR suspended repatriation of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees from India after returnees were arrested for alleged immigration violations. UNHCR under Filippo Grandi (since 2016) protects refugees, stateless persons and internally displaced people.
• Women in Indian armed forces (2025 data): Army : 1,735 women (6.85 per cent of officers). Air Force : 1,614 women (13.4 per cent). Navy : 674 women (6 per cent). Army has 12 open branches including combat roles.
• Ranthambore National Park: In Sawai Madhopur district, Rajasthan. 1,334 sq km. Project Tiger Reserve since 1973. Notable for the Ranthambore Fort (UNESCO tentative list). Three main water bodies: Padam Talao (largest), Raj Bagh Talao, Milak Talao.