21 August 2025

• Polity: Migrant voters in Bihar : 3.5 million deleted from rolls in Special Intensive Revision, creating political limbo.
• Defence: Agni-5 missile with MIRV capability successfully test-fired from Chandipur, Odisha.
• Space law: India lacks a national space law despite being party to five UN outer space treaties.
• Parliament: 130th Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2025 proposes automatic vacation of office for arrested ministers.
• Ecology: Sundarbans Tiger Reserve becomes India's second-largest after area expansion.

GS area: Polity (Elections, Governance)

About 3.5 million voters : 4.4 per cent of Bihar's electorate : were deleted from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision, predominantly migrants who had left for work.

• Political limbo: These voters are neither registered at their destination (most states) nor retained in Bihar. They lose voting rights entirely.
• Bihar's voter turnout: 53.2 per cent : significantly below Gujarat (66.4 per cent) and Karnataka (70.7 per cent). Migration is a documented contributor.
• Legal framework: The Representation of the People Act, 1950 provides the right to enroll in the constituency of ordinary residence. Migrants qualify at their destination. The problem is that few migrate with the intent or means to re-register.
• Proposed solution: Portable voter identity linked to Aadhaar-enabled authentication : a voter could confirm identity and vote in their home constituency digitally, regardless of location.
• Structural problem: In-person voting at the home booth remains the legal model. Digital or proxy voting would require legislative change.

Static linkage: Election law, migration, Polity.

GS area: Science and Technology, Defence

India successfully test-fired an Agni-5 ballistic missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) capability from Chandipur, Odisha.

• Range: 5,000 to 5,500 km : intercontinental ballistic missile class in terms of range.
• Payload: 1.5-tonne nuclear warhead capacity. MIRV allows one missile to deliver multiple warheads to different targets.
• Three-stage design: Solid fuel throughout all three stages. Ring laser gyroscope navigation for precision.
• Strategic significance: MIRV multiplies deterrent value : a single Agni-5 with multiple warheads forces an adversary to account for multiple strike points. India joins the US, Russia, China, UK, France and Pakistan in the MIRV club.
• Operation Sindoor context: The test strengthened India's post-Operation Sindoor strategic posture.

Static linkage: Defence, nuclear deterrence, science and technology.

GS area: Science and Technology, Polity

India lacks comprehensive national space legislation despite ratifying all five major UN outer space treaties.

• Five UN treaties: Outer Space Treaty (1967), Rescue Agreement (1968), Liability Convention (1972), Registration Convention (1975), Moon Agreement (1979 : India has not ratified this one).
• Outer Space Treaty Article VI: Requires states to bear international responsibility for all space activities, including by non-governmental entities. India's IN-SPACe framework approves private launches but this approval does not transfer international liability.
• Current framework: Indian Space Policy 2023 and IN-SPACe norms regulate private space activity but lack statutory backing. No Act of Parliament exists.
• Risk: Regulatory fragmentation across multiple ministries : Defence, Telecom, Commerce and the Department of Space : creates uncertainty for private investors.
• International model: The US Space Act, UK Space Industry Act and Luxembourg Space Law are examples of statutory frameworks India lacks.

Static linkage: Space law, technology policy, international relations.

GS area: Polity (Constitutional Amendments)

The 130th Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2025 proposes that a minister detained for 30 or more consecutive days for an offence punishable with five or more years must vacate office automatically.

• Amended articles: Article 75 (Union Ministers), Article 164 (State Ministers), Article 239AA (NCT Delhi).
• Mechanism: Automatic removal on day 31 of continuous detention. The President (for Union) or Governor/LG (for states) issues the formal vacation order.
• Does not bar reappointment: The minister can return to office after release from custody.
• Debate: Criminalisation of politics is a documented problem : 31 per cent of Lok Sabha MPs in 2024 had serious criminal cases. The Bill addresses the question of whether such persons should continue to hold executive power while in prolonged detention.
• Limitation: The Bill only covers ministerial office, not Parliament or state legislature membership. Convicted legislators retain their seats unless conviction exceeds two years.

Static linkage: Polity (Constitutional Amendment), governance.

GS area: Environment and Ecology

The Sundarbans Tiger Reserve became India's second-largest after an expansion adding 1,044.68 sq km.

• New total area: 3,629.57 sq km.
• First-largest: Jim Corbett National Park/Tiger Reserve or Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam (depending on how the reserve is demarcated). The Sundarbans now ranks second.
• UNESCO World Heritage status: Since 1987. The Sundarbans is also listed as a Ramsar Wetland (2019).
• Biosphere Reserve: Declared in 1989.
• Royal Bengal Tiger population: The 2022 All India Tiger Estimation counted 100 tigers in the Indian Sundarbans.
• Transboundary ecosystem: The Sundarbans mangrove delta is shared between India and Bangladesh. Indian Sundarbans: approximately 4,260 sq km. Bangladesh Sundarbans: approximately 6,017 sq km.

Static linkage: Wildlife conservation, biodiversity, mangroves.

GS area: Geography (Mapping)

The African Union endorsed a campaign to replace the Mercator map projection with a size-accurate alternative in educational and official contexts.

• Mercator Projection: Developed in 1569 by Gerardus Mercator for maritime navigation using rhumb lines (constant compass bearing). Distorts size: areas near the poles appear far larger than they are.
• Africa distortion: Africa appears smaller than Greenland on Mercator maps. In reality, Africa is 14.5 times larger than Greenland. Europe and North America also appear disproportionately large.
• Alternatives proposed: The Gall-Peters projection (equal area, accurate size) and the AuthaGraph projection (attempts equal area with less shape distortion).
• Political significance: Mercator maps embedded colonial-era geographical hierarchies into visual culture. The AU campaign frames the Mercator distortion as a cartographic legacy of that era.

Static linkage: Geography, mapping, cartography.

• 18th International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO 2025): Held in Jining, China. India won seven medals plus a special award. Rayansh Gupta of Ludhiana won a gold, a silver and a special GYM Reporter Award.
• Online Gaming Regulation Bill 2025: Passed by Lok Sabha. Bans real-money gaming (fantasy sports, card games with deposits). Creates a statutory authority for e-sports as a creative sector.
• Draft Climate Finance Taxonomy: Released by Ministry of Finance in May 2025. Classifies investment sectors as climate-aligned, transitional or ineligible. Has annual and five-year review mechanisms aligned with India's NDCs.